New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-02-05
THE CURRENCY AND THE SILTER QUES-
TON

IION.
II may fairly he questioned whether the APP
prehension Of silver coinage is not doing some
mischief There is more tax about 1t in Wall
Street OF late, and there are some signs that
unemployed money Is being turned into gold
certificates in rather unusual amounts. On Jan
uary / these certificates in circulation outside
the Treasury were Sl4s, 1O6,1l9, and on Febru-
AIRY / had increased to S1G3.17s,959, or more
than $15,10O.0O0 in month. Bur the amount
of gold coin and bullion held in the Treasury
increased only $1,000, 900, showing that over
S11. zoo, 600 Of the gold certificates have been
issued otherwise than for gold deposited in tho
Treasury.
A partial explanation is found in the fact that
the new Treasury notes in circulation have in
creased during the month only about S100, 600,
although the purchase Of silver at the rate Of
500 900 ounces "A month would naturally have
placed about that amount of these notes in circu-
lation. In fact, the Withdrawal Of silver notes
from circulation practically equals the increase
in new Treasury notes, so that indirectly gold
certificates have gone into circulation for all the
silver purchased As the coinage II silver has
been small, and the amount Of standard silver
dollars in tho Treasury has increased more than
$500, 900, it follows that about this amount
has been retired from circulation. I'm place Of
this also. IL would seem, gold certificates have
indirectly been issued. Tho excess of cXpcn1-
lures over receipts of the Treasury during the
month was S5,12O,70 including the rcdcmp-
ton Of bank notes; while the issue of legal
tenders and currency certificates in excess of
rcccipts was only SO, 500, 900. The chief change
remains the addition Of SIS, 100000 gold Ger
tfcatcs to the circulation, against $1,000, 600
gold taken into the Treasury.
Silver bullion has declined to il.5G pence per
ounce, within fraction of the lowest point ever
touched and it is believed that the continuing
sales by this country have been tho principal
cause But the sales mean that the advocates
of free coinage here are no longer disposed, as
they were when the last bill passed to hold silver
bullion in warehouses or rciincrles or banks or
at the mines, in the hope of an advance in
price. This seems to indicate that nose who
are most interested in silver do not themselves
look for a real advance in the price as the result
of free coinage and it is well known that some
of them now admit that unrcstTaned coinage
would probably cause u premium on gold without
DELAY. In that event, while silver and notes
the gold coin and all notes and certificates re-
doemabe in gold would command "A premium,
and the price Of silver bullion in gold would be
more likely TO fall than to rise
The circulation outside the Treasury q all
kinds of money has been largely increased in
January. Tho official statement shows that the
aggregate on February | was S1G03, S55,12S,
against S1.5SS,7s1,729 on January l. an in
crease of about S15OOO,OO0. Six months ago
the circulation was only Sl,499, 0O0,O 600, so that
the increase in half year has been more than
a hundred millions This increase has been
partly due to continuing purchases OF silver in
the six months about 2700O,OOO ounces; in
part to the redemption oil about twenty six mill
ions of four-and-a half per cent bonds; in part
to the return OF about thiry-nine millions gold
from Europe, and in part to the excess OF Treas
ury payments over receipts. But for seven
| months the latter excess has been only about