The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1894-09-28
POSSIBLE SETTLEMENT on THE Sill
YER QUESTION.


Less than twenty FIVE years ago, OF be
fore the enormous finds Of silver in this
and some other countries, but principally
IN the United States, one ounce Of gold
bullion Was only worth fifteen Of silver,
although tho basis for coinage was six
teen to one IN the United States, and 15s
TO in France; u to in England and
Germany. The silver mines ii Mexico
and sonth America had become 50 nearly
exhausted that working them had in
MANY instances ceased, while the dis
covery Of gold IN California, and, later ON,
in Australia in enormous quantities, was
constantly changing the relative pro-
portion Of the two metals, silver becom-
ing scarcer and gold more plentiful.
As before remarked, the rich silver
mines were discovered during the sixties,
which far surpassed the expectations Of
any one. If the free and unlimited coin
age of both metals had been continued
botl in Europe and this country, while
the relative amounts Of gold and silver
would have changed, their relative
valEss wOnld not have changed to any
extent, but silver money would have
vastly increased. 1t was to prevent this
that silver was damonetized first in
Europe and then in the Unitod States.
The creditor class are always interested
in making money scarce and dear, for in
proportion as they do this they increase
its purchasing power. In the same pro-
portion as the creditor class is benefited
the debtor class injured.
It is not our intention to go into any
extensive argument of this question, but
suppose the relative volume Of gold and
silver in the world should once more
be ehanged-that on the western slope
of the mountain range that traverses
South America from north to south, the
California gold episode should be re-
peated, and that gold should be discov-
cred in larger quantities even than in the
other case, and according TO the inevit-
able law of supply and demand gold be-
come relatively more plentiful than sill
yer, would the creditor class again insist
upon making a change which would
make the debtor pay in the dearer
money! Sneh contingency as that
above stated is by no means impossible.
Instead of 15l or I6 to one, the ration
of silver to gold is as 30 TO 1, until re-
Gently the difference constantly widening.
The natural effect of the increased value
Of gold that is its increased purchasing
power has stimulated the hunt for
the yellow metal and already the pro-
dRetiOn has been considerably increased
by the re- flening of old and abandoned
mines and the finding of new ones. From
several widely separated places recently
come the reports Of fabulous finds, the
most remarkable being in Australia
where the quartz is said to yield thou
sands Ofdollars to the ton Again near
Pixies Peak a lead has been discovered
which throws in the shade anything in
the early history of California, and again
the reports come from Mexico and South
America of new and rich mines.
Tiere may be much exaggeration, and
probably is in these reports, but it is a
fact that the production of gold has been
vastly stimulated, and if the reports of
the fabulous gold mines should turn out
to be trne it would be the settlement of
the silver question.