The Press., 1896-09-17
THE FALL OF SILVER.

Forum for August, 1S93, speaks of the l closing of the hints of British India to i the coinage of silver coins, and says For the last quarter of a century civ ilized countries have combined to de- throne silver as a precious metal, and have declared in unmistakable terms that by reason of its cumbersomeness, the enormous quantity produced, and the vio- lent fluctuations in its value, silver Is not fit to serve as measure of value to all other things that hereafter gold alone shall be the standard of value, and that the business of the world is to be done with gold money and an enlarged use of the instruments of credit"
 England adopted the gold standard in 1916 because great inconvenience had arisen from both the precious metals be- ing concurrently the standard measure of value and equivalent of property"
 Up to the time of the Franco Prussian war all the German countries were on a silver basis. After that 1t was found to be necessary to organize a new monetary system for the new empire, and the gold standard was adopted. By this act two hundred tifty-seven million, four hundred and fifty-four thousand dollars worth of silver coins were demonetized. The SUD- ply of silver bullion increased enormous ly. Brokers and exchange dealers made great profit by buying silver in Germany and having it minted in the states of the Latin Union. The Latin Union tried to regulate the price of silver by limiting the coinage; but was finally forced to close the hints to further coinage of legal silver coins. This Latin Union was form ed in 1865 of the states France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland, flor the pur- pose of fixing the value and regulating the amount of silver to be coined each year, as the means of protecting them selves against the evils consequent upon l the depreciation of the metal and it's fuctuation in the market" The Latin UAiOn was forced to the gold standard in 1878.
 After Germany had discarded the silver standard Norway, Sweden and Denmark formed a monetary treaty adopting the gold standard. Holland, which had been on silver basis for number of years, adopted in 1875 what was nominally double standard, 'at the anomalous ratio of one to fifteen and five-eighths, but soon went over to the gold standard. The next year Russia suspended the coinage of silver. In 1879 Austria-Hungary practically adopted the gold standard. Here, in the United States, gold was prac- tically made the gold standard in 1884 and legally in 1873.
 We can all see how the action of these
 states would naturally and inev-
 lower the price of silver in the markets of the world. There has been a large increase in the production of silver in recent years, and that has, also, tended to fall in the price of 1t as compared with gold. In 1878 this government came to the rescue of silver by becoming large buyer of 1t; but it has still gone down, as wheat has, as 8 commodity. Gold has not so much appreciated, flor in the in- creasing output of it there is no reason why 1t should, but silver has depreciated, and by reason of the two causes herein set forth. It has gone down, as any other commodity would, that is produced way beyond any demand for it.
 Now we believe that silver Is needed as a money coin to circulate in the channels of currency among the nations. It needs tJ be joined with gold in a way which will admit of their working tremendously together In the monetary system. It is very clear, from our survey, that interna- tiOnal action is necessary. As the mone- tary equilibrium of gold and silver was destroyed by various nations, so they alone can restore 1t. It is not in the pow CT of one nation alone to do it, the popu- lists to the contrary notwithstanding The existing gold standard must be main- tained until, by international agreement, a change can be taken to so-called dou- ble standard Whether there can be long maintained a double standard ad- mits of question if we look at it histor- ically. o. P. CHAMPLIN.