The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1893-07-01
FROM WASHINGTON.
A Disastrous Blow to Silver as Money
Metal.

A Disastrous Blow to Silver as Money
Metal.
WASHINGTON, June 27.-The action OF
India in stopping the free coinage of
monetary system of the United States
have been almost the only topics of con-
versation in Washington today. Secre-
tary Carlisle would say nothing on toe
situation for publication and other
officials of the Treasury Department
preferred to wait few days and watch
the course of events in the financial
world before making any predictions.
The one point upon which all seem to be
agreed is that silver has received blow
as a money metal from which it can
never fully recover, and while countries
like the United States aud France, that
have large stocks of silver on hand either
IN the form of bullion or coin, will use
every effort to buoy the price, it must
continue to decline. What will be the
point ultimately reached can only be
guessed at, but it will not be surprising
to some of the officials in the treasury if
the silver bullion in the silver dollar has
fallen to less than fifty cents before the
meeting of the special session of Con-
gress in September. 1t has even been
prophesicd that silver will fall as low as
fifty cents per ounce during the next few
months.
The immediate effect of every fall of
the price of silver on the monetary affairs
of this country is to increase the loss of
the government on all the Z liver that has
been purchased under tn, Sherman act
at higher price, while at Re same time
1t increases the percentage { every silver
dollar that rests entirely t. )n the faith
of the government. At I'll present price
of silver less than SO cents of the 100
represented by silver dollar are sup
ported by the actual value of the metal
in the coin, while the other al and
fraction cents are supported by the faith
of the people in the pledge of the govern
ment that all the currency in circulation
whether coin or paper, will be maintained
at par with gold. There has been fear
much lower and tho idea gets abroad
that the silver dollars are worth but half
their face value or less, there may be
refusals to take them at full value and
they may thus fall below par, or, as is
more generally, though Incorrectly, said,
& old may go to a premium. There is
little fear of any such result in financial
circles, however. The people remember
how the United States was able to resume
specie payments aud bring the greatly
deprecated greenbacks to par with gold,
and there is no reason to doubt but that
the deprecated silver would ultimately
be redeemed at par, even though every
cent of the intrinsic value of tle metal
should disappear.
There is great deal of uncertainty
here as to the length to which India is
" So thO uHC vi itOpbllS
gold basis and there has been some fear
expressed lest the demand for gold from
India might result in another run on
the United States for the yellow metal.
The United States in addition to being
the principal gold producing country in
the world is the country where gold can
be secured easier than any other On
account of the facility with which secu
rites can be sold on the Stock Exchange
in New York and the proceeds con.
verified into gold Tor expectation. Under
this system any banker in Europe who
has American securities can secure gold
for them upon very short notice if the
demand for gold abroad if sufficient to
justify him in paying the rate of exchange
that may prevail at the time. All fear
of a run on the United States for gold
for India is probably groundless however
for two reasons one of which is that the
Indian authorities will not likely pay
premium for gold and the state of the
trade balance between tho United states
and Europe is not oh as would justify
the export of any great amounts of gold
from this country without the payment
of premium; the other reason is that
India has plenty of gold herself. 1t is
curious fact but one illustrative of the
effect of having a debased currency, that
India has been for years large importer
OF gold and it is estimated that there is
now about $500, 100000 in gold boarded
in that country. The value of the legal
tender silver coin of the country has
deprecated so rapidly and has fiuctuated