The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-05-04

I fs;SFrance stopped the coinage Of silver
and has coined none since.
lS7s-Rassia prohibited the coinage Of
silver sxcep. for Chinese trade.
1SS-Spain prohibited the free coinage Of
silver.
is.s-Ths Latin union stopped tho coin
age Of silver.
is7s-Austria-H Hungary prohibited the
free coinage OF silver. and has since adopt
ed the gold standard.
iNa-R ournanis adopted the gold stand
ard and threw 10, OF silver coins on the
market as bullion
1Ns-InSia. which for many years had
been coming silver AT the average rate OF
.c1c per year. stepped the coinage OF
silver.
We are the only nation that has since
1878 taken any action looking TO . larger
use OF silver as money. Absolutely. ara
also IN proportion to the worlds produc-
ton OF silver, we have used a vastly larger
amour, Of silver money than we did be-
fore and hence have INSIDE a greater de-
mand for silver, and hence have done
more TO keep up It's value.
From I7ss when cur coinage began. up to
and including 1875. our total silver eotn-
age was sif7, As SOS so-an average annual
coinage of sl.seaSA From 1874 10 1896 in
elusive. our total silver coinage was SsS.-
c.e.s7a-an average annual coinage OF s-@-
as1,isS Q5l.
From 1855 to 1875 inclusive we coined into
legal tender money only s .s24.ss> OF silver.
To say nothing of siss.oooee of treasury
notes now outstanding. based upon silver
bullion. and redeemahle In coin. we have.
since 1878. coined into full legal tender
money ssss ~. sls OF silver.
However, had we not deUaonetixed silver
In lS.2 we would since then have made
greater demand for and use OF silver as
money than we have. and demonstration
would tend in slight degree 70 advance the
price of silver.
Populists say that the demonstration OF
silver is the sole cause OF its depreciation.
Grant this for the moment Decentralization
by whom7 Not by the United States alone
II our demonstration of silver tended TO
lower It's price. Its demonstration by so
many other countries. some or which
threw their silver coins on the market as
bullion. also had that effect. Germany
alone thus sold silver coins to the amount
of about $i5o,0oc.ooo.
II We were the only country that has
lowered the price Of silver by demonetiz-
lag it. then demonstration by this country
alone, other conditions remaining the
same, would restore its value. But we
see from the above chronological state
ment that 1t has required the demonetizs-
ton OF silver by nations with an aegre-
gate population OF 6o.ooo,ooo TO drag the
price OF silver down to where IL is today;
and the full effect OF all this hostile action
has not yet been felt. Were it not for the
hope OF legislation favorable 10 silver II
would sink much lower in price. The
countries named above do a large part OF
the business of the globe. and largely de-
termine the value of everything used in
civilized countries. With so much OF the
world pulling the price OF silver down We
alone cannot lift II up to its former price.
This country alone cannot make a demand
for silver as great as the demand that
woud have been made by the GO, 0oo 900 had
they not demonetized silver: therefore
our demand alone cannot bring the price
OF silver up TO where it was formerly.
But the preference on the part Of the
leading commercial nations OF the world
for gold rather than silver as money Is not
the only cause for the depreciation of sill
yer IN value. as compared with gold.
Another cause is the constant and enor-
nous increase in the production OF silver.
The following table shows the worlds
average annual production OF gold and sil-
yer. in ounces, from 1851 to 1884. in periods
Of five years. except the last period. which
is Of four years: