The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1896-08-06
SILVER OF CHILE.
Her Struggle After Fall In Price
of Silver.
THE WAGE FARMERS AFFECTED.

Tory OF the Free COtnn8o Oh ShlvOrs |
She Tried TO Maintain the Equal Bi- |
! metallic Coiusge Of Gold and silver.
silver Fell and Gold Flew-0old Now
Resumed.
The history of most countries which |
have tried the silver basis during the |
present century has been history of |
constant fluctuations in the value of
money, changes in prices, great profits
to shrewd speculators and losses to
wage. earners Nearly every such coun-
try has made an effort, when its re-
sources have permitted, to establish the
gold basis, or, when upon paper basis,
to resume specie payments in gold
alone.
+, One Of the most instructive chapters
in the history of free coinage of silver
is that which relates to the experience
Of Chile, says the New York Herald.
The people of that highly intelligent,
wealthy and compact republic have suf-
fered within narrow area all the re-
suit of experiments with bimetallism,
have tested the impossibility of main
tanning it, and have experienced the
fall in the real wages of labor and the
confusion of foreign exchanges which
inevitably follow such policy.
Chile endeavored, like France and
other foreign countries, to maintain the
equal bimetall coinage of gold and
silver The mints were opened to
both metals by an act of January, 1851.
The ratio was not quite 16 to |, but
little less friendly to silver, being 16 80
to /. This slight difference protected
Chile during several years after BIZ
metallism became an acknowledged fail
nre in France.
France was substantially upon the
single silver standard prior to the open
ing of the Californian and Australian
mines These mines increased the pro-
duct of gold so greatly that gold became
less valuable than silver, at the French
coinage ratio OF I51a to J and was the
only metal offered at the mints
Frances bimetallists insisted, like
valued at IF. by the coinage laws could
not fall below silver francs in value, be-
cause it was worth that at the mints.
This did not prevent silver going
above the coinage value and disappear.
ing from circulation as absolutely as
though it had been wiped up with q
sponge 1t was this condition of things
which made gold the chief medium of
circulation in France, and kept it in cir
culation in Chile so long as the differ
ence between the market and the coin.
ing value of gold and silver was not
great.
Chile began to experience the same
strange fluctuations in the coinage of
the two metals which was experienced
by the countries of the Latin Union
after 1874 Silver fell from l8. IL to in
1875 to IT.sO to l in 1876 and 1875 to
in 1878. The fact that the two metals
were equal at the mints did not pre-.
vent the sudden arrest of the presenta-
'tion of gold and it's heavy expectation.
The amount of gold minted in Chile in
1876 was 60, ,4S4 pesos, and the amount
of silver was 2. i5l. .735 pesos. The value
of the gold peso was then about 81 in
United States gold coin. The mechan-
ical forces OF the mint were scarcely suffi.
cient for coming 2bO,OD0 pesos per
month, while silver was imported and
offered for coinage at the rate of nearly
500, 900 pesos a month. The govern
ment was compelled to suspend to re.
ception of silver while nine new ma.
chimes were put in operation the keep
pace with the required coinage.
The evils of specie suspension were
complicated and enhanced by the fall in
the price of silver. War with Spain
compelled the suspension of silver pay
ments by the national bank of Chile on
Sept. "a, 1865, but specie payments were
resumed promptly within the time fixed
by law in 1866, while the country was
still upon the gold basis. The fight of
gold from the country after 1874 tended
| to create contraction of the currency.
which was met by increased issues Of
bank notes. .H
Forced loans by the government in
the form of bank notes. issued for pub
lie uses rather than for the legitimate
| purposes of business, drove paper below
par IN silver and led the country in Q
| mire from which escape grew daily
more difficult with the steady fall in the
| price of silver The government made
q bad matter worse by putting out its
own paper issues in 1879 and 1880, which
were swelled by the issues of President
'Balmaceda during his attempt to crush
the Congressional party.
The Congressional party, after their
| victory in August. 1891, took heroic
steps to restore the parity Of coin and
paper, but found the task vastly difficult
| because Of the fall in the price Of silver.
Silver having become the money Of cir.
l Nul0tlOu JuBU UcAOIc UuO Ib3OO VI p8RcIs
there was no reason TO believe that the
paper would be redeemed in anything
but silver. The downward course Of the
paper. therefore, followed almost ex-
actly the downward course Of silver.
only ct O slightly lower level There ia
4 no reason to doubt that II ultimate re.
demptioh had been expected in gold the
paper would have remained nearer to
the gold line and would have been in
recent years above parity with silver.
The persistent fall in the value Of sill
ver made resumption Of specie pay
ments in that metal little better than
continuance upon paper basis. The
Chilian government, therefore, deter.
mined to resume specie payments in
gold, but at rate Of exchange which
would accord with the actual value Of
the paper in gold at about the time Of
resumption. The first legislation on
the subject was not successful and il
became necessary to make new read.
| Sv-o s~A soA kAa nHt he