The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-07-23
UNCLE SANS SILVER.
He Has an Enormous Supply of it at Pres
ent.

Washington, ID. c., July 17-Uncle Sam
feels bit sad, and no wonder. He will
be compelled to buy all the silver that is
offered him If the Democrats have their
way. You wouldn't suppose that he
wanted any more if you took look
through the Treasury Building. One
huge box of iron lattioe-work, 100 feet
long. sixty feet wide, and fourteen feet
high, in the basement is chook full of
cartwheel dollars. They are in bags of
81, 600 each, which are packed in Pine
wood cases to keep out the damp. There
are SO. 600, 900 dollars in that box. The
whole mass weighs about 5000 tons. The
carts required for carrying the money
would form procession stretching more
than twenty miles.
3 How it would make the Populists'
mouths water to look on at such d
parade. But this is by no means the
whole of the stock of silver dollars kept
on hand in Washington. In other vaults
are 90, 000 600 smoIe. And, if these are
not enough, you can find 227, 100, 600 adj
ditional oartwheels in various mints and
SubtreasurieS, mostly in Philadelphia,
New York, and San Francisco. When it
is considered that only about 1000, 900
silver dollars altogether are in circulation
at present it will be apparent that the
government Is in no danger of running
short OF them. For years past while
Uncle Sam has been holding on to this
aUOrIunue ctorE of tho ubtto ,oataI +h.
market value of it has been going stead
lily down, down. down.
If you will drop in at the mint in Phil
adelphia you will have chance to look
at some more silver that belongs to the
government-not coined dollars, but bull
lion. There is something very impressive
to the eye about this immense accumu-
lation of wealth in the crude. You see it
stacked up here and there in the shape of
bricks. If you had permission to take
what you could carry you would not be
able to get away with more than about
$1,000 worth-silver is SO cheap now
The Quaker City mint at present holds
Sl07, 600, 600 worth of these ingots-coining
value. aaThey take I'D a lot of room; /, 600, :
600 ounces of silver bricks occupy the
space of 1870 cubic feet.
BILLIONS FOR THE DIGGINGs.
The great advantage of silver as
money, from the point Of view of the
Democratic platform, is that it is oh cap
There is every prospect that il will be-
come much cheap. The supply in sight
is practically unlimited. Look at the
Rocky Mountains; they are largely mnde
of silver. The entire mountain chain
that forms the backbone of the contin emit
from Alaska to Cape Horn, Is full of the
white metal You can hardly strike it
anywhere without coming upon silver
mine Thus it is not surprising to find
that the Americans produce nearly the
whole of the silver supply Of the world
In 1885, the mines of the United States
yielded So, 600, 600 ounces Of silver.
Fifty-eight million ounces! That
seems good deal, but it does not pre-
sent very clear notion of quantity to
the mind. 1t would make solid sphere
twenty-five feet in diameter. Such q ball
might be rolled down Broadway, New
York, just avoiding interference with the
pedestli ans on the sidewalks. Its diane
ter would be about equal to the width of
the street, from curb to curb Either
Cornelius or w. 4. Vanderbilt could
purchase it outright without much in
convenience; but it is doubtful if they
would consider it desirable Investment.
Mexico furnishes material for q ball near
ly as big every year. s sphere about
Fifteen feet In diameter would represent
the production of Bolivia, through which
country the silver ridge of the Andes
runs. Few people know that Bolivia is
third on the list Of silver producing
natio ms.
The entire silver production Of the
globe in 1896 would be represented by q
sphere thirtyfve feet in diameter, CON
tanning 10. COO 600 ounces of the white
metal. 1t Is very remarkable fact that
the total stock Of gold in the world is
just about equal in value to the entire
silver Stock each Is approximately stated
at 81, 600, 100000. The largest stock of
silver Is owned by Underestimate at
$500. 000 600. But accurate figures with
regard to that country are very hard to
get because of the propensity of the
natives for boarding. They either hide
or turn into ornaments every bit of prec-
ious metal, whether silver or gold they
obtain. Much of 1t is buried and lost.
China comes after India with stock of
$3.50, 600. COO worth of silver, ana the Unit
ed States is nett with 1925, 000 600.