Morning journal and courier., 1880-08-17
THE SILVER GLUT.


 The bankers who met at Saratoga last week cautioned the public against several dangers and especially against the danger of continu- ing to heap up standard silver dollars in the vaults of the Treasury. In 1878 they warned Congress of the folly of yielding to the silver craze then sweeping over parts of the coun- try, and their warning has been justified by experience. The clumsy silver dollars, in trinsically worth less than ninety cents, and which nobody wants in large quantities, are coined and accommodating in the Treasury at the rate of $2, 300, 900 a month January 1, 1880, the amount of these dollars on hand was reported at $33, 168, ,O64. August 1, seven months later, these undesirable coins were amassed to the extent of $46, 192, ,79O. On the first of the year the gold coin and bullion in the Treasury amounted to $157, ,79O, 321 August 1, the gold reserve had dwindled to $123, 126, ,645. At present, after only little more than two years of experiment, the silver proportion of Government assets, including subsidiary coin, bullion, etc, is not less than two-ffths of the entire coin reserve. At the rate of increase now going on, the silver pro- portion will soon be more than one-half of the whole.
 It is plain that the silver law has not worked as 1t was intended to work. Mr. George A. Butler, of this city, in very able paper read by him at the Bankers Convention set forth the true situation of affairs. Germany has discarded silver, and France and the other na- tions of the Latin league have practically closed their hints to silver, and may not reopen them. These States will continue to use what silver they have if they must, but will coin silver hereafter only in very limited amounts, and if the opportunity offers for them to dis. pose of silver to advantage and get gold in its place they will do so All Europe is distrust full and each State is on the watch that the oth CTS shall not slip out of their embarrassmentE and leave it in still worse condition, and all are desirous that the United States shall helI them by giving them gold in exchange fol their silver. MT. Butler says of this: 'It difference between free coinage the world over, and free coinage in one country only however great that country may be. This ii the lesson for us to learn. I trust we shal not learn it to our cost. If we would not we must close our hints to silver, and let the rest of the world understand that we will not pull their chestnuts out of the fire for them Let other nations know that we will join witt them in league for the free coinage of botI gold and silver, but that we will not coin an other dollar of silver until compact has been made which shall embrace all of the | leading commercial nations, and that if suc1 | a compact is not soon made. we will sell what silver we have and retire from all active par i ticipation in the matter. SWhen Europe be l ieves that this is attitude, and that w will not recede from it, she will then realize | that the United States cannot be made 1 dumping ground for her discarded silver, ane then in all probability the leading nations
 will be ready to join in the free coinage O
 silver as well as of gold, and we may the1 hope for permanent settlement of this muc1 vexed question:
 1 It does not seem very wise to spend iron 1 two to three millions month for something we do not want and which we cannot use And it is not only foolish but dangerous l Therefore, the sooner change is made tht | better.