The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1877-04-02
The Silver Question.

Mr.. j. S. Moose, the "Parsee' of the
W0rtd newspaper, contributes to the current
number of the North american Reuie,v, "a val.
liable and entertaining article on the silver
question in which the immediate causes of
the fall OF silver are set forth, and its future
use as standard of value discussed. From
lo49,the year Of the discovery of the immense
gold deposits in California, up TO 1870 the re-
latlVe value of silver to gold was, as everyone
knows singularly steady. Since the latter
date the fluctuations of silver have been wide,
Ihe disturbance in the monetary standard APP
pears to have had its origin, as Mr.. Moore
points out, in national quarrel. 1t came
about thus: In 1865 the celebrated Latin
monetary convention came into existence.
ms convention consists OF France, Italy,
Belgium and Switzerland. The agreement
was to coin pieces in silver of one and five
francs respectively, and five, ten and twenty
franc gold pieces, at the rate of 15t fine silver
to one, fiue gold, thus giving to more than
sixty millions of the most thriving and in
dustrous people of Europe uniform curren-
cy and uniform standard. Had the other
nations of Europe entered into this conven-
ton it would Lave been easy, Mr.. Moore
thinks, to have maintained the relative value
of the two metals.
But in 1870 the Franco-German war broke
out. From that war Germany came out a
united country, under the rule of one federal
sovereign. One of the first wants of the new
sovereignty was a uniform coinage. The
thaler and silver groschen of Prussia, the
guden and kreutzer of Bavaria, mark and
schllllng OF the Hanse towns, and the forms
and rix dollars of South Germany, were dis
placed by the mark and its multiples, Ger
many would have done wisely to have
adopted the franc system of the Latin union.
Instead of that she adopted another unit of
account, and, to the astonishment of the
world, declared her intention to demonetize
silver, metal which made up eighty per
cent. of her circulation. No satisfactory
reason has ever been given for this bold step,
though it is surmised that dislike of the
Latin union, desire to initiate England, and
belief that simple gold standard would
place Germany at an advantage in future
wars. all influenced the taking of it. Once
decided upon the plan was speedily carried
out. An immense amount of silver was
thrown upon the markets of the world, and
its price began to fall. The Latin union,
finding they were being depleted of their gold,
at once restricted their silver coinage, and
thus shut up one great avenue for the use of
silver as money.
Thus in two years Germany put into the
market four hundred million dollars Of silver,
and the Latin States during the same time
began to restrict their silver coinage.
But other causes soon began to operate
upon silver. The Nevada mines in
1872 began to produce largely increased
amounts of the metal, nearly doubling
the quantity formerly annually mined.
Then the drawing of bills by the East India
Council in London on India developed and
increased steadily, and thus shut out custo-
mer that otherwise would have come for
silver to Europe. While an enormous
amount of the metal was seeking market,
two of the largest channels for its use were
obstructed. Another cause for depression
was soon after added The Indian and Chi
nese products fer which silver is paid have
been since 1874 very low in price, and it there
fore takes less silver to purchase larger
quantity of Eastern commodities. In conse-
quence silver steadily fell until last summer,
when it had deprecated % per cent 1t has
rallied since then, but is still subject to con-
siderable fluctuations in value.
1t is in this condition of affairs that the
proposition is advanced to make the silver
dollar in this country an unlimited legal ten
der But so long as the metal is subject to
wide fluctuations it will be a mere article of
merchandise, quite unfit for use as STAN
dard of value. Still, Mr. Moore is not with
out hope that the United States may again
have bi-metallic standard. If the value of
silver can be made stable there is no reason
why it should not be used as money. Our
writer holds that its monetlzation by the
United States would not give it stability, but
that 1.-The reconciliation should be author
ized by Congress Of Nations the desired re-
suit would be achieved. Probably England
and Germany would not join the movement,
but the Latin union would gladly unite with
the United States, Holland, Russia, and Aus
tria. Silver is almost exclusively used by the
teeming millions of Asia. Should it be
again taken up by the Latin union and its
contemplated allies the combination would
be so powerful that all future fluctuations of
the metal would practically cease. This is
the theory of NJ. Cernuschi, and it is forti.
fed by the assent of the best money authori-
ties in Europe.