The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1876-02-19
THE SILVER SPHINX.
From the s. F. Daily stock Report.

The all absorbing question of the hour
is, how is the silver problem to be solved !?
That we have more than enough silver
for the commercial wants of the people
on this coast has made itself apparent in
the past few months by a constant and
steady depreciation in its value. The
causes which have brought about this
plethora in silver are manifold, the chief
q being the demonetizing Of silver by
Germany in order to throw obstacles in
the way of the French, who commenced
the boarding of silver Immediately after
the Franco-Prussian war, the flow of sill
yer coin to the Pacific from the Atlantic
States, where it was selling at a much
larger discount than it was here, and the
falling off in the demand for trade from
India and China. This latter cause may
be considered the more immediate, as
the trade dollar had little or no ~circula-
ton on this coast till the abatement of
the Asiatic demand, since which time the
market has been flooded with them. We
have here the causes; we know the effect.
and now for the proposed remedy. The
readers of the Stock Report must not i'm
agine that we are going to emulate Alex
ander in the attempt to solve the Gordian
Knot. We will merely advance what
seems to as the most feasible plan to meet
the present exigency. The Government
has already signiied its intention of COM
mencing the withdrawal Of the fractional
currency on the LIST of March, and sub
s~tituting instead silver coin. To do this
it will require about thirty millions in
silver. The stock at present in hand
amounts to about twelve millions. and the
balance can be procured at q moments
notice. The project of paying silver
after the LIST of March is certainly feas-
IDLE. and wen easy. 1t is a simple re-
form, and one which might be advants.-
geously extended. Nor is the benefit to
the country by even this partial resump-
ton OF specie payments the only factor
to be considered in the present financial
problem.
The enhanced demand for silver will
relieve whatever overplus of that metal
is to be found in the money market, and
will thereby at once and Immediately in
crease its value. Now as the United
States are the worlds chief source OF
silver supply, it naturally follows that
this country will be chiefly benefited by
any rise in the value of the metal. In.
deed it might be a question for political
economists if it would not be sound pol
icy for this government to buy up all the
product of the Nevada mines as fast as
it is reduced. This would answer a
double purpose. 1t would supply funds
for any quantity of fractional currency or
smaller denominations Of greenbacks,
and would at the same time bull the sill
yer market of the world. BY the act OF
Germany the market has been impaired
and lowered. Germany is no sufferer BY
this change but America is. It now
rests with the United States to counter
balance this deficiency, and to increase
the demand tor its own product by enter
ing the list asa large consumer. To
state the matter briefy-Germany has
beared the silver market but it rests in
the power of America, who will chiefly
benefit by the transaction, to bull if
efectuaIly, successfully and permanently.