Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1895-04-05
IN SILyERA AND GOLD,
Relative Values of The
s,, Two Metals.

4
Atthe present time, when tha
country is rife With cdiscution Of
Iathe currency question single
standard, double standard, gold
Recommendation and free coinage
of silver -vit would. perhaps, not
be out of place to give few facts
| collated from official sources that
may assist the student Of finance
| in arriving at an estimate Of the
actual value. of the two precious
metals itherworld has adopted as
money. s..
1 To arrive at g true estimate OF
the relative value OF gold and
i silver it is necessary to know
their relative proportions as TO
| quantity at the present time, as
we'll as-in the past, when the the
conditions were different. Our
first coinage law was enacted in
1792, and paovided for free coin
age Of gold and silver at theratio
/ of 10 to one, making both gold
and silver a legal tender s'in all
payments whatsoever In 1884
the ratio was changed to 16 to ]
but the standard silver dollar re-
mained "a legal tender until 1873.
By reference to the report Of the
Director of the Mint we find
that the PREDICTION of gold and
silver in the world from 1890 to
: 1920 was in round numbers. gold
q 1887 900, 900; silver, 81 ,007 .D00,-
000--a percentage of about % of
gold to Is of silver.
The estimated amount of the
precious metals in the world in
1900 expressed III tons 'Wss gold
$1,000 tons; silver, $4,000 tons;
or three tons af silver to one ton
of fgold" The estimated PROPORTION
of each metal coined at that time
/ was forty-six tons of silver te
one ton Of gold. The average
: commercial ratio of silver tc
gold from 1870 to 1920 was
15.40; and the average price o
silver during that time was 81.
"a per ounce.
The reader will obsreve thai
Notwithstanding the grea
disproportion of silver to golt
and the great incraease in tn
production of the white meta
our forefathers had the temerit,
to provide for the free coinage 0
silver at the ratio of Is to l ,ane
Y that without consulting the wish
IS es of John Bull or any other for
eign potentate or power.
= AS rational proposition,
= would seem fair to assunme tha
the relative value ol silver t
gold should be as great today
when the relative proportion i
a 18 to / as it was in 1850 when
80 to /, That the present com
mercial value of silver does no
represent the true value of tina
metal as compared with gol
70 must be apparent to anyone VIII
gives the matter serious though
: And the reason for the presen
;. disparity must be readily appal
ent, for with its use curtaileo
and its place as money discredit
!. ed by the leading nations of tn
earth, it would be unreasonabl
to expect it to retain the value.
had acquired while it was til
accredited and favorite money {
: the people of many nation
z. Suppose it were possible for tt
council Of the city of Chicae
= land any thing seems possible
q. to pass an ordinance and enfor'
= it, that there should not be
building erected on the east sie
of State Street higher than OF
story, and those already COZ
structed must conform to th
height; while on the other sit
= there were no restriction as
L height, how long would there
u, parity Of value of ground
the two sides of tbe street?
The worlds production of go
IL from 1850 to 1860 was 81 1,31i
- 100000, silvev 1857 ,000,0C
The commercial ratio from y
to go averaged 15.40 and t
price of silver was $1.34. Fro
o. '73 to '93 the poduction of go
and silver was as follows: gol
$2,156,0O0,000; silver, 1884
IF. 100000, The Commercial raj
'92. of silver to gold averaged 19.
< and the price of silver was SIC