New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-08-14


There is nothing mysterious or strange aoou'
This decline. Two years ago q House was crew
ed which was expected to vote Tor Tree sl'e'
cona 90 by an overwhelming majority opec"-
lators here and abroad began to take chances
on the possibility that a Free-COinage ACT OF
some sort might be framed which the Presldeh'
would not kill with veto. AT the same time'
miue.owners prepared themselves to reap
larger harvest from the expected advance In
silver bullion. and increased their output. IN
other countries nearly all bankers. capitalists
and men of resources concluded that free com
age if undertaken by the United states, wouid
only nut silver bullion down 10 a lower value
in gold than before. and that defeat OF the
offort for free coinage must have similar
effect. Consequently investments in silver
ware few. Practical men took more and more
care 20 get their business into such shape that
further decline in silver would not anect
Them. A large part of the exchanges between
rurope and the East has now been placed on
a gold basis and every huctuation thus tends
to diminish the use of silver in settling balances
with India or the Orient.
Diminishing use increased production ana
growing belief among financial classes that Sill
YER must decline are forces which cannot DE
resisted When Congress began to talk OF Tree
coinage the mines increased an output when
was already much In excess OF the worlds de-
mands. For some months TO come, II Is prop
able. the actual production Of silver IN this
country will not be known. but II trade es'i-
mates are not wholly In error it has consider
ably EXPANDED. The demand for the Last mas
not correspondingly enlarged, but, Tor reasons
stated. has been limited by the prudence ana
forecast of tnancers. The United States mas
becn buying. but within the last two months
a doubt has sprung up and rapidly increased
whether this country can afford to continue such
purchases. sooner or later, men reason, the
cold reserve must become inadequate if Eu-
rope draws away gold for securities returned
while the volume of paper in circulation IL con-
tinually enlarged
In ono sense. defeat Of free silver in Con-
press and the adjournment without action on
the subject must be reclloned the CHIEF cause
of the decline In price Yet no such decline
would have followed, it is probable, If unbound
cd hopes had not been encouraged by Congress
sional agitation. No one can say how low SILVER
ought 10 fall, because no one can say how much
the present production exceeds the worlds de-
mand for silver in actual use.
The one practical remedy, which can be APP
piled with success by commercial nations IS
offered through the international conference.
r. an agreement can there be reached, the bene-
fits to this country, and especially 20 silver
producers will be very great. Wisely the
Government has cxertcd itself TO bring about
this conference and to impress foreign Powers
with sense OF the Importance OF concerted
action. But if all these efforts should be IN
vain. ard if tho burden and responsibility should
again be thrown back upon the United states
alone it might become a duty TO consider
whether the complete stoppage of silver coin
agc and Of purchases of silver would not be
necessary. in order to compel other nations to
meet fairly their share of the burden and the
rslI