Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1896-1899, 1896-07-09

> claimed), the same statement show
that for the twenty years to and Ia
Guiding 1892, the total excess Of Tn
! production OF silver in the world owe
gold, at 10 to /, was but s1S0, I22, 90
for these twenty years, or an annua
excess only OF s9,47l, 100. This show
that since 1873 there has been pro
duced less than s1.l0 in silver TO
every 81 worth Of gold. At this rat,
1t would require sixty years befor,
there would be as much silver as golc
10 the worlds product at the ratio oI
10 TO /. This explodes absolutely the
falsehood about tOver-productiOn.
But this total product in the world
is so great that very great oyer-pro-
ductlOn will make little difference in
the required ratio. We opened our
mints I'm 1892 at - to /, and In 1884
made 1t 16 to !. Now, from 1892 to
1913, inclusive, the product of these
metals In the world i'm value, at 1G to
/, was as follows: Product OF gold,
1921 ,0S6, 900; product of silver, 81 ,651, =
2l7,OO0. So that during the first fifty
years while our mints were open to all
the world the production was more
than 81 Of silver to 81 OF gold. Yet
we suffered no bad consequence. III
this did not dump the silver Of the
world at our mints, how will IL be
done when the excess of production of
silver is as now only $l.l0 for 81 of
gold? The truth is that whatever the
product OF the precious metals, only
so much will ever be taken TO any
mint of any country, by any one, as
can be used advantageously in that
particular nation as legal tender
money.
The case now Is as If there were a
famine for want Of wheat, and a GER
tain trust had cornered all wheat and
shut out foreign wheat and raised the
price TO double or treble former prices
and the people should demand free
and unlimited import of wheat, and
the trust should say; "Why, there is
a vast product Of wheat in the world
and II we open our ports IL will all be
dumped on u.s." The answer would
be that no more would be sent here
than we required for food, as that Is
the only purpose for which it would be
required, and no more would come
than would fill such demand.
Now II is the same with silver coin
age, A silver dollar is worthless for
any purpose but money, while IL re-
mains money. When silver bullion is
coined into dollars IL is dead as TO
value unless he who has coined IL can
use the dollars To advantage. While !
10 is kept in bullion 1t may be used for
other purposes than money. Hence,
no one will have silver coined into dol |
lars unless there can be use for the
dollars. Such dollars are not legal |
tender anywhere but in the United
States. II a shipload of silver bullion
were brought by any one to our mint
aud coined, he would have a shlpload
OF silver dollars which would not cir
culate rs money anywhere except in
our country. Hence, he never would
have the bullion coined into dollars
but 10 use as money here. The only
thing he cOnld do with them would
be 20 purchase American products or
lands TO open up new industries and
employ labor.
Under the law OF prices that, other
things being equal, prices will rise
and industry increase as moneyIls In.
creased: the more silver so coined and
Invested in American products, lands
or industries, the higher all prices and
wages would rise, and the consequence
would be that the greater the amount
OF money so coined aud used, the
easier the producer could pay of the
hopeless debt under which he staggers
in vain, while prices are falling ever
lower by the Scant volume OF money
under the gold standard
SHE has fallen in price merely be-
cause denied its former use and privi-
lege of free coinage as money, not
from oVer-productiOn. Ms we haVa