Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-05-28

the purchasing power ot koia naa w
creased as to the forty-fve articles OF
trade 50 per cent: More particularly, II
we select out OF the forty-hve articles
alluded 20 the seven most largely bought
and sold in the n1arkets-to wit. wheat,
corn, potatoes, rice, pig-iron. rotton. and
wooi-the tables OF SaueTbeck show that
during the twenty years, 1873 to 1888, the
average fall In the price OF these Staples
in gold was g per cent, which n euutva,
lent TO saying that an ounce or gold wouid
purchase 70 i-2 per cent. more OF them
in 1899 than II would In 1873. Thus the
value OF gold fuctuated during the period
OF is73 10 1898 as much as 50 per cent.
In reference TO forty-lve articles, ana
1f-2 per cent In respect to The seven
most important Of them. On the otner
hand. these tables show that In COMPARE
son with these articles OF commerce
silver auctuated only psr cent, al
though demonetized, losing tnaL huen
in relative value. In short In 1875 Soia
bot,ght 55 or Is i-2 per cent more OF the
produce OF mans labor than In 1873 ana
silver 4 ner cent less. Secretary Morton
saws that what Mr.. Cleveland calls
asound money Is that sort OF currency
which has the most universal ana least
nuctuating purchasing power IN ne
markets OF ali countries; thet "htSh
Is "the best and least calculating measure
of value and medium OF excnahse.
Palfour adds an important ingreui-
~, to Secretary Morton's dennition'-viz'
",ha rn,nev Of the world should be n
fair and permanent record OF obhgatons
over long perlods Of time Tned
nv this true test, what becomes OF Mr..
Morton's monometaliic gold, and how pitt
abIy docs II compare in steadiness Oh Value
with demonetized silver
THERE is NO THREATENING OVER
PRODUCTION OF SILVER.
II is very plain from what has been
shown In the foregoing paragraphs Una, uii-
iess there shall occur some extraordinary
AMMUNITION in the production OF soiu
and a simultaneous increase III that %
silver natures ratio or lo-lo 10 i mus
continue indefinitely. ana tnat sh'e,
monetized, even by the Chiteu o's'e.
aIone would continue 10 maintain thet
".oaS,,a.s n, value which had marked
10 history for centuries before It's rash
,onetiza ton In the United states with
ONT the authority OF our people In ls'S.
T,he roonometaliists accordingly claim
~, that the gold production ~ raining
an tu. that the silver production Is IN
ornoeino I'm a degree that must compei
= cbanee Of the standard ratio, al 'he
exnense of silver. In proof OF TINS cam
they refer 10 the table on page % ol ,n
mint report for 1884, that taDle SHOW" rs
the production OF gold ana s'iVer III III
80 ~" $50 ro 1902. II is useless TO give
~ r,bole table here. Let three years ue
tater THE production OF gold ana siiVeI
e., che world during the years 10 "
.1 ~ stated I'm dollars worth on the
ratIo Of 151.2 20 !. was as foloNs: ~,
1sToC;old $40, $4,000; silver sSi'9,SV w
Cold Slc6 10000; silver w, 'VyV -
1Seo-Cold s1ss. 10000; silver Slso' to9'vY
In the whole period-lSio-9z WI w
.hraa years the production OF goI1 M"S
90 .So eso o0o and that Of silver S,9-fsoh-
90 80 eycesa in the production OF silver
a. che neriod having been tS5,WzVV' OF an
a,,erage OF a million and hau year
q. ts obvious that these figures ran 10
nro1uction Of silver threatening
90 ra,,ire's long-established ratio OF lo-ie
to In 1870 and for nine years follo"ins
there was an abnormal falilng OF IN VIZ
production of silver. while tnat Oh solI
rre,,ained steady and largely IN ehcess
~ .n,,or eince 1850 there has been
stead,, Increase IN the production OF Doth
metals. large Of both, but larger OF sIEe'
than Of gold. An increase In the prouuc-
lion of both metals cannot anect the
ratio. unless the excess OF one over tle
other is extraordinarily great. As yee ny
greater increase In the production OF 81
yer has not been SUFFICIENT 70 compensate
for the ten years OF greater acuV0y III
gold. IL would require continuation ioi
aa many as fifty or hundreu year, -,
an excessive production Of silver over goid'
"a anfect the ratio. For be II kept IN
mind that the precious metals are NOT
like the annual crops OF grain, COTTON
and the like articles. consumed IN theh
use but remain in permanent use ioI
centuries and ages. The parliamentary
gold and silver commission OF EnBian.
estimated a few years ago that the soi.
and silver in the world in all torms anu
in all hands was ten thousand millions Oh
dollars worth OF silver and eignt thou
sand millions Of dollars worth Of god.
What effect upon this ocean OF ten thou-
sand millions of silver could the million
and n half OF excess year since 1870
produce upon the ratio? II is like empty
ing n coffee-pot into the sea. Nature
seems to have provided In every period
OF years an excess OF silver production
over that Of gold 10 compensate LIZ
greater abrasion and loss by casualty, the
far greater waste OF the popularl. used
metal than that sustained by the care
fully-vaulted metal OF the bankers.
Nor is there any certainty that in the
next ten years there will b. On excess In
the silver production such as has marked
the last ten years. We may again wit
ness an excess in the gold production sim
liar to that which occurred in the decade
ls70-'s0 II Is not for International con
ferences to divine conditions yet hidden
in the womb of the future.
As will have been seen. there was d
very large gold production in the decade
1S70-lsS0. and notably small silver pro
duction Yet. Il was then that silver
was demonetized by Germany and the
United States. There was no pretence
that this was done because silver WAS
growing too plentiful the fear was as 10
gold. Silver was demonetiZed TO keep
up the value Of gold. by the contrivance
of England. Mr. Pierrepont explains why.
The production OF gold has continued 10
increase through the decade l&o-lS90; sill
yer production also experiencing large
increase, which was abnormal, and r.
now abatlng. Nature In the two com
ing decades will. most probably.
bring back the wonted equilibrium.
but God grant that the production OF
both metals may continue large. as ore
OF the richest blessings He can bestow
upon mankind.
THIS REPUBLIC COMPETENT.
The reason alleged against independent
action by the United States In restoring
to silver the privilege OF the minis hns
been the supposed Importance Of waiting
for a ratio from an international con
ference 1t has been shown that such
an expectation is iliusory. Free coinage
will have to wait, but not for the action
OF a conference. The bimetaliists Of the
United States. while confident that the
action OF this country alone would re-
store silver to full parity the world over,
have yet felt that II might be our true
policy TO let the European nations Ger
many especially feel the pinch OF the
shoe for awhile. and endure for year
or two longer the curses Of gold mono
metallism before any step on our part
be taken. The election OF 1896 must in
tervene before the policy OF the Unite1
States can be determined, and there will
be a further interval Of delay between
this election and the instalment Of new
administration.
SO far therefore. as our own nation Is
DsfoC