The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1886-09-25

[Chicago Journal

AnTec OF IOur weeks ago par
silver dropped rapidly from "a ant
80 cents to 914 cents an ounce
With silver at 81 cents an ounce
the silver in the United States stand
ard dollar is worth about 20 cents
When silver was quoted at this
extreme low price, the bottom fel
out of the market, and there wa.
no sale for it at any price in New
York city. In the city of Mexico
the panic became so great that sill
yer dollars were received on'foreigr
account only at so per cent. below
par. Within the last few days sill.
yer quotations have recovered to
90 cents an ounce.
The sharp fluctuations in the
price of silver have been a puzzle
to even expert financiers. Some
writer's with more cheek than
knowledge have attempted to
account for the phenomenon, but
their explanations do not explain
anything. The price of silver is, OF
course, in great degree regulated
by the British trade with India,
where silver and rupee paper, pay
bic in silver, are the only currency.
England with single gold basis for
its home trade, is in fact by far
the greatest silver country in the
world. It's Indian dependencies
have full legal tender silver cur
rency of $1,O27 100000, and all
their bank paper and exchanges
are on q silver basis. With silver
at a marked discount, silver pieces
fluctuate as greenback prices in
this country flucuated during the
war. Where fluctuations are great,
dealers must, in order to be on the
safe side, calculate the low priced
currency at its lowest price. This
practice, in turn, increases the linn
its between which the fluctuations
extend. Some element in the en-
changes between England and
India causes the price of bar silver
to rise and fall like that of any
other commodity subject to the
whiffs and breezes that blow across
the markets.
The recent advance in silver
may, however, he attributed to
another cause. There is no doubt
that the Brithish government and
British publicists and financiers
are seriously considering the policy
of remonetizing silver in that coun-
try. A royal commission has been
appointed to consider the question
and report to parliament. Some
of the ablest men on the commits
sion are bi-metallists, and others
have recently expressed opinions
favorable to a thorough discussion
of the question and its settlement
on new lines of policy. The Lon
don Times, which for years has
denounced the silver advocates as
both dishonest and absurd, declares
that the fall of silver is an I'M
mit;gated disaster" and adds :
Monometallism may appear as
convincing as ever to the majority
of students, though even among
theoretical economists there is
large and influential body of doubt
ers. But the commercial and in
dustrial world declines to be con-
WINGED by their demonstrations.
1t is beginning to insist with no
uncertain voice on the re-opening
of the question, and on an appeal
from the doctrinaires to the men of
business"
Still another indication of Eng
lish public opinion has been pre-
scented by Mr.. Moretown Frewen,
an English capitalist, who has
been connected with the big cattle
syndicate of this county. He de-
clared in a recent prolonged inter
view that England would be COM
PEELED to restore silver as legal ten
der money. Mr.. Frewen is a brother
in-law of Lord Randolph Churchill,
chancellor of the British exchcquer
and governmental leader in the
house of commons; that is, they
married sisters, daughters of Leon
ard Jerome of New York City. Mr..
Frewen's views are eviedntly those
of his kinsman by marriage, with
the sole difference that a member
of the ministry can express his
views on a vital public question
only in parliament, when the sub
ject is before it for legislation,
while his relative may talk ad libi-
tum outside on any question.
That the British government will
ever adopt seventy-cent dollar is
improbable. But that it will be
compelled to do something for the
protection of it's Indian trade from
the embarrassments involved in a
greatly deprecated currency, is one
of the plainest facts before the
business men of the world.