The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-08-16
THE PRICE OF SILVER
Wall Street Criticises WINDOWS
Policy Of Secrecy.
THE TREASURY WILL DIvULGE
In the Future What 1t Paws for Bullion the
Same as in Gold Purchases
Still Advancing.

Especial to THE HERALD-Examiner Dispatch.l
New YORK. Aug. 15.-The principal topic
of conversation on Wall street this morn
ing was the method of purchasing silver
bullion under the new law purchased
Wednesday by the secretary of the treasury
through his officer, the director of the mint
The director of the mint announced the
total amount purchased Wednesday after
noon was 100000 ounces. He refused, how
ever. to give the names of those offering or
the price at which the offers were made
This secrecy, in connection with matter
of as much public interest as the silver bill
and its operation, gave rise ID much discus
SION. 1t is claimed that the public has a
right to know how much of it's money it's
servants are paying Tor silver. The un-
varying custom of the secretary in
purchasing bonds has been TO give the
price and amount offered and accepted
Whether or not the secretary is justified In
depressing the price of silver, is the real
point at issue. On the one hand the people
do not want to pay more for their silver
than IS necessary; on the other hand, the
avowed purpose of the United States, as
expressly stated in the silver bill, Is to re-
store silver to parity with gold. One Of
the purposes of the bill is evidently TO en-
hance the value of silver bullion.
Senior Bartnereo, of the house of thinner
man d Forshay, dealers III bullion, said the
secretarys policy always had been to de-
press the price OF silver. He refused to go
by the New York price and takes the Lon
don price as his standard. This always de-
presses artifcially the price just before the
purchase of silver by the United States
government and then 1t is advanced after
ward in order that the secretary may ne
| fuse offers here and that the rejected bull
! lion may then be sold over there.
| President w. p. St. John, OF the Mer-
camille National bank, said: ''Any,,mystery
made of the execution of the law will GER
tainly be resented by the public, but it may
| be that at the outset some things are tried
| that will be abandoned when found ex-
! pedient. TO persist in refusing to name
the prices and accounts of silver taken will
put the ordinary owners and producers OF
silver bullion at a disadvantage as COM
pared with the New York bullion dealer
who has his London correspondent. The
| ordinary holder must either employ the
| bullion dealer to thus offer his silver to the
| treasury or must name price to the secre-
| tary little under the market as he guesseS.
at it, or risk missing his sale. This scheme
of executing the law promises to continue
to permit London to make the worlds mar
ket price for silver Notwithstanding the
| fact that Europe produces only about two
! thirds of the amount of silver which Eu-
rope consumes in the arts; and notwith-
standing the fact that the United States
produces 40 per cent. of the worlds sup
plies and are planning to consume in trea-
sury absorption and for our art use to-
gether abJut so per cent. of the whole Of
the worlds production of silver annually"
F. P. Olcott, president of the Central
Trust company, declared that the secre-
tary's policy of withholding the price of
bullion was the means of giving informa-
ton to certain few as to the price the
government would pay for silver and thus
gave them a decided advantage while tho
great majority of persons were kept in ig-
norance.
AS a result of correspondence with Sec
rotary Window it was announced this
afternoon that tO-day'S offers for the sale
of silver were at rates ranging from STA to
S11514, and the department. accepted all
offers at prices below Sis. 1t is now
understood that hereafter the same pub
licity will be given the governments sill
yer tran sactions as is now given to its gold
operations.
| rShinniro Silver IN IaudOu