Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-06-09
SILVER MINES AND SILVER Prices.

SILVER MINES AND SILVER PRICES.
Our kilograms have informed readers
within the last few days that the conference
OF various governments respecting the re-
adoption of silver as standard coin has for
the second time been postponed. In fact the
expectations of those who, in our Congress-
got up these conferences were groundless, as
was well known at the time. Neither this
country nor any other can, at its will, give
coin International value and circulation.
Coins while themselves measures of the
value OF commodities are reciprocally meas
ured by those commodities, and have their
market value like everything else, and that
value is determined by the operation of
commercial principles, not by the enactments
Of any particular State. Any State for
itself, or any number of States among
| each other, can agree to disregard this
value and mutually to accept a given coin,
or any specified quantity Of precious metal,
at any rate they shall decide, Just as a
piece of paper is received for any sum the
commercial or governmental issues decide to
write upon it. Such mutual agreement, as
it respects silver, the European governments
decline, though with polite indirectness, to
make. England will not give consent to the
scheme, because, as the worlds clearing
hoase, che is me kins immense profits by adj
herring to the gold standard. Germany is
determined TO follow England, because it
knows that without her any agreement to
re-establish silver would fail. France agrees
with US in desiring that silver may be re-
stored to the position of a standard metal;
but the two nations radically disagree on the
proposition which agreement should con-
stitnte between silver and gold. France is
welded to ratio to fifteen and half parts
of silver as the equivalent of one part of
gold, while our own preference is for sixteen
to one. Amid differing interests and varying
views, it is evident that any hope of restoring
silver to the position of a standard metal is
at present vain. Is the future more promis-
ing in this respect? On the contrary it is less
so, As the railroads now building open access
to Mexico; az districts there yet unexplored
Investigated, new silver mines will be
discovered, the amount of that metal thrown
upon the markets will be increased, and as
consequence the price will go lower than
even the present deprecated rate, and the
lower it goes the less possibility will there
be of reconstituting it standard. As we
are a silver-producing country, this state of
things is unfavorable to us, but we cannot
escape the inevitable. We are annually pur-
chasing large portion of the produce of our
mines to keep up the value of silver, but the
course of events is stronger than we, and, as
when "Humpty-Dumpty had great fall"
and mot all the kings money, nor all the
kings men, could put Humpty- Dumpty on
the wall again." so we cannot restore the
fallen value OF silver. Under these circum-
stances, because of the threatened stringency
of money, because of reduced trade and the
necessity of economy, because of the failure
of the expectations entertained when the
silver bill was passed, because of the refusal
OF Europe to remonetize silver, and because
we have now more silver dollars
coined and lying uncalled for at the mint
than the business of the country requires,
strong effort is making to induce Congress to
suspend for the present, the further coinage
of silver dollars. Those who are interested
in the silver mining business naturally OBJ
ject to the proposed suspension, for it is by
the mint purchases that they are able to
keep the price up to the reduced figures of
the present time. The Las Vegas Mining
Rsrzd, OF MAY 9otl., s~ys tiIe question OF sill
yer coinage has a most important bearing
upon our mineral resources, and finds the
President remiss in not appointing COM
missioner "to attend the coming monetary
conference" The Chicago Mining Reuieao
finds in the way "the trade dollar OF our
fathers" is treated, ga stupendous and
dangerous outrage which is being
perpetrated." The Mining Record de-
cIares that those who 'insist that the
people do not wish to and will not
use silver money are either dull of compre-
hension or lacking in morality" With a
perception of what is coming when the Mex
lean mines begin to pour out their streams
of silver, such complaints are natural, but
the accusations of injustice are ill-found ed.
Suppose England should take Egypt and
cultivate cotton ON a large scale, she
would, must our government to be Just buy
up every year one-third of the whole cotton
product, and when the wants of the market
were supplied store away the rest to the
value of millions Of dollars, and do it at the
expense of producers of corn, and tob acco,
and silver, and other things? We can see
and feel for the position in which the pro-
Queer of silver is placed, but we cannot per-
ceive any outrage in refusing to tax any
longer every farmer, every merchant, and
every workingman for the purpose of boil
stering up the failing prices OF silver, and OF
advancing the fortunes of the capitalists
who own silver mines.
SOMETIMES little assistance aS the right