Morning journal and courier., 1894-05-11
CoMMU UyICATIoNS.
The silver 0ufkfInu


 The London Economist calls attention to the persistence with which gold con tinues to How to London from foreier oountries. It says thst there has not beer single week sincs the beginning of the year in which the receipts of gold at the Bank Of England have not exceeded the withdrawals. The net influx for the seven. teen weeks amounts to $22. GEO, %. As there has been during the same period s gain of sl4, l2S, ,475 gold from the domes. tic circulation, the banks stock of the yellow metal has risen to the enormous total of sl59, l91 ,025, in comparison with $l22, AZ, ,560 st the end of last year. The Economist draws a pertinent lesson for the bimstsllist alsrmists from this piethorfe supply of the yellow metal. When bimelsllists, 1t says, fare be- wailing more loudly than ever sn alleged scarcity of gold, 1t would be well If they could give us some reasonable explanation of this accumulation. They have always been proclaiming that, unless 8 larger use was made of silver, the struggle for gold would become go intense as to produce widespread disaster. And we zee how their predictions are being fulfilled" Tothe Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER.
 The above paragraph appears in your paper to day; it seems to be a mystery, 6 refutstion or somshow a conundrum es pecially fatal to the doctrines of the bi. metallist. Just g word, since 1t has coms SO far.
 If stream Is damned up no one is sur. prised to find that pond immediately forms above the dam.
 There is & continuous stream of pay. ments in gold setting from nearly all the towns, cities and countries of the world towards London. Is consists of four principal smaller, converging. uniting streams.
 l. one from the interest and the repay ments of principal of debts and obligations due and payable in London. This is the largest of the four.
 2. From the balance of trade in mer. chandise In favor of Great Britain ss against all the nations of the earth con sidered as whole.
 8 From the payment for supplies and for the ga sries for the foreign military and civil service of the British Empire.
 4. The payment for transportation of persons and property In British ships and the dividends on investments abroad, the expenses of tourists and such items.
 They all make enc stream of gold setting towards London.
 In all ordinary times this stream of gold is immediately passed on without ID uch in. terruption into investments in property and new loans that flow back again to the ends of the earth. But now the disuse of the new silver in the commercial world, in the face of a rapidly increasing nesd of an increasing volume of money, works 6 sharp and definite contraction of the mon.y ' volume ss 6 whole. This produces & con- tinuous down trend of prices of commoii- ties-or an increase in the value of morey, the same thing.
 Investors largely decline to purchaee commodities and property except under special conditions, because they believe they will be cheaper next fall or next year, and distributors buy only what they can immediately sell. They know the money will rise in vslue if it is kept safe.
 Good borrowers are scarce and chery of borrowing because they, toe. see that except HI 5ohC PtnIcs LLSg nSpC to make money by investing 1t In property and in the payment Of wsges, became prices fall before the commodity can be sold
 Many business men have failed, others do ss little as possible and use as little money as possible, others go out of busi- mesa and use no money and employ ro labor
 They pay mp their debts while theil property can be sold at a higher price rather than wait till 1t must te sold st a lower price.
 The result Is that all this constitutes 6 dam across the stream Cf gold in London and forms there a pond OF gold which the Economist takes notice or.
 This Is exactly what bimetsllists have predicted must occur. Lsss money in the world as 8 whole, would drive down prices of commodities and tend to drive what money there is back to the habitat of creGi tors and leave 1t there. They have claimed and predicted that decreasing volume oi money in the whole world would cause 6 world wide down trend of prices. Tha has occurred and Is occurring now They said that millions of money would b, unused aud millions of men would ps un. used nor the other be employed at prof by the ordinary body of business men This Is the whole story in a smsll compass ss bimetsllist sees it.
 JOSEPH SHELDON.