Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1877-12-01


Although there have heen consid-
erable exports to Germany in 1871
and 1872, that moVement scarcely
needs to be taken into account, for
it related chiefly to the shipment
from hence of 5-franc piece Jhelp
to pay the French indemnity, and
those pieces promptly found their
way to France. During the same
period we have exported 48 millions
of silver to India, China, aud the
Straits. This, however, is less than
the amount recorded in the COM
bined returns from British ports,
and ports of the Mediterranean, and
if we assume that % millions of this
excess has come from Germany,
hardly less than $4,000, ,000t net can
have been exported from Germany
since the disused silver of that
country began to make its way to
the markets of the world. Besides
TIE 214 millions exported to En-
gland and % millions exported di-
rectly from Germany to the East,
49, millions of the old silver have
been coined into new, and retained
in the country. Altogether 49, mill
lions are thus traced and disposed
of. The quantity stated to have
been withdrawn from circulation at
the end of September last was
9O6, 1891 marks, (say) 45 million
sterling-and corresponds as closely
as could be expected with the dis
posal of silver just now shown up
to the end of September. The esti-
mates of the total disposable in
Germany before the demOnetization
of silver, ranged from 59,000,0 ,000L on
December 81, 1871, which Mr.. Cos
chen's Committee thought a maxi
mum amount, down to $4,000, ,0O0l,
which was the estimate of Mr.. q.
Pietsch, the manager in London of
the Deutsche Bank, who had charge
of the sale of the silver, and who,
as such would not eXaggerate the
amount likely to come forward.
The maximum estimate was evil
IDENTIFY the more accurate, but we
are still far from knowing the eX-
act amount which remains for sale,
although the supply from Germany
is now shown to be approaching ex-
haustion.
~ We may next turn to the
state of the silver question in Amer
lea. In discussions upon the acci-
dent of new discoveries of silver
mines in the Pacific States, it is
sometimes said that the effect of
these discoveries upon the market
has been masked or deferred by an
other accident-the adoption of sill
yer for fractional currency in the
United States. But the application
of silver to that purpose has been
no accident; it has been largely the
result of political agitation from the
side of the "silver party" A great
number of the inhabitants of the
United States are interested in the
mines producing that metal silver
mining shares are held by many,
and a larger class still speculate in
them. BY the stOrekeepers, wait
ers, or cabmen, to whom popular
arguments in favor of a silver cur
rency are addressed, proposals for
bringing the Government into the
market as a large consumer of the
metal theg are interested in for
coinage purposes, are sure to be
listened to and responded to by a
large popular vote. By the think
ing men in business, who are not
few in America, the opportunity for
securing silver small money in
preparation fer a gold standard was
considered a good one. Thus silver,
from no new accidental cause, has
been taken into circulation in the
United States at the time when the
production became augmented, and
an outlet was wanted for the excess.
The production of the United States
mines was estimated by the Com
missioner for Mining Statistics to
have been, in 1870, 200, ,00Ot, and if
ii had continued Annually at the
same rate, the subsequent produc-
ton should have been $4,000, ,000l;
but according to the estimates since
obtained from official sources, the
production of the United States has
been as much as $4,000, ,000I. The
increased production has, therefore,
heen 10000, ,0O0L during the seven
wears. and nearly 8.000,000L of this
| increase has been absorbed for frac-
tionaI currency. Besides this, silver