The Lamar register., 1893-09-02

twenty years was in 1892, when 1t stood 20. ~
ounces of silver to one ounce Of gold.
1t should be borne In mind that the ratio of
16 TO means price of about s1.29 per
ounce for silver, the price being measured In
gold. The present price Is about 70 cents an
ounce, which means that 1t would now require
2914 ounces of silver bullion to buy one ounce
of gold bullion.
1t is urged by gold monometallists that the
decline In the relative value Of silver during
the past twenty years is due to the great In
crease In the annual production of silver dur
Ing that time. Ii is evident to eve-y one that
in comparing the relative supply from time
to time OF articles not consumed in the using,
the comparison must be made on the basis of
the total existing stock, and such comparison
as shown by statistics already used, demon
states that the worlds stock of gold has in
creased In greater proportion since 1872 than
has the stock of silver. The conclusion Is in
evitable that the change in the relative value
oil the two metals Is not due to any recent
disparity of production.
From 1853 to 1877 the worlds product of
gold was s., ,Ss3 900, 900 and of silver S9i2, l00
600, an excess OF gold over silver of 81 AL
soO,0 900; yet during this period silver only
fuctuated between 81. SO and $l32 per ounce.
Between 1873 aud 1892 the product Of gold
was 81, l51 900 900 and of silver 81 3i1 900 600.
But during this period the maximum yearly
average price of silver Sl.29 per ounce,
and the minimum yearly average was 81 cents
per ounce, making variance Of AZ cents per
ounce.
II relative production ia the cause, and sole
cause OF changes in price, We find this re-
markable anomaly, that the excess OF gold
product in twenty years, 81, AL ,000, 900, made
a difference In relative value OF only cents
per ounce for silver, but that in the next
twenty years an excess of only $3.50, 600 900 in
/ silver product made difference of AZ cents
per ounce in price; in other words, by cotn-
pairing the two periods, that less than one
seventh OF the cause produced more than
eleven times the effect. 1t Is very clear
tive production has operated in changing the
| price of silver. The true cause is readily
found in the changes which have been made
| in coinage laws.
! Let It be admitted that demand controls
! price, yet for the precious metals, gold and
| silver, money uses constitute the principal
demand and, therefore, chiefly determine
value. This at once explains why. In the
/ twenty years from 1853 to lsI2, inclusive, the
remarkable disparity in the production OF the
l two metals had very slight effect on the price
of silver, and that during the succeeding
twenty years that variance was so great. If
/ the countries which demonetized silver should
| reverse the process-demonetize gold and
take away from 1t the right of free coinage,
and give the right of free coinage to silver
and make 1t legal tender, then present condi-
/ tions would be reversed and gold would be-
/ come the ''hfty-cent dollar and silver the
dollar at par.
| The statement that silver men want the
I government to pay dollar for what Is actual
/ ly worth only 20 cents, or less, misstates the
situation, and II can with equal truth be said
I that the mouometallists want the government
I to pay sl.b0 for the gold which is actually
worth only 81. The advocates Of bimetallism
Z simply wish a restoration of the policy which
existed in all the commercial world prior to
I 1916, and in all the commercial world except
/ Bugland, until 1873, the abandonment OF
which has brought about most serious disaster
| which seems likely to increase until u change
of policy IS resorted to.
Although the worlds supply of gold has In
creased 3g. So per cent and the worlds sup
ply of silver has increased 34.U per cent
since lS12, yet the general average of al
prices has fallen In these twenty years more
than 30 per cent, which means that relative
ly the metallic basis of money circulation ha:
appreciated In value more than 30 per cent.
in twenty years, and II is remarkable fac
that when gold and silver separately are com
pared with the general average of all prices
this appreciation seems to be in gold alone
In other words, the relative value of silver
compared with the average prices of all the
great staples, has huctuated but slightly
while the value of gold In reference to al
these prices has increased upwards of 80 pei
cent. This has the manifest effect in thost
countries, which, by reason of the operation
of coinage laws, are practically on the golC
/ basis, of causing all the evil effects resulting
from a contraction of the circulating medium
That is the case to- day in the United States
and In England, and to some extent, in otheI
countries using gold and maintaining theii
currency at parity with gold. On the other
hand, in silver-using countries such as Mexico
and India, there has been no such decline in
relative prices OF domestic products and o.
wages. Nevertheless, those countries have
been very seriously crippled, from the fact
that they owe immense Indebtedness in gold
using countries, which has to be paid In gold
or its equivalent, and, therefore, taxes have
to be raised TO alm ost double the amount foi
the purpose OF paying the interest and princi
pal OF such debts, as compared with what
would be paid II the two metals stood at the
old parity. India has suffered incredibly by
this condition, and Mexico Is now sin the
tolls' by reason of the same conditions.
Austria has recently added sl54, COO ,00t
in gold to her reserve, and Russia during the
past few years has increased her gold reserves
to the amount of S431 ,0O0, 600 This Increased
and still growing demand has already pro-
duced its effects in the United States, and is
manifestly a large factor-and probably the
principal factor-in precipltating the present
financial crisis.
The evils of contracted currency are al.
ready upon US, and yet 1t ia now proposed tc
still further increase the demand for gold
without any known possible way of making .
corresponding Increase in its supply, by put
ting the United States definitely on gold
basis, and by stopping even the present in
crease of silver circulation.
This would so increase the money demand
for gold that much greater decline in all
| values prices and wages must inevitably fol
low. But more than this If the United
States should accept the single gold standard,
this would compel India to pursue the same
| action as its definite and permanent policy, as
! is clearly shown by its tentative action in the
| present summer.