New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-10-28
Mr.. RTCHARDSONS SILVER.

The principles which govern the value of
silver under an irredeemable currency such as
ours are precisely the same as those which
regulate the price of gold. There is, how
ever an important difference in the facts.
Under our coinage laws the value of silver, as
compared with that of gold, is about three
per cent less than in most European cOun-
tries Hence it arises that there is an advan-
tage in sending silver abroad when the rate
of exchange is even 40 much in our favor as
to make it profitable to import gold. And
that is the case at the present moment Gold
is coming here from Europe on almost every
steamer, while silver continues to be exported
as steadily and regularly as wheat or cotton.
Our first difficulty in cOmprehending the
lately announced silver payment policy of the
Administration Is this: We cannot under
stand how the Government can pay out silver
at par with greenbacks without submitting to
a loss. With gold at 1854, the fractional silver
coins of the United States command a pre-
MUM of about three per cent at the bullion
dealers, simply on account of their value as
raw silver. OF course it costs the United
States something to coin them, all which could
be saved as well as the premium by selling
the uncoined silver to the exporters, instead
of stamping it and paying it out as the equiv
alent of paper.
The second difficulty about the silver pay
ment project is that the amount of silver avail
able for the purpose is ridiculousy insufficient.
The amount with which the Secretary of the
Treasury proposed to begin is variously stated
at from two hundred thousand to five hundred
thousand dollars. A hundred times the great
Xlo-o har1Ix hf Gttttia
The outstanding fractional currency alone is
nearly fifty million dollars. Mr.. Richardson,
speaking, as usual in parallels, is reported to
have said yesterday " that he was very much
"afraid that the agitation which has occurred
"in consequence of the announcement of the
"intention of the Treasury Departmental place
the currency on a silver basis had defeated
"the object he had in view and would pro-
"long the time for resumption. The demand
"for coin is much greater than was anticipated,
"and it is clearly evident that all the silver
ain the Treasury would be absorbed in a very
"few days if policy of exchanging it for
Currency were now carried out. He believed
"that if the intention of the Treasury to place
"the currency on a silver basis had not become
public, nor been discussed by the public press,
"the silver on hand, together with what the
"mints can coin, would have been sufficient for
"this purpose The same dispatch informs us
that the whole amount of silver in the Treasury
is only about half million dollars 1t strikes
us that Mr.. Richardson, without any reasonable
expectation of supernatural assistance, has
failed in q short-sighted attempt to make few
small loaves and fishes feed whole multitude,
and vastly hungry one at that
The third difficulty about Mr.. Richardson's
project is that its permanent success depends
upon the premium on gold going below six
per cent and remaining there. fatal objec-
ton to it, therefore, exists in the fact that the
gold premium is now at about eight and
half per cent. But waving that, what are the
prospects of COLDS rising or fallingf On read
ing some of the current discussions touching
this subject, one might think that famine was
the natural condition of Europe and that our
present wheat and corn crops wero going to
exhaust the metallic cash of England. But If
we look at the facts, and consider the more
permanent tendencies we shall find that the
European demand for gold is steadily increasing,
that the rate of interest in every European
money market is rising, and that there are
lasting causes at work TO produce these
changes. of which the most important is the
substitution of gold for silver in the German
coinage. The chances are, unless some uses
be found for the gold here beyond those which
now exist. that the surplus we have will ere
long be exported and the premium rise again.