Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1873-11-01
THE DECLINE IN VALUE OF SILVER,

THE DECLINE IN VALUE OF SILVER.
Yesterday we referred to a letter
upon this subject written by Mr.. Gar
nett. Of San Francisco, to Hon. Fl. Il.
Linderman, Director Of United States
MINIS. We have since carefully read
this letter and present to our readersa
synopsis Of Its contents. The writer
first disclaiming all iconoclastic ten
denotes, asserts that no proposition to
make a substance having no intrinsic
value Of its own as a commodity-like
irredeemable paper money-maintain
a uniform and concurrent value with
another substance like silver, having
not only a nominal and local value as
money, but also an Intrinsic value as a
commodity all over the world and both
being controlled by the value Of gold.
which Is entirely independent, will be
a disastrous failure 70 long as paper
money Is at a discount In gold. Re
captivating the changes which have
brought about the present status, he
says:
Prior to the discovery Of silver In
Nevada, the annual supply OF that
metal to the markets Of the world did
not greatly exceed, II at all, $30.OO0,-
600, exclusive Of the gold contained In
the product Of certain districts Of Mex
leo and South America. While the
supply from these sources has since
been we'll maintained, we have, IN the
meantime, thrown upon these markets
some $50. 900. 900 more, thus increas-
Ing annually the production Of silver
within the last ten years, at least hfty
per cent. though for the past few years
our production has very considerably
exceeded that average. In the mean-
time a number Of circumstances have
transpired which, II they have not alb
solutely checked the consumption OF
silver, have at least concurred to pro-
rent an increase Of It commensurate
with its increased production.
Among the circumstances which have
checked the consumption Of silver, he
enumerates, "the enormous produc-
ton Of gold from California and Aus
tralia," ian increased rapidity In eff
fecting commercial exchanges" "the
substitution for many purposes Of cris-
tofe and nickle for silver, and electro
plated silver for solid ware" and last
ly the ''great system Of demonetizing
silver as a medium OF value and legal
tender by leading commercial ma
tions." From causes thus operating
inversely he adds, the decline In sill
YER could not be otherwise than rapid,
and u further depreciation is quite as
inevitable unless some expedient Is de-
vised to check it." Another cause hav-
ing a direct tendency to produce this
result, us the rapid appreciation Of gold
from an increased demand under a d.
minished production" While all the
world, he adds, seems tending towards
the employment Of gold exclusively as
money of account, thereby creating a
necessity for an increased supply. 'the
rapid decline in Its production Is quite
as alarming as the decline in value OF
silver" He cites in this connection
statistics Of production. consump-
ton, coinage and fiuctuating values,
comments at length upon the difficult
ties Of calling in fractional paper r
rency and the Issuing therefor Of frac-
tional silver currency. to be used as
change at its nominal value for green
backs, with perhaps its limit as legal
tender enlarged. and concludes that
instead Of this fractional silver curren-
cy serving to promote resumption, as
long as gold remains above 107, 1t
would only create a strong In
centive to its export for purpos-
es Of exchange, and thereby
withdraw from circulation the only
fractional currency we should then
have. In discussing the proposition
to avoid this contingency by still fur
Their debasing u silver currency so
as to throw its intrinsic value far be-
low the value Of paper under any
probable advance OF gold, he says that
the country has had about enough OF
deprecated money, and that the moral
effect Of any such attempt would be to
greatly retard instead OF accelerate re-
sumption OF specie payments. He
now submits his remedial proposition,
which Is "to remonetizs silver and
make i: as a coin Of full weight legal
tender for all sums concurrently with
gold, and to be receivable rs such for
all debts and duties" and to obvlate
all difficulties appertaining to a double
standard. proposes an entirely new
feature in the proportion Of metal
composing the coin. This new feature
Is that the coin shall contain an appre.
ciable amount OF gold, which he says,
while It gives a full intrinsic value
to the precious metal, equal to the
nominal value of the coin, yet acts az
a heavy seigniorage in preventing Its
use In the arts or Its export, unless by
being thus withdrawn from the mark
cts of the world, it causes a very mate
rial advance in the price Of silver, In
which event we should gain the benefit
in exchange as u commodity, we be-
ing now a large silver producer" He
then, presuming that the present de-
pressed value Of silver Is abnormal,
owing to che depressed state OF foreign
exchange and can be only temporary,
and that it would be unsafe to take
the present value In this country as n
basis, turns to the London market and
assumes quotations there as the basis
Of silver valuation. BY last circular
quotations he says:
Fine silver was 6334d per fine ounce
. A. a. ~ ,grcN ~ =