Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-06-19
SILVER.
by the Passage OF the Silver Bill We
will Dictate the Price of Silver.
The Objects to Force It to Point on Parity
with GOla-Canse Of the outcry fO7
New silver Legislation.

rotary of the treasury has ever issued
over 81, 900 900 each month of silver
money, while the law permits 81 900 ZOO
to be issued. The law requires that the
amount shall not be less than 81, 900, 200
nor more than 81, 900, coo, but the
amount decided upon must be coined
into standard silver dollars. This makes
the silver dollar now worth about eighty
three cents of market value, and the re-
manning seventeen cents is government
credit; but the government credit only
passes in this country IN its connection
with the silver money; it does not pass
current abroad. The silver dollar is only
worth in Europe what 1t Will yield in
pure silver when melted, now forty-nine
pence per ounce. Not long since forty
one and one-half pence per ounce was the
market value of silver in London, and
it would not probably be much more
than that now bad the present agitation
of the silver question not been brought
up in congress. The interest OF the great
merchants in London whose business is
with the East always favors low price
for silver bullion, and their efforts have
been to depress the price. London has
now lost the power of dictation to the
silver market, and this country, which
is entitled TO it, has assumed 1t. If the
present silver bill passes, the power of
dictation will remain here, and London
will adopt aud follow our figures. Silver
Is one of our crops and we are benefited
by the advance in its value, and il time
it may go to q point to be on q parity
with gold-16 to !; this means 60 pence
per ounce in London ana 1873 cents per
ounce in this country. This was its status
in 1873.
The advance in silver to a price ap-
preximating these figures would be COM
paratively easy at the present time,
because there is no large surplus of silver
anywhere now except in Germany and
there the amount Is much less than gen.
orally supposed. Some irresponsible au5.
thorities have stated the amount 10 S3e
$500, 900 900, whereas the real amount is
about 400 200 200 marks, equal to $780,
600, 900. The high rate of interest in
India during last winter Ohe Bengal
bank rate being II per cent. for q pro-
longed period) drew the surplus of silver
from London. The silver in France is
in use as money, and as it is needed
there will remain, and the higher it is
marked up here and in London the
greater confidence will the people of
France have in it, hence with the greater
tenaeitY Frenchmen will hold on to it.
AS silver appreciates and becomes more
valuable with the prospect of perma-
hence which Europe now begins to under
stand as well as we do, we need have no
fears of any material unloading of silver
upon US from that quarter. The $780,
900 900 of population 10 India and 400, 4
900 ZOO in China have made silver theiEt
only money. This creates q deman$
alone each year for almost all the silveH
that is produced in other quarters of thet
world. If we will therefore take care Of 1
what we mine in this country and if the
silver bill becomes a law, this will be
accomplished, as, after providing for
the arts, 81 500, 900 worth of silyfFN
each month to be purchased by khe
United States government will absorb
what remains, thus cutting off our4here-
tofore export Of silver to London of Sl5,-
600 900 each year.
The coming of the standard silver dol
lar under the Bland act OF 81 700 900 per
month, was at first regarded as porten-
tous of evil. Many well known financiers
considered the situation as very grad,
and unhesitatlnglY predicted that q crisis
was Inevitable and near at hand. The
opinion was in fact quite general that
silver, the baser metal, would as q nat
ural sequence drive gold out of circula-
ton entirely. So great and widespread
was this delusion, that the silver coins
were absolutely debarred from oirculazsl
ton, and as soon as the United Statesi
treasury paid them out they would flow
back again. The banks almost every
where refused to take silver on deposit.
at moment when the situation
was getting quite serious, the solution TO
the dilemma was discovered, which was,
TO store up in the vaults of the treas
ury the silver dollar, and issue
in their stead treasury notes
in various denominations. These
were soon found to go into circulation
and to stay there as they passed freely
from one hand to another in the payment
Of debts-the butcher, the baker, the
maker and all other trades
people were only too glad to be the reoipi-
ents of them in place of personal 81. o.
US" Confidence in this silver paper
although backed then by only
72 cents of real value, grew day by day,
and at no time since has there been
u udll-IHG Ecculb tHAL Nu6EC ID INV Ill
circulation of these money tokens about
$500 900 900, and the universal cry is still
FOR more, hence the present action of
favoring legislation to satisfy
The demand. As soon as the sentiment
became SO strong for the government !
10 create more money tor the needs of |
the country, especially as full confidence !
was established in the silver paper.
Turing last winter at least it would |
have been wise aud sagseious on the |
part of the secretary to have availed Of |
his discretion to increase the issue of |
silver treasury notes to three millions |
per month, and il that had not been |
ample, occasionally in some months TO |
laTe increased the amount even to S4,-
100 600. Had this been done the presSs4
INT cutlery for new silver legisIatiQR b 1
congress would not have arisen IN my |
opinion. After all, the silver bill which !
las Just passed the house, provides for |
a 500, 900 of silver money to be Issued u
zach month, to be imperative upon the
whereas he has always HAd |
he cation by the act of 1878 TO issue
900 900 per month, thus lacking only
800 ,00e 70 equal the amount |
,rovidse for in the bill now before con-
,ress. HENRY CLEws.
81 - ,,,,-;F-;,r- sha hlaa5