The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-01
GOV. noIe- and the Price Of silver.

GOV. holes and the Price of silver.
a day or two ago the New York world
asked Gov. Boies the following question
do you really believe the United states
able. II free coinage were adopted. 70
maintain our currency at par with g0-d ll-
| a.ded by any other natlon2"
His answer was as follows.
Il DO not profess 10 be able 10 state with
absolutely certainty whether 10 would Or
would not. The great mass Of the friends
Of silver in the south and west believe u
would. They reason thus. Coinage laws
TX the commercial value Of gold By provi1-
ing IN unlimited demand for u al "A given
price. Like laws would fix the price ~
silver. provided only that the demand
should remain unlimited for all that would
reach our mints."
The foregoing question and answer are
important because Gov. Bo.es is thought
10 have the best chance for the preslden-
tial nomination az Chicago. 1t viii be no
tieed that Gov. Boies says he does not
profess to be able TO state with absolute
certainty whether unlimited silver coin
age at the ratio Of % to / by this country
alone would cause the price Of silver 10
so advance that the market value Of silver
would equal It's coinage value. lie says,
however. that ne believes it would, and
that the great majority Of the people Of the
south and west also believe it would. We
have no doubt that Gov. Boies is sincere
in what he says. but does it not seem re-
markable that neither he nor any
other silverite has been able yet
to give any satisfactory reason for
his belief? We very much doubt
that a great majority Of the people Of the
south and west hold the same belief about
silver that Gov. Boles does. Unless we
are greatly mistaken "the great majority
Of which he speaks favor silver because
they believe free silver coinage would food
the country with cheap paper money based
on silver. and that they could therefore
sell their products for higher prices in in
nated currency and thus pay their debts
more easily.
The silver.tes believed that If the
government purchased nearly the whole
product Of the silver mines of this coun-
try. and put it in circulation in the shape
of silver certificates the price of silver
would rise. The Sherman silver purchasing
law was enacted in 1890. by which 100000
ounces of silver per year were purchased
at the market price. what was the result?
At first the market felt the effect Of this
law and there was a small rise in the price
of silver At the same time however. there
was an increase in the production of sill
ver, and very soon the price began to fall.It
dropped so low that # caused a great hnan-
cial panic and disaster of untold pro-
portions was only averted by repeating
the Sherman law.
Now Gov. Boes says. all that is neces-
sary to cause the price of silver to ad-
vance so that sixteen ounces of silver viii
have the same commercial value as an
ounce of gold, is for the United States to
take all the silver offered at the ratio of
IS to l. He does not mean, of course that
the government shall coin all that is offer
ed Mt its mlnts. because 1t could not do thaB
not having the mint capacity, but that II
shall take ali that is offered and issue pa
per money for It.
1t was said by the silverites that the rea-
son the prices of silver fell while the Sher-
man purchasing law was in force was that
the silver was not consumed-that it was
simply stored in the treasury. VIII not the
same condition of affairs exist under I'M
limited free silver coinage? WIN not the
world know that the silver is only being
stored away and not being used. The ''un-
limited demand" of which Gov. Boies
speaks. will therefore be only apparent.
not real. That being the case would the
commercial value of silver advance? 1t is
pretty safe TO say it would not, especially
if production should increase, as doubtless
would be the case.