Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1893-08-04

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WEEKLY TRIBUNE.
Eight pages. containing a summary Of the news Of
Friday, sent postage paid to any address, for ono
year -; six months, 81; three months. IS cents.
THE REIGN OF SILVER OVER.
It is an enthusiastic and earnest crowd
of people that is now assembled in Chi
cago to resolve in favor Of free silver,
but q mighty selfish and lmpracticable
crowd Notwithstanding. Two per cent.
only OF the people Of the United States
live in what are called the silver states,
and it is p~reposterous that they shall
ssum to dictate q financial policy for
the other SO per cent. The Chicago
Tribune quotes from the pen Of Ottoman
Haupt, the we'll known French author
ity or silver, in which the writer ex-
presses his decided conviction that "the
reign of silver is over in the civilized
world, and the fall of it's price will, prac-
tically speaking, be only limited by the
SSS VA p1OOuStlOu. LILO UcllCNcS IL
probable that after some heavy huctua-
tions during the time the matter is under
discussion in congress the metal will
settle down to about so cents per fine
ounce, with a tendency to fall still lower.
He quotes from the report of Mr.. Kim
ball of the Washington mint that the
average cost of silver production in 1887
was as follows: In Arizona, S3.2 cents;
California, 81; Colorado, 60.2; Utah, Az;
and in Montana, 1873 cents-the mean
being 5l.l cents per fine ounce. And he
cites authority for the statement that the
mean cost of production is 1883 for the
worlds output came to about 40 cents
only. He thinks thai with a drop to
actual market values for the white metal
the Mexican mines would increase their
production and try to make up for the
depreciation by an enlarged output.
Mexico alone being able to furnish
nearly all the silver required by the
world. These points may be commended
to the attention of the silver extremists
in the United States who refuse to
acknowledge that the cost of silver pro-
duction has changed materially in the
last twenty years and affect to believe
that the United States could control the
finances of the world by adopting free
coinage of silver at a theoretical price
nearly double it's actual value.
A little over two years ago, in a speech
made in Nevada regarding the silver
question, Senator Stewart SAID: "For
change I only want subsidiary coinage.
1 only want silver in bars piled up in the
treasury. Free coinage is impracticable.
1t is all nonsense, and men are dishonest
who want it. This the existing Sher-
man c%ompromise) bill gives us what we
want" AS to the cause of the flop on
this question the Los Angeles (Cal.)
Express asks: "Would free coinage (of
81 grain dollars) be any more honest
now than it would have been two years
ago? Why should it have been dishonest
then? Because the bullion value of the
silver in the silver dollar was then only
about 70 cents. Now the silver in that
same dollar, at the bullion rates, is
worth but 81 cents. Senator Stewart is
now of the foremost advocates of
free silver coinage (of 54.cent dollars.
When the Sherman act was passed in
1890 some of the strongest advocates of
silver money thought the effect would
be to raise the value of silver bullion to
its former parity with gold, at the Amer
can coinage ratio of 16 to l. But, despite
the government purchase of silver, $780,
600 ounces per month ever since, the
price of the metal, after a temporary rise
due to speculation, continued to decline,
as it did under the operation of the
Bland act, until now it is down to 70
cents an ounce. Nothing short of inter-
national bimetallism can restore silver
to its old place, and keep it there.