The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-06-05

Silver, declares the Sun, Tell De-
cause it's great production cheapened it."
Can any one tell us how silver could
have failed to fall in the market" when
the product increased from ISL 100000 to
1880 900? Let us examine the SUBJ
ject.
1. 1t will be observed, upon examin-
ing the table, that the production of gold
also increased largely in the twenty-five
years. The increase amounted, in fact,
to more than 43 per cent. Now, if the
greater increase of the production of sill
yer put down the price in a great degree,
obviously the smaller increase of the
production of gold must also have put
down the price of gold in a small degree.
1t cannot be seriously urged that the in
fluence which acted in one case did not
act at all in the other. But where is the
evidence that gold has fallen in price?
There can be no possible method Of de-
termining whether either metal has risen
or fallen except by comparing it with
commodities. But when gold is thus
compared, every particle of the evidence
indicates that the price of the metal has
not fallen, but advanced. We are, there
FORE invited by the Sun to believe that
while an enlarged production of silver
forces the price down, an enlarged pro-
duction of gold must force the price up.
If this be so, it would be very entertain
ing to have the method of this contrary
operation of the cause fully explained.
2. The footings of the two columns of
figures given above of the worlds pro-
duction for the twenty-five years are as
follows:
Gold So, 489 955 900
Silver Observation-Disclosures. 1888, 1862 900
These figures show that in twenty-five
years there was an excess of silver-pro-
duction over that of gold of only $34, 000,
900. Three-Quarters of the human race
use no other currency than silver. With
in the two decades amazing advancement
in the mechanic arts has been made in
the silver-using countries, such as India,
Japan and Mexico, with the necessary
result that the requirements of business
for currency have largely increased.
That this enlarged demand for silver
money is far in excess of $34000,000 re-
quires no argument. But, in addition
to the stimulated demand for silver in
the silver countries, the United States. in
the same time have increasd their silver
coinage many hundreds of millions of
dollars. Thus it is clear that the ap-
parent excess production of silver in the
twenty-five years has not really been
great enough to fulfill the requirements
of the nations if silver had been treated
fairly.
8. In estimating the quantity of gold
and silver money now in existence fair
ness requires that no money. not full
tender should be counted Taking full
tender gold and full tender silver only,
we find from pages Al and As of the re-
port Of the Director of the United States
Mint for 1894 that the worlds stock of
gold and silver money is as follows:
Gold So, 965, 900 900
Silver NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 3, 435, 700 900
These figures show that there is in the
world $3.50 200 900 less full tender silver
money than gold. Remembering, now,
that three times as many people use sill
yer as use gold, there would appear to be
good ground for the assertion that, under
the most favorable circumstances the
supply Of silver could not be equal to the
satisfaction of the fair ordinary wants
of mankind. That the price should fall
under such conditions is inexplicable.
But, in truth, the price has not fallen.
This is clear enough If silver-value and
commodity values be compared. What
has happened is precisely what must
have happened when gold was compelled
to do the service that, prior to 1873, had
always been done by the two metals to-
gether, namely, gold has gone up. The
Sun needs to revise its figures and its
conclusions.