Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1892-09-07
THE SILVER COMMISSION.

The Engineering and Mining
Journal, Of New York City. is gener>
ally looked upon As "gold.bug."
Yet due regard for truth compels US
to state that it has been . consistent
advocate of bi.mesalism. In it's latest
issue the Journal discusses, with ito
usual impartiality, few of the ques-
tons to come before the approaching
conference, and takes q hopeful view
', of the result. We quote its article
entire:
The approaching meeting Of the
international Silver Commission is of
far greater importance than that
of any previous commission, for at the
present time the enormous decline in
the value OF silver has brought US face
to face with problem gradually
affecting the people Of the whole
world. 1t is no longer possible to
swat and see" or to defer action on
this momentous question. Either
some joint action must now be taken
to support the value Of silver or silver
will at once and inevitably descend in
every part Of the world to condition
of mere commodity like copper, to
be used in token coinage and whose
value will be regulated, IS is that of
copper, except in tho case Of tempo.
rary "corners," strictly by supply and
demand, and the demand under these
circumstances would unquestionably
be SO small that the price of silver
would quickly decline to point which
would close temporarily the greater
part of the worlds silver mining. The
adoption of free silver coinage by one
country-even if it should be the
United States-in addition to India,
Mexico, Japan, ETC., would not post
pone, but rather hasten this disastrous
consummation.
There is absolutely no device or
scheme for the betterment OF silver
that is Of the least value unless it pro-
vides a gold paying market for the
metal which will permit any holder of
silver to exchange it for gold at a fixed
and unvarying ratio. Since 1873,
when silver was "demonetized" in the
United States land, according to free
coinage advocates, the "demsnd" for
silver ceased), the purchases by the
government have steadily and rapidly
increased until during the last two
years the government has been buying
practically the entire output of this
country and paying for it i'll gold or in
certificates that are redeemable in
gold.
If this country were to adopt free
silver coinage this gold paying market
would at once be closed, and silver,
whether coined in legal tender dollars
or not, would be worth what 1t would
bring, directly or indirectly, in gold in
the markets of the world, pre- cisely as
is tie case in India and Mexico to>day,
aud the disaster and distress that are
now existing in or impending over
those free coinage countries, would be
ours also.
1t must be very evident to every
one who gives tte subject moments
serious thought that if silver were
worth more in gold here than in India
and the rest of the world all their sill
yer Guild come here and would take
our gold in exchange, SO that in a
moment, as it were, we would have
only silver With which to pay for pro-
ducing our cotton, grain, copper, and
all other articles whose values here are
regulated by their gold values in the
European markets. The gold value OF
silver would assuredly go down faI
below any figure yet reached.
II free silver coinage would there
fore inevitably deprive US at once OF
over s6S0,OOO,000 gold, whlchis much
more than half of all our money, de.
press the gold value of silver and bring
US down to bartering q fuctuating
silver for other c. mmodities of 1uctu-
ating values, this country would suffer
commercial and industrial disaster
which would place it entirely at the
mercy of the gold standard countries
and from which 1t would not recover
in fifty years. Yetthe United States
being q very rich country, could stand
the loss on, say 5000. 100000 of silver,
far better than the European coun'
tries. which have fully $1,O00,00o,OO(
Of full legal tender silver coins in cir
culation, at til. ratio of 15t to land
than India and Mexico, with thei'
enormous circulation.
1t is evident that what is to the in
terest of the United States is equally
to the interest Of all the great COM
mercial nations, and common action
to support the value of silver is desir
able to each, and to none more than te
Great Britain, with its free coinsgt
India and its great silver producing
colonies. There should be 20 insup
cradle difficulty in bringing about ar
agreement among the representatives
r. <ha ailver con f. ROM m uDon n snh