The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-02-15
WHY EUROPES SILVER WOULD NOT
FLOOD OUR MINIS IF FREE
COINAGE WERE ADOPTED.

acted. Upon our mint directors estt
mates he measured this prospective
avalanche at 81. 100, 900, 900 of full legal
tender silver" of which s42S, 900, 900 con
stitute portion of the present reserve:
of Europe's great banks. Quoting the
market price of silver at 10j cents
against our mint valuation of 129 cent,
per ounce, or about SO cents for the mar.
ket worth of the bullion in our silver dol
lar coin, the secretary assumed his dread
of Europe's silver there by to be con
firmed.
But in contemplating Europe's silver
we have not to deal with bullion, nOI
with market price. Excepting her pro-
duction of about one-half the amount
her arts consume, Europe's only silver is
her silver money. Its relation To her
gold, in coin, IS at 15t of silver as equiva-
lent to of sold. Our mint equivalents
are 1888 to I. That is, for her gold
equivalent of our mint unit, %. % grains
gold. Europe's valuation of silver APP
points 359 81 grains silver, while our
mint requirement is 371.2 grains. Com-
pared in price her coin valuation Of sill
yer is, therefore, 1873 cents, against ours
of 1919 cents, per fine ounce. That
is. our standard silver dollar would
recon into 1O3.Oj cents of
her standard: and 100 cents of hers
would recon into but $685. cents of
standard silver. Hence, 800 cents on
each 100 cents would be the absolute
loss to Europe, in addition to all the
costs of transportation, if the medium Of
our minis were selected to exchange her
full legal tender silver for the exact
equivalent to hers in gold. For such ex-
change of her 81. 100, 900, 900 silver, for
its exact equivalent TO her in gold,
Europe's loss would exceed S33, 0oO, 900.
and all the transit costs additional, and
with absolutely nothing more potential
as her full legal tender money obtained
by her in the exchange.
As to Europe's great banks they are
chartered institutions: may not coin
money: one of their functions is to earn
it; no one of them is TO lose money in
tentionalIv. Their silver reserves
and their gold reserves are exactly alike,
tracts. payment of debts including their
deposits, and for redemptions of their
notes. For these banks 10
employ our reopened minis as the
of exchanging their legal-tender
silver for its exact equivalent o them in
gold would occasion them a loss exceed
ing $4,000, 900. besides the costs of
freight, insurance, interest and light
weight of coin. in the transfer of bullion
to and from our minis. To attribute
such a proceeding to a bank which, for
the third time has willingly and easily
rescued the banking fraternityOf Eng
land from impending peril, would seem
10 be preposterous.
Also, against all dread of Europes sill
yer at our minis. observe that these
banks constitute a portion of the com
nunity of Europe which in trade with
India is annually indebted to India in
amount exceeding $50 900. 600. II Eu-
rope is burdened with surplus silver her
opportunity, past and future, Is
TO trade it off with India at gain in the
exchange India's legal-tender silver
rupee and the said European silver are
50 related to British standard gold, that
only 34S.3 grains silver is India require
nent, against 3599l as EurOpe's, and
against 371.25 as our mint requirement
IF silver in legal-tender coin equivalent
IF our unit, %. % grains of gold. EurOpe's
vast annual settlements with India be-
ne made in council bills bought in
London, instead of Europe's recoining
ler silver legal-tender money at this III
,reased valuation into rupees, is such a
neglect Of constant opportunity IS must
iatisfy the unprejud ced and well in
formed that Europe has IN fact no sur
plus or spare silver.
According TO the eminent statistician
# Paris, France, Mr.. Ottoman Haupt,
~ letter dated August IA, 1890, of whom
he Economist saws few have given
more attention than he 70 monetary sta
istics and affairs Neither viii Ger
many sell any more halers, nor Italy
ler demonetized Bourbonian piastres;
lav, even little Roumania looks already
on the 25.G00,O0O francs Of
ive-lie pieces disposed Of 10 a group of
FienneSe bankers
Finally, sharing the lamented score /
ary's convictions that neither all the
-Old nor all the silver of the world Is
for the money Of the world.
he coinage OF both metals seems TO me
o be the worlds necessity.
With the instances of Spain, France
md India remote, modern and present
S subs;antiating nv belief, / rely upon
he stupendOus figures Of our trade and
commerce 50 recently cOllated by the
in demonstration Of the COM
handing position Of the United States
mong the nations. 10 assert my convlc- 7
ion that our adoption Of equally free
oiuage for gold and silver, upon our
alto of i. 9Ss 10 I, would Be entirely
afe. eminentlv patriotic as an American |
Olicv, and strictly sound finance.
With the experience Of France during I
be period Of seventy years 70 1871, re- I
allied. also noting India as headquarters /
or the east. with her mlnts open, and I
While she constantly accumulated both /
old and silver from the outside world. /
~ conviction l. that equally /
rec coinage for gold and silver, /.
pom the appointed ratio would make I
be United States. New York city n 4
headquarters fol the com !
lercial worlds supplies Of both the /
money mentals; and with the minimum 4
rice Of silver always exceeding sl-2J 4
er ounce.
As 10 the reputed overproductlon Of /
liver IN the world: Note that for forty 4
ears q the seventy, during which 4
he minis OF France coined gold and 4
liver freely. on their ratio which values
liver S.0j cents on the dollar a gher
ian does ours, the world total prOduc-
on Of gold and silver was 4 per cent
liver The worlds present. ratio % pro
uciIOa Is only IS per cent silver Dur
- thirty years Of the period instanced
5 TO France. G5 per cent Il the pro nc
on was gold
II then equally free coinage shall be
1opied As cur monetary system, the az
80 circulation, as now, being u eerE1ii- !