Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1895-05-22

]
therefor. The trade dollar, which was of
420 grains. 900 fine, was made Il limited
legal tender to the amount of 50. Up TO
1873 the issue of silver dollars from the
minis had been of comparatively insig-
nifcant amount. Between 1905 and 1886
the Coinage of the dollar of 4l6 grains
was suspended altogether, and after the
Act of 1887, which reduced The weight TO
412l grains, the yearly average Of silver
coinage was less than s2.000,000. Thus
I it happened that between the silver pur-
chased in 1873 and the few years sue
ceedng TO replace the fractional paper
currency, and The amount Of trade dollars
minled, it was only after the "demoneli
zation' of silver that its coinage in the
United States began to assume considera.
bic proportions. The figures for 1878
we're s4024747; for 1874, s7S5l,7I6;
for 1875, s15,947 .S93 for 1876, s24,5OS,.
307, aud for 1887, 2S,39I,045. But the
price of silver continued to fall as its pro.
duction in the United States and else
where continued to rise. and there was
passed over the veto OF President Hayes
for the relief of mine owners and the salts
faction of the cranks the Act of Februa
ry %, 1878, known as the Bland BILL
Then began the purchase by the Treasury
of not less than s2000,000, nor more than
$1,000. 900 per month, 10 be coined into
silver dollars of the weight of 4l2l grains,
representing bullion value at that time
OF rather less than 80 cents Aud 50 the
coinage of s23.000,000 year was made
the established average; but though this
stood for nearly three iourlhs Of the an.
nual product of the United States the de-
cline in price was not checked. 1t need
ed short heroic measure to accomplish
that, and this came in the shape of the
Sherman Act of July II, 1890, providing
for the annual purchase by the Treasury
of the United States of 54000,000 ounces
or the then entire estimated product Of
our domestic mines. The price Of silver
advanced, but by September under the
pressure Of the worlds production, it be
gan to sag away again. aud in spite Of the
hopes aroused by Chinese loans and BIZ
metallic conferences il is saggiug still.
In the sixteen years in which the de-
cline in the price of silver was most rapid
-1S76-9l the production of silver
throughout the world is estimated to have
been s2,1O9,394.O0O. But during the
same period there passed through the
minis of the world an aggregate silver
coinage of s2.110000,000 OF this latter
amount S7l 100000 was old silver recon-
ed, but that sum can be Offset by the
amount of monetary silver bullion pur-
chased bv the United States under tie
law of 1890. That the price Of silver
would have gone lower but for this artiii-
cial market provided for it, chiefly in tie
vaults of the Treasury Of the United
States. does not admit Of doubt Olher
commodities for which no artificial mar
ket was provided have suffered as great
shrinkage Of price on much smaller ra-
ito of increased production. a competent
authority puts the increased requirements
of the world for wheat at 100000 600
bushels every year, but in two years the
United States produced 80 700, 900,
bushels more than the average Of the
fourteen years 1892, and the surplus
thus created Is only beginning to di-aP-
pear now. The estimated wheat product
of the world was only little over 3 per
cent greater in 1S9l-our great harvest
year-lhan in 1885, one Of our average
years. But as result OF the abundance
Of 1922 the price of wheat fell from
50 to 81 cents a bushels, decline OF 50
per cent. The worlds production Of Sill
yer between 1885 and 1892 rose from
ninely-one million to 100000
ounces, an increase Of 66 per cent. But
the price fell in the interim only from
4Sl to 393 pence per ounce, or about lo
per cent. That per cent Of excess over
The wheat product ia two successive years
should cut the price down by one-Ihird il
sufficiently striking illustration Of the
law of supply and demand bat that an
increase Of &c per cen; in the production Of
silver should depress the price only IS pei
cent. suggest. a somewhat violent inter!er.
ence with the working Of the law.
It has been with cotton as with wheat
. The abnormal American crop Of lS9l-92
aggregated about as much a. the hole pro-
duct of the world four years before, made q
linal break with the familiar average Of l0
cents pound, and sent prices down to a
point from which they are only beginning
to recover Though the crop diminished
one fourth in the succeeding year the dc.