The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1880-05-25
THE GLUT OF SILVER.

On the first of May, 1880, the Treasury
vaults at Washington contained $4O,411,873 in
silver coin and S., OO7, 1871 worth of silver bull
lion, with silver certificates something in ex-
cess of the latter sum, the whole massing into
an aggregate of over fifty millions of silver,
weighing 1900 tons. This accumulation of
silver does not argue we'll for the expected
general circulation of that metal, and what
makes matters worse is the fact that as silver
a%ccumulates, the gold coin in the Treasury
suffers a corresponding depletion. At the
present movement of gold and silver specie,
we can very closely calculate the date at
which gold will be entirely displaced by silver
the date at which we shall be reduced once
more to a single standard, with the difference
that that standard will be silver instead of
gold, as it was previous to the reconciliation
of the former metal by congressional legisla-
ton. In the face of this dilemma, what is to
be done? A return to the gold standard will
not do. A single standard of gold as the only
measure of value is philosophical, scientific,
but in practice it is found to entail untold
evils on the country adopting it. By becom-
ing continually less and less abundant as
compared with marketable commodities
whose value it is employed to measure, gold
becomes continually scarcer, dearer. To say
that gold is becoming dearer is only another
way of saying that prices of other articles are
falling, and falling prices means commercial
depression. That a monetary movement of
this kind would follow the decentralization of
silver is certain. Its opposite was witnessed
just thirty years ago, on the opening of the
mines of California. The sudden increase
then made in the worlds stock of gold had
its legitimate effect IN the cheapening Of
that metal. Gold became less valuable than
it had previously been. Three years after
the opening OF the California placers any
given weight of gold would have been ex-
changed for a much smaller amount or
quantity of any kind of goods than would
have been bartersd fer that amount of gold
three years previous to the opening of those
cheaper-or, prices rose, "times" were good,
trade f1ourishing, until an OVERRIDING of the
resulting speculation led to the panic of 81.
Such were the effects observable when the
worlds stock of gold was increasing more
rapidly than were the representatives Of values
in the markets, real estate, live stock, manu-
features, ETC., etc. But at present, with re-
gard to gold, precisely the opposite of the
condition of things witnessed in 1876 is to
be observed. The worlds stock of gold is
increasing much less rapidly than is its stock
of wealth in steamships, railroads, improved
farms, manufactures, and so on. Consequently,
compared with those commodities, gold is
becoming eyer less plentiful, a ratio of dim
mutton to be increased in a surprising degree
by making gold the only standard or measure
of value recognized by civilized countries. A
single gold-standard, then, will not do. But
how are we to succeed with a double stand
displacement of the nobler by the baser met
al? This is the problem our legislators have
been trying, but trying unsuccessfully to
solve. The fact is the establishment of a
double standard of value in a country whose
commercial interests are as vast and compli-
Gated as are those of the United ties is a
problem worthy the powers of a sreat .lster
of finance; and not until such a master
appears is it likely to be solved. Where is
the Gallatin whose genius will be equal to the
task of averting the monetary difficulties and
complications into which the country appears
to he drifting?