Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1876-04-11
SILVER.

SILVER.
Conrad Wiegand publishes a letter in
Saturdays Enterprise, called forth by
the Geographic reports of the Senate
amendment to the House silver bill.
We regret that our space will not per-
init us To publish the letter in full. Mr..
Wiegand is a thorough master of all
the details of the subject on which he
treats, and while we are not sufficiently
informed ourselves to justify us in an
absolute Endorsement of his views,
those views are deserving of the care
full consideration ofall, and particularly
Of those who are identified with the
silver interests.
Mr.. Wiegand, while not considering
the House bill sufficiently broad to
meet the demands of the case, looks
upon the Senate amendment as infinite
~ worse. The House Bill is at least a
astep-ifonly step-in the right direc-
ton, but the Senate amendment "affords
the silver producer no relief whatever
from the oppressive discounts on silver,
which threaten to suspend silver min
ing as an industry" He says: every
decline of one per cent. in the price of
silver makes it necessary for the assay
value of ore to increase several per
cent. in order to cover the expense of
mining, freighting and milling" and
predicts '.that if silver discount be not
arrested, and if its former commercial
value be not restored, silver mining on
the Comstock itself will be totally sus-
pended and property in Virginia City
will be as valueless as, four years ago,
it vas in American Flat" Mr.. VIE
gsnd states a fact new to us and, we be-
lieve, new to our readers, but of i'm
e importance in this connection;
and that is that the diminished de-
mand for silver in Asia is permanent,
not temporary, and is caused by an in
creased demand for gold and for Euro
pean and American goods. We can
not do better than give the concluding
paragraphs of Mr.. Wiegand's letter.
The whole question of money in
America is one which caH better be
met now for the harmonization of all
great interests than at any time within
the past ten years it could have been.
AT the East there Is 10 metallic money.
On the Pacific Coast there is no paper
$500 HI,a Ltx.k A1,sx-. tI~t
better than metal for that purpose. We
have n metal which has just about
The same purchasing power rs the
paper dollar of the East. 1t has long
been q settled fact that both gold and
silver could not be a standard of value.
We must choose one or the other. Ii
we make silver the standard, and sim
ply relieve ourselves of the cumbrous-
ness by storing it in Government
vaults, making paper-demand notes
our legal tender, and the legaI-tender
notes of the East payable in silver, the
Pacific Coast wonld be in monetary
harmony with the East, and gold
would soon cease TO be at a premium.
Why?
Because, the moment we recreate for
silver that infinite Use as money
which recent legislation throughout
moment London could not yet or Keen
a pound of silver till it would give as
much for it I'd our own laws rae Il at.
It's price would no longer be deter
mined for all The world by a rlut in
the London market. It could never
reach or STAY in London when quoted
At less than one.sixteenth the value of
gold, which would be par for silver in
America. Silver workers would al
WAYS use coin for their material.
There is another effect which or
daining silver based notes an unlimited
legal tender would have. It is one of
more than mere local Importance. 1t
should commend the demonstration
of silver not only to every American
east and west, but to every merchant
the world over. As a nation we are
bound to pay in gold our debts con-
tractsd for gold, and the interest in
gold straight along. II we adopt silver
for the basis of our money, we can spare
gold to Europe. It's abundance there
will make it possible to sell gold bonds
bearing . l~owersrate OF interest than
those we now have outstanding; and if
we annihilate silver discount at Lon
don by keeping silver usefully em-