New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-07-19
Governor? Let us come to terms. We stlii
cling about your knees.


The silver men who framed the Denver ad-
dress seem surprised that they are generally
treated as having made themselves ridiculous
But there are some assertions so absurdly con-
trary TO facts universally known as to excite
nothing but derison. One of these was the as
sertion that the cost of mining silver is now ana
constantly has been ~ 30 per ounce. Every
body knows that the producers of silver have
not been getting that price for it. Everybody
also knows that they have not been mining
silver at loss.
Possibly the authors of this s1plent declara-
ton may say that they only meant to insist
upon their constitutional right to regard the
standard silver dollar as the one and only dol
lar to be used as measure of value, and that
rs Government has issued coins at the rate of
81 30 per ounce of silver therefore that is and
has been its only true price But even that
evasion does not serve. The producers of sill
yer have for two years and eleven months
been selling it to the Government and recciv-
ing for it, not coined dollars at the rate of
81 30 per ounce, but paper promises to pay
dollars at the rate of less than 81 per ounce
Within the fiscal year in which the present act
was passed silver bullion was sold at about
81 cents per ounce last year it fell in August
to SO cents and within the last half-ycar the
silver producers have actually accepted for
bullion only 81 cents per ounce in some cases
and only 10 cents or less in many Transactions
That is. they have offered to take and have
taken paper which, when redeemed according
to its terms, would bring for 90 ounces of sill
yer bullion less than so in standard silver
dollars, either in this or any ether market.
This statement was particularly foolish, for
the a,on that it called general attention t.
the weakest point of the silver argument. 1t
has been claimed that silver must be recog-
nzcd and used at the old coinage rate, and
will not dcbasc the currency, because it is
really worth and costs as much as ever, and
only a fictitious or arbitrary valuation in gold
has changed. Yet the silver miners have been
producing more silver since the price fell be-
low so cents in standard silver dollars than
they produced when the market price was
over 81 and for time 81 30 in standard sill
YER dollars. No matter what kind Of money
paid in August 1890, when the price went
up t. ~ II, it was in any case money which
then circulated at par with standard silver
dollars. Precisely the same is true of the
money paid, whatever it may have been, when
there were sales in June at g. cents per ounce.
1t was in the market the equivalent of the
standard silver dollar. and would buy no more
and no less. The minc-owncrS sold in every
practical sense. / 900 ounces of silver bullion
for $500 in standard silver dollars.
During this tremendous fall in price. from
81 81 in 1890 TO 81 cents in 1892, the worlds
production Of silver actually increased. The
official reports of the mint state that the pro-
ducton was 1332l2,6sO ounces in 1890.
when the highest price was reached, and
lJ2 ,061 500 ounces in 1892, when the price
had declined nearly 40 cents per ounce-or
about third Of course the exceptional price
obtained in 1890 was nor the true market
value then but throughout that year the low
est price received was % cents AT New York,
and from that point to So cents last year there
was "A heavy decline. Yet the miners increased
their output. The obvious and really una
yoidablc conclusion is that miners can afford 10
produce far greater quantity of silver than
the world takes fer use ard with profit at
only about 80 cents per ounce. How much
lower the price can go without materially
curtailing the production is not known.