The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1893-09-14

you destroy 1t as q money metal you
take away the chief demand For it, and,
OF course, lower its price.
Now, supposing, what is hardly sup
possible, that when We establish free
coinage at the ratio of 16 to l, that all
the silver of the world, coined and un-
coined, were pouring into the United
States, in q very short time all the ma
tions which use subsidiary coin would be
out OF silver; all the nations which use
silver as full legal tender, and all the
peoples of the world WHO use silver in
the arts and for industrial purposes,
| would find themselves in the same condi-
ton, and would have to come to the
United States for their supply of silver.
They could buy it from no man here for
less than it's coming value: therefore,
throughout the world, it would at once
become equal to gold, and it would fol-
low that we would soon have to supply
the demand for it in every country.
Soon as its bullion price began to ap-
proach that OF gold, the latter would
come hallway down to meet silver going
up, then it would rapidly flow out to
supply the coin demand of the world,
which would once more become bimetallic,
as it was twenty years ago. No man
possessed of any silver in other coun-
ing price in America, and SO England
would have to pay for the silver with
which she supplies India the coinage price
in the United States, and India would
be compelled to be supplied with silver,
for there is not 5000, OOO,0 900 of spare
gold in the world to replace India s silver
money.
1t is said that the production would
be SO great if there was free coinage and
silver was at it's normal price per ounce
that the world would soon be flooded
with it, l do not believe that. There
is nothing in the statistics to show that
that would be the case. During the
period of one hundred years, from 1892
to 1898, the production of gold in the
world was s., 533 ,9OS, OOO-the produc-
ton OF silver was $5,1O4 ,961 900, a
difference of only about 100000, 900
and that in favor of gold; and we might
go further back if the insufficient Stats
tics of the Dark Ages could be depended
upon, and show generally that the pro-
duction OF the two metals would average
| about the same.
For what reason is it held, then, that
this ratio of production OF the two metals
will continue to the end? Is not nature
consistent with herself? Ii the digging
into the earth for 1, 900 years have shown
that there exists in her bosom on the
average about fifteen times as much
silver by weight as of gold, why should
we doubt future development from an
| accidental departure now and then of
either metal from the average proportion
OF forty centuries?
Surely the gold-standard men should
give better reason for distrusting ma
ture than some bankers 'want of con-
tidence.'
\ great impetus was given to silver
in the era Immediately following the dis
cOvery of America and the opening of the
famous mines of Mexico and South
America. Discoveries of gold at the
same time kept that metal pretty we'll
up with silver.
| \ great impetus was also given to gold
by the discoveries in California and
Australia, which made gold forge largely
ahead OF silver in the amount of produc-
ton; and this continued, making silver
at a premium above gold, until within
the last twenty years, when the develop
ment OF the mines in Colorado and Ne
vada have put silver ahead in the
amount OF production.
The production of silver in the United
States in the past fiscal year, measured
by it's coinage value, was STA, $3.50 900;
its market value, $5O,75O,OOO, whilst
the production of gold was $33 100000
OF this sum nearly one-half of the gold
was used in the arts. or $16,616 900,
while OF silver there was used in the arts
more than one-eighth, or 9,1O6,OOO
leaving altogether of gold and silver for
currency purposes only $S1 100000 for
that year, of which about $64, 100000
was silver. A large amount Of this was
| TO of nfrioc ho
total silver production of the world in
1892 was $196, 900, in round num-
bers.
l have no reliable estimate of the
| amount of silver used in the world per
annum for. industrial purposes, but |
have never seen it stated at less than
p per cent, and | do not think that far
, out of the way; if anything, it is under
t that mark. This would make in the
t neighborhood of $53,OO0,OOO of the
annual production of the world, leaving
; something near SLAB 100000 for cur
, rency purposes. This would give us
about $4,000, 900 of silver per annum
[ to dispose of, provided we adopt the free
coinage and all of the silver of the world
should come here except that which is
used in the arts.
But we know this is not reasonable or
/ possible; we know that the subsidiary
, coinage of foreign countries would not
come here, and that much silver would
, be required to supply that. We know
| that much more of it would be required
, to coin silver in those countries where it
Is still legal tender, and inasmuch as the
!, price would go up to the coming value
, in the United States, we know that that
fact would induce many nations to coin
; more and make it legal tender.
Mr.. President, | always have believed
that ii we were to resort to the free coin
age OF silver we should have very little
more silver to dispose OF than we have
: had to dispose OF under the purchases
OF the Sherman law; and l always have
believed that under that law, if silver
. had had fair trial by a friendly Govern
ment and friendly officials, there would
not this day have been the outcry against
it that there is, and it would not have
been held up as a sample of what our
danger would be if we resorted to free
, coinage.
The idea so sedulously put forth that
we can not give silver or anything else
a value by law is false. 1 fancy there is
not manufacturer in the United States
/ who has grown rich by high tariff who
accedes to that proposition. 1t is true
the law OF supply and demand controls
the bullion price OF silver as of other
things, but it is also true that the de-
mand is in theeontrol of the Government.
Silver has never at any time within the
last hundred yeas fallen in consequence
OF more being produced than there was
any demand fort has always been de-
preclated by legislation which reduced
the demand
In the time when the world was filled
with gold from the mines of Australia and
California there was no unfriepdly Ieeis-
lation against gold, therefore it depre-
ciated very little. The increase of enter
prises, enlarged commerce, and produc-
ton absorbed it all. as have said, and
the world was benefited thereby. So,
but for unfriendy legislation, would it
be with silver. If every dollar dug out
OF the earth was Immediately coined and