The Madisonian. (Virginia City, Mont.) 1873-1915, 1895-06-08


upon the market all the old silver sup
posed to amount to $24O, 900, 900. The
market staggered at once, and the at
tempt was for the time abandoned. In
1872 it was resumed, and Denmark,
Sweden and Norway declared for gold
standard without taking very active
steps toward establishing it. The export
price of wheat then in New York, aver
aged for the year, was 81. 40 and of
corn 60 cents. The next year the United
States adopted the gold standard, but as
most Of those engaged in it have de-
clared that they did not know what they
were doing we are bound to accept
their confession. In August panic be-
gan in Austria, spread rapidly through
Germany and was followed the next
month by the great panic in the United
States. Wheat declined to $3.50 and
corn to so cents, but wool (Ohio medi-
um, scoure(D held up to 55 and cotton
TO II.
In 1874 Holland stopped coming sill
yer, and tho Latin union restricted the
coinage to &28, 600, 900 per annum. It
was then C0und that Germany was shOy.
1g her old silver upon the market, and
D. sudden fill ia tho value Of the metal
occurred, which il the United States
was then attributed to the Dig Bonanza
just opanel il tie Comstoc1 lode no
nomo.alliets still assert that it is the in
/ creased production OF silver which has
caused its decline, but the truth is sim.
| ply @ matter Of acknowledged figures.
All the increase Of those three years
amounts to bpt trifiug Per cent Of that
thrown out OF use by the Hotizing
nations, and even roW the two metals
are almost exactly equal in amounts, as
| they were III 1871.
In 1875 Holland reluctantly gave
way and demonetized silver, while Den.
mark, Sweden and Norway took steps
to carry out their previous resolutions,
and the United States adopted a law for
the resumption Of specie payments on
Jan. l, 1870. It is singular and most
suggestive fact that not one American
voter in a thousand knew that this
meant resumption Oh gold basis; that
President Grant, who had signed the act
of 1878, congratulated the country on
the fact that resumption would be made
easy because of the increased production
Of silver, and that in the heated cam
paigns of that year the orators for re-
su~ption habitually spoke for the two
metals as a basis. Early in the year the
trade dollars, coined for the trade with
China, came into use quite extensively
and We're eagerly taken by the people
without the slightest suspicion that
they were not as good as gold. Never
theless agricultural products continued
to decline until three years of very short
crops in western Europe brought grain
up again.
In 1876 the Latin union limited the
total silver coinage to $3.50, 900, 600.
The United States took from the trade
dollar whatever legal tender power it
possessed, and the people discovered that
silver had been demonetized. The next
year the Latin union stopped all coinage
Of silver save for small change and de-
clared for gold basis exclusively. In
1878 the United States began the pur-
chase of So, 900, 900 worth of silver per
month and its coinage into dollars but
the secretary of the treasury discrimi-
mated against them from the start, a
practice maintained to the present
There was great bank panic in Eng
land, the famous Glasgow City and
West of England banks falling followed
by prolonged depression in trade. The
next year the United States resumed on
a gold basis, but farm produce after a
slight advance continued to decline.
Failures Follow Silver Demonstration.
In 1881 the Argentine Republic made
feeble attempt at bimctallism on the
ratio Of to 1913, but both silver and
gold were driven out by paper money,
and the great imitation began there
which terminated q few yeavs later in q
terrific panic. In 1884 came trade de.
preston, and labor crisis in France, and
labor troubles in the United States, with
great strikes and some rioting.
In 1890 Roumania demonetzed sill.
yer, but the United States again be.
gan to buy under the Sherman act. In
1891 the whole paper money system c.
the Argentine Republic went to smash,
and the grand panic there was followed
Immediately by the greatest failures ovel
known in Great Britain, and those ii
turn by Widespread bankruptcy in Aus
tralia and financial troubles in nearly
every one Of the European countries
The United Sta.es was eEporarily
saved by the Russian famine and the
failures of crops elsewhere, which ono;
more sent wheat above a dollar and fo,
the last time.
In 1898 Austria hungary resumed
specie payments on tho gold basis. In
dia malla q desnerata attemnt II adon