Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-02-06
The Coming Victory OF siiver.
lFor the Dispatch.l
II


H.
We now come 10 another branch Of our
subject, which IS the effect that the demOne-
tizaton Of silver by Germany and the United
States OF America has had upon the COM
merce and business OF the world. From the
year 1888 to 1873. period Of fifty years, siI-
yer had stood at cold. in the markets OF the
world. with Infnlteslmal yArisd0ns, aud in
1887 it dwiudled down TO the low price Of
42l. undoubtedly from the influence OF the
acts Of decentralization.
From 1884 10 1873 the recognized relation
OF silver 10 gold was l6 10 /. According TO
MulnalPs History Of Prices the stock OF
gold in 1885, coined and uncoined, in the
world was $500. 100000, aud silver, which
was in 1850 thirty two times in amount TO
bat OF gold, now lin 1888 IL Is only nineteen
times, and vet silver has fallen in value
owing entrely 10 us disuse as a money unit.
See the article OF Edward Albert Sass0n In
the Nineteenth Century for 1856, entitled
1.-THE Crusade Against Silver" In the
Westminster Review for October, 1886, Mr..
A. MusgraVe, ~ An article entitled 1.-The
Functions OF Money" BimetAllism," gives
avery sound . practical reason in favor OF b.
metsllism. lie points out with singular
clearness an error In tine definition OK
money INTO which such eminent writers
as Bonamy Price, Mills. Fawcett, Pro-
lessor ,le0yous, and others have fallen
these writers ascrbiRg to It only three
Fundamentally, first, a medium OF
exchange; second, measure OF value;
aud third, q standard OF value leaving ont OF
sight It's fourth and most important func-
iion-ngmely, the fact that it is q "st0re OF
value" According TO this writer II IL some>
thing more than merely artificial machinery
for exchange and distribution. IL IS in adj
ditiOn a store OF yalue-that Is, II has in itsef
inherent intrinsic value wholly independent
and apart from It's Use as medium OF cx-
change. Hence 10 reduce 1t Is actually TO
destroy and take away that much capital.
To use the words OF the writer, gold and sill
yer are money because by survival OF the
tittest for this purpose they are the
articles Of exchange sin which can be
stored most easily the profits on ex-
change OF merchandise for merehan-
disc, OF labor for goods, or OF goods for
labor" 1t seems to me that he is unques-
tOnablv right. and II he is, this disposes for
ever of the question that paper can ever be
money, except when redeemable Ia gold and
silver. Now, it T. undoubtedly true that
the supply OF gold Is not only not stationary,
but according 10 the statement OF acareful
and accurate writer In The Cnicsgo Tribune
the output oi The mines u decreasing at the
rate Of $50, OOO, 900 q year. and the supply OF
silver Is not increasing In proportion 10 the
increase OF population. These are nigniii.
cant and suggestive facts. which point
strongly 10 the necessity Of bimetallism.
But there are other facts even more perti-
nent 10 lie stated. According TO that ceie-
brated statisticisn. Mr.. Mulhall, the nominal
tonnage OF all the ships OF the world exclu-
Al. 90 MS In
20. s23. 900 tons, aud this had increased 10
1883 TO the enormous amount OF 52,0S0,000
tons. In the Edinburgh Review for July,
1886. in an article entitled "M0dern Trade
and the Means OF Exchange" these bgures
are stated with the care aud exsctness Tor
which that eminent periodical is noted.
The efficiency OF navigation has more than
quadrupled and The cost greatly decreased.
Now let us turn moment to railroads.
According 10 that same eminent ststistlcian
the railway mileage OF the world was twelve
fold a. great In 1888 as In 1850, TIE length OF
mileage having increased from 2f.5oO to
$50, 600 miles. Bot these figures, stupendous
as they are, are misleading. because they
fall far behind the truth there being to-day.
according 10 the last edition OF "P0oTs
Manual OF Railroads." over 10000 miles OF
railroads In the United states alone. Thirty
three years since, sccordiog 10 Dir. Mullhal,
the average cost OF land.carriage WAS ol3
ton per hundred miles. but In 1883 1t had
been reduced to 10 shlllings a ton per one
hundred miles. pause here long enough
to make q passing comment upon the
error OF The war which many men make
on railroads. the great eiyiIizers OF the age.
The farmer well nigh gnashes bis teeth IN
rage and looks upon them a. the illsd OF all
his woes-the lsborer strikes and puts dyna-
mite on their tracks, when a little sober
thought and reflection ought 10 show them
that their ills are caused by the artificial en-
hancsment OF gold aud the enforced redue-
ton OF the medium OF exchange, with
which the railroads have nothing in
the world 10 do. But resumiug our
statistics, and turning to telegraphs
aud telephones, we find that there are over
zoo, 900 miles Of telegraph in the world, OF
which 10000 are ocean cable, aud the mes
sages on all have been estimated TO be 45S
minute. As to the telephone we have no
reliable statistics, but We know that II y
moving forward with "leaps and bounds"
and It Is difficult, II not impossible. to over
estimate its importance. Aud TO add 10
these the telegraphc transfer OF money has
come to be OF great and extraordinary iin-
portance.
NOW, WQat mas Dceu TIC Ichhit VI sneHo
extraordinary Improvements 10 chemical and
mechanical science, which wel-nigh make
even the maryels OF Aladdin's famous lamp
fade into insignihcancel According to the
conference OF the most eminent French bank
ers In 1885, since 1s4s the commerce OF the
world bad increased fourfold. According 10
that eminent writer, Mr.. Mulhall. IL had In
creased sIxfold. So far as know no Ame-
rIcan writer has made any estimate, aud L
think may modestiy state that the facts bear
me out 10 stating that IL has at this writing,
January 81, 1880, increased fully eighnoid.
Let any man who doubts it examine the last
edition OF "Poor's Manual OF Railroads"
and the files OF the Financial and
Commercial Chronicle and the Lon-
don Economist for the past two years,
and confidently believe that be Will come
10 the conclusion that between 1850 ana
1883 the increase In the volume and value OF
trade OF the world has been even greater
than eighfold. II these statements are
true, and u Is not believed that they can be
successfully e0nlroyerted, there Is now
need for eight times a. much money In 1853
rs was needed IN 1850. This has all the eie-
mrnts OF a mathematical demonstration.
Admitting these statements 10 be true who
wants 10 10 any further " lind solution OF
the widespread woe and misery suffered by
The fsrmerA. the lAbofefE the landowners