The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1896-06-23

milton Il VIII receive.
Take the case OF a shoemaker. When
he has finished his shoes and comes TO
! set a price upon them lie first values the
/ material In them and then he adds TO
/ that a shoc-makcr's wages for the TINE
/ he WAS engaged In making them. II the
/ demand for shoes IS good, he VIII get
! fun shoe-makers wages for his time. But
II the demand for shoes IS bad, he VIII
have 20 pinch his wages and take for
| them what he can get. But this ah-im-
| portant fact is never to DO forgotten at
| THE polnt. II the demand has fallen TO
such a point that the shoemaker can
uot get living wages out Of the price he
| has TO take. no will make the sacrifice
| that time. but no Will not make 1t again.
! lie viii quit shoo-makinB AMI 80 at some
other business
| When, upon the ono hand, Uhcn, we
consider that II a thing can be had for
| the picking OF it up we viii set no value
| upon It. and. upon the other, that if
| the shoemaker cannot get living wages
out of making shoes ne will quit and 20
| &C something else, how can any man
| uoubt that the labor required to produce
| a thing is at the bottom of the value
of that thing?
TO return now to the original PROPOSE
ton If nothing affected the case but
labor, We could not reasonably expect that
when an ounce OF gold is valued IN the
| market thirty times as high as an ounce
OF silver the ounce of gold required thirty
| times as much labor for its production
as tho ounce Of silver. But. as We have
| said. the state Of the demand for the
article governs the return which labor is
10 receive, and. therefore, the price, or
the valuation which men set upon H.
Therefore TO take a thoroughly compre-
honsivo yiew of the case, we cannot omit
consideration Of the influence upon it
| that steam and electricity have had
OF old. with Old methods Of transporta-
ton and conveying intelligence, tho bust
ness Of the world may have put strain
upon both gold and silver that male each
receive fun recognition for the labor in
voived I'm producing each, and that may
have been as sixteen to one. But now
we transport any bulks as if by magic.
and Intelligence Is flashed thousands
of miles in a second. A sum of metallic
money may answer Richnond's needs for
metallic money to-day, and be IN York,
Pa. 20 meet demands for metallic money
that are 20 be made there tomorrow.
And this same facility OF transportation
and transmitting intelligence has covered
the land with a network Of banking
agencies that put credits into the place
Of metallic money and make them per
form, myriads OF transaction that had to
De performed aforetime with metallic
money. These things have obviously di-
mnishcd the strain upon the money
metals en0rmOusly-just how far none but
the Almighty can say with any degree OF
accuracy. Under such circumstances the
processes Of evolution will tend to the
use Of that only which will answer their
purposes, ard as gold can be handled
with far more convenience than silver,
the natural tendency win be TO use gold
only and to dispense with the use Of
silver 10 the fullest extent possible. We
see. then. that the tendency Of steam and
electricity is necessarily towards diminish
ing the use Of silvet ana combining opera
lions 10 gold. This. Of course, tends 10
diminish the recognition that the labor
involved I'm producing silver will receive
I'm valung IT, How far it reduces that
recognition must necessarily be, TO
large extent coniectural An we can say
with certainty is that the labor will
demand recognition and that the produc-
ton Of silver will be stopped unless the
labor receives recognition that is salts
factory 10 IT,
Yet, what do we fin1 to be the case
when am uonce of gold is selling in
tho market al more than thirty times the
price OF an ounce of silver? We ind the
output of silver steadily increasing all
the time.
Ia 1890 the worlds production OF silver
was NG3,OoO.OOO, I'm 1891 # was $4,000 600,
in 1872 it was Sielo0oO0o in 1898 it was
y2O9.o0O. 900. in 1894 it was 2l6,OO0OOO. These
are the official figures Of the director Of
the mint, fractional figures omitted.
We see. then, that the annual yield Of
silver has been steadily on the increase.
We have no later figures. but our lnforna-
ton is that the increased yield continues.
lady i'm Richmond is subscriber In
the Mt Dablo Mill and Mining Company.
a silver mine situated at Candelaria, Is
mcrald county, Nevada She has ire
Gently been called upon by the secretary
OF the company for a payment on account
of her subscription, and the call states
that the payment must be made in
United States gold coin" They are not
only making money mining silver at the
present price, but they are taking pains
that whatever they get shall come TO
them in gold coin. This, however. is by
the way.
But it is entirely material TO say that
We Nave heard the part owner of an
Australian silver mine say that his mine
could make silver at a profit IL it sold
St for only twenty-five cents an ounce
Ot is now slxty-eight cents an ounce), or
at the ratio Of 81 10 /. We also know
personally a silver mine from which sill
ser Is now produced at a very handsome
profit al present prices.
We say. then, ia conclusion. that every