Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-09-15

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coinage and wear and loss of the coins.
There has been a great waste through all
the centuries in which gold and silver
have been used as money, caused by this
wear and loss. Besides, the government
would have the benefit of the loss of GER
tifeates in circulation. If you object to
such legislation because you fear the
United States would get too much silver,
and think it would be necessary to invite
the nations of Europe TO reopen their
minis to silver, or to receive silver bull
lion on something like the basis above
suggested I desire to invite your atten-
ton to the following facts:
There is now in circulation in this
country something over SIX hundred mil
lion dollars of paper money, consisting of
greenbacks, national bank notes and
other paper money Of the United States.
Before the finances of the country could
be placed on a metallic basis, dollar for
dollar. without any addition to the pres
ent circulation, it would be necessary to
obtain $500 900 200 of gold and silver.
The product of those metals from the
mines cannot be largely increased, for,
whatever other may say, assure you
that the average cost of production of
either gold or silver is more than
say, it costs more than a hundred
cents on an average to procure either
twenty-five and eigth-tenth grains of
standard gold or 1925 grains of standard
silver. If you ask me why men continue
in the business of mining, l would tell
you that the inducement, and the only
lnducement, which stimulates the miner
TO almost superhuman eXertIon in pursuit
of the precious metals is the occasional
rich find which makes the lucky miner
wealthy and encourages thousands to
spend their lives in fruitless efforts to win
a similar prize There is no danger of
an over-production of the mines. The
world never has had, and never
will have, an over supply of the
precious metals. The only fear is
that when both metals are used there
will not be sufficient to keep pace with
the increase of population and the le-
ultimate demand for money. There Is
no surplus of silver anywhere which
can produce glut. There is compare
lively no silver bullion in the United
States or Europe. II is all consumed
for coinage IN the silver standard coun-
tries ana the United States except what
is used in the arts.
The fact that there isTlo surplus of
vestigarfons of the royal commissions of
England on the depression of trade and
on the relative values of gold and sill
yer, all of which is fairly summed up in
the following quotation from the Lon
don Economist:
1.-The quantity of pure silver used for
coinage purposes during the fourteen
years ending 1884 was about Is per cent.
greater than the total production during
that period, and there are other esti-
mates which place the consumption at
still higher figure. 1t is to be remem-
bered that the coinage demand is fed from
other sources than the annual output of
the mines It is supplied to some extent
by the melting down of old coinage. AL
loving for this, however, the evidence OF
statistics goes to show that the coinage
demand for the metal is and has been
sufficient TO absorb the whole of the an
nuaT supply.tlat is left free after the
consumption in the arts and manufao-
lures has been supplied; and this con-
clusion is supported by the fact that no
where throughout the world has there
been any accumulation of uncoineG
stocks of the metal
There is less than one billion dollras of
legal tender silver in all Europe, and be-
hun dred million dollars of debased token
silver money used as subsidiary coin, of
very little value outside of the country
where 1t was coined. The legal tender
silver of Europe circ ulates on par with
gold at the ratio of fifteen and one-half
to Que, Our ratio is sixteen to one. a
person who would buy legal tender silver
in Europe would be required to give an
/ ounce of gold in exchange for fifteen and
! One-half ounces of silver, and if he should
import his silver into the United States,
where silver is at par with gold at sixteen
! to one he would be required to add half
/ ounce of silver to the fifteen and one
! half ounces bought in Europe in order to
| obtain in return for it, in the the United
! States, the ounce of gold which he in
vested in his European purchase. This
! would be q loss of a little over 3 per
! cent. beside the cost of exchange. We
! can hardly anticipate the acquisition of a
/ large amount of legal-tender silver from
/ Europe under such circumstances; and 4,
/ besides, the nations of Europe could not
/ afford to contract their currency by sale
| of their silver now doing duty as money
l fear, MIR. President, that it Will be
! a long time before the United States
! could reach metallic basis, dollar for
! dollar, even VIII lu0 1uA1 use VI DOIil
! metals 1t might be possible to suppfant
with silver the National bank notes and
| other paper money, except greenbacks,
| and secure enough in addition thereto to
! stop contraction and revive the business
! of the country. If the mines should be-
come more productive the time might
! come when the greenbacks could also be
retired, but I am more inclined to think
! that after the United States has accumu-
| lated all the gold and silver possible as a
! basis of circulation it will be necessary,
/ in order to keep pace with the popula-
ton, to have some paper money III circu-
/ lation in addition to the gold and silver
on deposit. This would not endanger
our financial system, because we would
! always have larger reserve in the shape
of bullion than would be necessary for
the redemption of our paper.
Now, Mr. President, assuming that
! the United States could, without the CO.
operation of any other nation, raise the
! price of silver to par with gold at the
ratio of sixteen TO one, allow me to eX-
| plain some of the advantages that the
! producing classes of this country, and
! DaTticularlv our farmers would gain