The advocate., 1892-06-15

Scandinavian states, and the closure Of
the mints Of Spain, Holland, and the
Latin Union against 1t. Twelve months
ago two other causes were insisted upon,
namely, the falling off of the India de-
mand for silver and an enormous actual
and anticipated yield Of silver by the
Comstock lode. The Asiatic demand Is
fully restored, and the actual silver pro-
duction in Nevada Is now not only more
correctly understood, but discussion has
established the general conviction, which
has always been that Of the soundest
authorities, that no increase in the pro-
duction of the precious metals which is
at all probable would have any immediate
appreciable effect upon either their COM
bined or relative value.
Humboldt Fluctuations, etc, 1889
says:
In the modern world, the universally and
rapIdity of communication, which restore the
equilibrium as lCell as the amount of the dcClt-
muldted masses If gold and silvtr already er-
isttng, tend to render still more stable the rela-
tive value of the metals. The enormous
masses of precious metal already accumulated
in Europe render any considerable or con-
tinued variation in the relative value Of gold and
silver impossible. Experience has shown this.
In England, for instance, In the ten years from
1917 to 1927, more than 1,294,OOO marks Of gold
[Sl8O,959,OOOl were converted into money, and
yet this monopoly of gold only raised the pro-
portion Of 1t to silver from to 14.97 to to 156O
Any Increase In the production which
our imagination could cal into existence would
appear infinitely trifDg compared with the dc-
clInuGtiCns of thousands Of years nOlO IN Ctrcll-
lotion.
Changes in the relative value Of the
two metals are entirely different from
changes In their absolute value, or, In
other words, their value as compared
with all other things. Thus one metal
may have fallen greatly as compared
with the other, and at the same time not
only may not have lost, but may even
have increased in purchasing power. In
describing a divergence In the relative
value of the metals, without reference to |
the purchasing power of either, 1t Is as
correct to say that one has risen in value |
as to say that the other has fallen. In
fact, looking only to the relation of the
metals, both things have occurred. One
has fallen and one has risen, each rels-
lively to the other, to the full extent Of |
the divergence. In order to ascertain
whether silver has fallen or gold risen
since 1873, not relatively to each other,
but relatively to all other things, com
parison must be made between general
prices in gold and silver, respectively,
then and now. Such comparison would
show thatthe purchasing pOwerof gold has
increased since then In all countries, and
that the purchasing power of silver has
decreased In none.
The discussion of the use of silver as
money involves several questions, which,
if not dlvisible, are dlstinguishable; or,
In other words, If so intimately connected
as not to be susceptible of separate de-
cision, they are yet 80 distinct that it will
subserve the purpose of both clearness
and convenience to consider them separ-
ately.
The first is, whether the universal en-
ployment Of silver as money co-exten-
sively and concurrently with gold in
times past has been, upon the whole,
justified by adequate considerations.
The second is, whether, If 80 justified