The morning call., 1890-10-04
TIE SPECULATION IN SILVER.

The Silver Act seems to have given the
New Workers something to think about 1t
has generated about as wild speculation as
Wall street ever saw. Shortly before the
act passed, but when it was reasonably GER
tain that it was going TO pass, silver was
selling at from 81 cents to % cents an ounce.
THE CALL o,ntcd out at that time that If
there was anv chance of Congress passing
an act which required the S, cretary of the
Treasury to buy four and a half millions of
silver every Tonth up to 129 cents, little
silver: would lie a handy thing TO lave in the
house A similar opinion appears to have
penetrated the Eastern mind, for when the
bill did pass. it turned out that most of the
loose silver had passed into the lands of the
great operators. Mr. Window saw the COM
modify which he was directed to buy creep
ing up at the rate of per cent day, while
the law forbade him to enter the market as
a purchaser till day set.
When he did buy, the price had been
forced up to lis to 12o, and he paid that
figure for lis silver. When he was filled up,
the market naturally reacted. 1t did not
answer the purpose of the operators to let
silver run up all at once to 1919 without
setback There was more in the game than
yer on the market million at a time, and
soon. satisfied tie public appetite for the
precious metal. Silver dropped back, point
by point, till it touched 1o9. Then the
parties who had sold at lis to 100 appear to
have decided that they could afford to take
hold again, and their purchases lei to re-
cOvery 10 112 to 112H. The advance was as
sisted by a call from the department for
oil IN Ia npt
ounces; of which the Secretary toUk 225, coo
ounces. The operators are in no hurry to
supply the Government; they know that
they have a sure thing. They can afford to
wait. It is reckoned that there are only ten
million ounces of real silver in New York.
The millions which change hands on the
exchanges are most phantom" silver, or
possibly due-bilIs for silver now stored in
the smelling works and refnelieS
1t is evident that in this case the i'll wind
which makes buyers of silver for use in the
arts End for household use pay more for the
metal is goiGg to blow some good TO the
brokers and spectators in Wall street.
Some substantial fortunes will date from
the silver speculation Of 1890. There per-
haps never was speculation which rested
on Sounder basis than this. Buyers of
silver have practically "a put" on the
Treasury Department at the market price up
to 1Z9, fer all amounts not to exceed four
and half millions a month. The gamble is
thus dead sure to Win in the end.
It'was stated that one effect of the Silver
Act would be TO stimulate silver mining
throughout the mineral States and to lead
to the reopening of mines which are now
shut down. We have not heard that this
result has yet followed, though it may come.
The profits of silver mining in Colorado.
Montana and Nevada must he increased by
just the advance in the market price of sill
ver 1t would have been logical to reason
that the passage OF the act would be fol-
lowed by an advance in the stocks on our
exchange, which represent mines yielding
silver in conjunction with gold, such as the
WaShOe mines. But no such advance has
taken place. Stocks are no higher than
they were before the Silver Bill lassed, and
the public gives the Stock Exchange as wide
berth as ever. This may be accounted for
by the general conviction that the COmstOck
mines are worked for the benefit Of the mill
owners, and that no matter how much the
output of the mines amounts to the stock
holders will get meme of it. To an outsider
it might seem that the mill-Owners, who
must own directly or indirectly majority
of the stock in tile mines 10 retain control of
them, would make morey by square deal
at this iunctlre But they do not seem in
-clined to try the ex. eriment and they must
be presumed to know tleir own business.