The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1893-07-08
Tl,a = r G OF "a.
Minneapolis Tribune.

too busy to Keep track OF the hntsnciaI
changes of the day and are not now III
n position to intelligently follow the
comments thereon. The inquiries cover
the entire field of the Sherman silver
net, the Bland act, free coinage, the
price of silver, the value OF the metal
in the dollar, the act OF India, and the
extra session. For the benefit Of those
who have failed to follow the threads
of discussion and who wish tofamlilar
ize themselves with the main Facts
and issues involved in the coming con-
gressional contest, the Tribune viii
attempt brief presentation.
The full text Of the Sherman act IS
published in another column OF the
Tribune. To those who do not care to
wade through the full text it VIII be
sufficient to know that the sherman
act, first, directs the secretary of the
treasury to go into the market and
buy at market prices f,5G0,UUO ounces
of silver bullion 4 month, or 5l,0od,009
ounces a year. The government pays
fer this bullion by Issuing what IS
known as treasury notes. Upon the
demand of the person who holds these
notes, the secretary Of the treasury
shall redeem them ''in gold or silver
coin, at his discretion" 10 maintain
the confidence Of the people III these
notes. however, it has been The custom
Of the secretary to redeem them III
gold almost exclusively. Thus Of 3d.
600, 900 of treasury notes that have
been presented during the past year,
the government has redeemed 81 ,&G0,
600 of them in gold Indirectly, there
fore, the government has been paying
out gold coin for silver bullion. Dur
ing the first year, from July II, 1890,
to July l, 1891, the Sherman act di
rected the secretary to coin every
month 5000, coo of the /, 500 000 ounces
Of silver bullion which he bought.
Since July II, 1890, to the present
sine, there have been purchased q
little over 5000, 900 ounces, of which
Tnainder, 13o,Go0, 600 ounces, have been
stored in tie government vaults, where
they now lie. The average price paid
for this silver bullion in 1890 was 5i.0G
All ounce; III 1891, 50 cents; III 1892,
s74 cents; in 1888, s.! cents. Last
Friday silver bullion was worth On the
market only 81 cents. The l&G,GG0,039
ounces which the government on July
l had stored III silver bars cost it 2lI&,-
100000, largely in gold, and it was
worth last Friday at market prices
only about -, o0G,GQ0
The amount Of pure silver which is
melted into the silver dollar is 37ll
grains, OF little oyer threefourths Of
al ounce. An ounce of silver is $50
grains. To find the value Of the silver
metal in dollar therefore, multiply
tie market value Of an ounce Of silver
Dy ogif and divide the result by $50.
5hea, accordingly, in 1890, shortly
al 20 he passage Of the Sherman act,
ii. .er bullion rose to the value of 1921
an ounce, the 37l4 grains in the silver
dollar were worth IS! cents; and when
on June 80, 1890, silver bullion fell to
6Z cents an ounce, the silver i'll the
dollar was worth only IS cents. The
value Of the pure metal in the dolla"
has therefore declined 463 cents in less
THAI three years. The value of the
si'y2T dollar is maintained, however,
a Kept on q par with gold, because
tae government Will take il for any
plrpose at the same value for which ii
will take gold.
Before the Sherman act was passed
on July II, 1890, there had been III
force since February -, 1879, what is
known as the Bland act. This act re
quired the secretary of the treasury to
buy and coin every month not less
than 100000 and not more than l.
9,9G0 ounces of silver bullion. Under
- 4 It PSI 800, 0l9 ounces Of silver
7a~e 1oaght, costing $30S, l&9,2 POI, an
erase of %l.o5S per ounce. The rea-
s9l 1rny the Sherman act was passed,
-@cTcasing the amount Of the govern
'e2t S monthly purchase, was to stm-
nate the value of silver, which had
"a 'an from ?l.l6 in 1873 to 93I cents
= ounce in 1859. The Immediate eff
f9cs Of the Sherman act was to raise
.lver bullion to |l.2l The value,
however, Immediately declined again
to 90 cents III 1891 and S75 cents in
1892, and finally to the present %
cents, which is the lowest price for
silver III history.
s'he attempt of the government TO
maintain the price OF silver Ivy enter
,nS the markets as a purchaser, has
therefore been failure. The reason
IS that the production Of silver has in
creased With the increase Of the gov
ernmelt's purchases The silver pro
Cr.co OF he United States following
the var was 15,Go0,0ao ounces 4 year.
When the Bland act passed the annual
p-0d,ct increased to 45ua3,o GOO ounces,
and when the Sherman act passed the
product grew to 75,euo.eg0 ounces
With the cost of production at from
&c 20 90 cents an ounce, and new veins
being discovered monthly, production
,las constantly oUtrun the govern
122nt'S power to consume, ana the de
cline III price has been inevitable.
ihe impending silver crisis was Pre-