The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-06-07
COINAGE OF SILVER
Opinion Of m English Economist ON IN
Pending Struggle In America.

Opinion Of m Eugllsh Ec0nomist on the
Pending Struggle In America.
Moreton Proven In Pail Mall Gazette
In order to appreciate the forces at work
for SILVER IN the United States you must
bear In mind that large increase IN COIN
age, such - Is now contemplated. involves
IN immensely increased demand for SILVER.
and therefore. no doubt, great rise in its
price. Now II ID no longer questioned,
even by our monometaiiists here, that the
lower the price Ut silver falls the lower
must full the prices OF wheat, cotton and
other American exports. II the silver
countries, say India, can secure in Mark
Lane the gold equivalent to 20 silver
rupees per quarter they are satisfied to
sell their wheat Therefore. with the
rupee It Is. the price Of wheat here will be
81. but with the rupee at Is. then Fl.
Thus the export price OF American
wheat, and therefore the entire home
price, the New York price. has been ham,
mered down by the great fall In silver. and
has resulted In the impoverishmcnt Of the
farmers Of the Tar West to degree quite
pitiabls. think farmers west Of the Ale
ghanies have suffered even more than in
England since the monetary revolution Of
fifteen years ago. and it b for this reason
that the strength Of the silver party is in
the Central, the Western and the Southern
states. II has become . burning question
with the American farmer question Of
''dear silver" and prosperity, or. on the
other hand, Of low rate OF exchange be-
tween Europe ard Asia, and the Wholesale
companies and banks.
SkAH al 80
needed for currency, IL might still be to the
profit OF America TO buy up silver and throw
il into the sea because such = process would
stiffen the Eastern exchanges and thus en-
able America to export her surplus and
find profitable prices in Europe2 Exactly;
in other words the less silver she exports.
the more gold she will import to pay for
larger exports Of wheat, corn, cotton, cop
per. and . hundred other commodities
which are subject to the competition of
silver standard countries.
But Will the price of silver rise mere than
temporarily II the silver men get their way
Will not higher price for silver stimulate
the production of the mines, and thus glut
and again weaken the nlver market7 I
do not suppose that . rise in the price Of
silver will At Ill considerably increase its
output There Is oil the differences in the
world between producing silver or
gold and producing turnips; the
total annual cost Of producing some
fi0,0o0,000 Of silver in America is esti.
mated ct nearly ESQ 000, coo; so that il ow-
ing to rise OF price the silver produce is
worth Ella, 900, 900 instead OF El0000, 900, I
do not suppose that more gamblers will be
attracted to what is and always has been
rather gamble than profitable industry.
Wiseacres here who declare that it is i'm
possible to fix ratio between gold and sill.
yer always assume this impossibility be-
cause the relative value Of other commodi-
ties are in the ratio OF their cost of pfoduc-
ton; but as regards gold and silver all the
official statistics recently collected fatty
contradict this doctrinaire theory. A man
goes mine hunting on the exciting off
chance Of finding . BONANZA. not because il
Is more profitable, for indeed tits far less
profitable than playing roulette at Monte
Carlo.
Now. Mr.. Frewen, assume, as il likely.
that the vast increase OF silver coinage con-
templated At Washington does not take
pl ace in few weeks time. and the result.
ant rise in the price OF silver does occur.
what viii be the effects Give as bold
prophecy worthy Of bimetallic enthusiast,
Assuming that there is TO be q coinage
monthly OF T. 500 90 ounces, I think these
results viii follow during the next twelve.
month. There are some eighty seven
crores OF Indian rupee paper, worth today
say fS. ono 600: the rupee viii rise TO about
I'D, and these securities viii increase their
value 10 $50. 0oo. coo. There win be a great
hsr,rx sv< ~ Z r.
estate In Manchester will rise-pari passu,
there VIII be an industrial crisis in
bombay. and immense numbers OF black
men there viii be thrown ont Of work.
There VIII also result rapid rise of prices
and wages in the United States which the
gold bugs will ascribe TO infsation--fcr
everything with these gentlemen is infia-
ton unless the worlds currency Is being
contracted visibly by antisilver legislation
Our trade to the states will be stimulated.
and America. rapidly Increasing her i'm.
ports viii for year or two lose much
gold, which gold viii como here, so that
probably 1891 viii be a year Of brisk specu.
iatson In the city. Gold will go also TO the
Argentine. and that country will come
through the present crisis, and, il well adj
vised. viii later resume specie payments in
silver. There wils~e rise Of IS. or ss. in
wheat. and land IN England viii be in bet
ter demand.
And II these results follow do you think
that England win then accept birnetallism7
Probably not, and. however desirable. il
may be no longer necessary; for il. a. an
rciraie, the action OF congress forces silver
up 10 nearly the American coinage ratio of
one 70 sixteen. IL is almost certain that.
after . conference with the United States.
the mintx Of the Latin union ~ouss h.