The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1893-07-27
The silver Crisis.

The Silver Crisis.
The action OF India in closing the
minis to the unlimited coinage of sill
yer is of unusual Importance to the
world, and to the United States in par.
ticular.
India has long been the dumping
ground for silver. Its standard has
been silver, and its currency has been
silver. In recent years it coined nearly
a third OF the worlds silver product,
to say nothing OF the silver bullion it
used in the arts and in settling foreign
balances. That. practically single
handed, it has been unable to with
stand the almost universal preferences
for gold and maintain silver stability,
was inevitable. Even with the United
States, under the Bland and Sherman
laws, furnishing market for another
third OF the silver product, silver has
huctuated between wide extremes, the
tendency being steadily downward.
1t Is this fuctuation and this depre-
citation in value which have resulted in
the discontinuance of unlimited silver
coinage in India. Basing its commerce
upon such variable medium of ex-
change, India in business matters has
been but little better than a gambler.
The rupee has been declining in value
for years, and the Government has for
some time been considering the ques-
ton OF what could be done to arrest
this depreciation and provide q more
stable currency. 1t was natural that
it should do just what it has done. 1t
has attempted to fix the value OF the
silver already coined and closed the
hoodgates against future coinage. In
other words, it has attempted to do
| what, other nations have done, utilize
silver as money by limiting it, AS
other nations would not join win In
dia on a silver basis, India will be com
PEELED to join with them on u gold
basis,
This leaves the United States as the
only Government of any consequence
which is trying to hold up silver
against the world. We could not do
it when India's minis were open how
can we expect to support the load now
that practically the entire burden is
on our shoulders? Naturally rupee
paper has advanced some, and as nat.
urally silver bullion has taken tum.
bic. Yesterday>it reached the lowest
price ever known, going below rs
cents; and 70 cents is just so cents
an ounce less than than the price
which silver bullion should command
to make the silver dollar worth 10C
cents
The advocates OF free silver coinage
) in this county, independent inter
national cooperation, have long used
India as fulcrum on which they
worked the levers Of their arguments
! Now that that fulcrum has been taken
away from them they will turn abou
and contend that it is more than nee
essary for the United States tn con
tinue It's silver purchasing policy il
order TO prevent the utter collapse O
5 silver bullion. But we have been un
: able to keep up the price with India
Q help, and we could not do it alone
. Our only safety is, net to attempt b,
! fictitious means to prevent the price
! from going lower, but to make sure 0
the maintenance at par of the silver
u amounting to over four hundred mil
: lion dollars, that we have alread,
: coined. With these dollars already de
Y lpreciated 40 per cent, it is necessar,
: that the Government, whose credit i
V pledged for that discrepancy betweei
/ the actual and the face value OF on
!; silver currency, shall be able to redeem
t its pledges. Every doHar Of our siIve
currency, just as every dollar OF on