New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-07-17
UOPE or THE "CRIUE or 1913"

II il one of the stock complaints Of 'le reg
silver partisans that the "crne Of lSI3 l. the
cause Of the depreciation in the price OF sill
yer When he fact is pointed ont To them that
increased production Of silver. like Increased
production of any other commodity without II
corlespondngy increased demand for 1t. ncces
sarily lowers lis price. they reply that III" trout
bl, in this particular case j. with the demand
and not li. supply. They contend that the
closing OF the Mint to the free coinage OF silver
decreased the demand AMI thus lowered the
price The obvious answer to this argument
of course is that Mint. open or closed, can
never create nor affect the demand for any
metal be it gold. silver or lead. The demand
must come from the people, and the value Il
dependent OH both the supply and the demand
The Mint merely stamps the metal with GER
tihcation that it weighs much and is OF
certain quality 1t neither adds 10 nor takes
from the value the metal had before 1t WAS
stamped.
But obvious answers do not go with people
whose minds are poisoned with false logic and
appeals to prejudice and supposed self-nerest
so il may be worth while AT this time 10 repeat
the wcllknown facts as to the course or silver
production and prices both before and after the
pasSage of the law of 1873. For eightyOne years
from 1872 To 1913, when the United States Mint
was open To the free coinage of silver. the de
mand for silver was so great in proportion 10
the supply that little or none was offered Tor
coinage. 1t was worth more as bullion than
as coin. and what little did happen TO get
through the Mint was promptly melted up
again During that period the price Infatuated.
just as il has since. in proportion 10 the sup
ply with II gradual downward tendency as the
supply increased. In 1870 the worlds output
of silver was 81 .O0,@o fine ounces. and the
average price that year was S1.344 an ounce.
In lS5 the output was @.Sn.UW ounces. ana
the average price was Sl:S'S. In 1919 the
annual output had reached G2.262.ooo ounces.
and the price had dropped 10 Sl24S Ky lNS'
the output jumped 10 ~ ij2oO0 ounces and the
price fell to 81 Oj4J while in lS'j the output
was IT,. NOOWO ounces. and the price SO6149
During the twenty years from 1870 TO 1919
the United States Mint was wide open 10 silver
for the greater part Of the time. but only Few
hundred thousand silver dollars were coined.
During the twenty years from 1910 to 1870 the
Mint was partly open 10 silver for the greater
part Of the time and The whole credit or me
Government was exerted to maintain the price
of the metal, but withou; avail 1t was only
when the credit of the Government was on the
very verge of collapse that the effort was given
up In that time 42OOOOOOO silver dollars were
coined. and additional silver bullion TO the
amour. Of over 1IOWDO0o ounces was pur-
chased which is represented in circulation by
Treasury notes. Yet in spite Of all this the
price of silver has continued to decline as the
production has increased.
In 1870 the population of the United States
was II little over 3SOOOOOO persons; In 1890 1t
was about 7OWO.0O0 In 1870 the total supply
of money in the United States was $I22, $685.,
46l, or Il per capita supply of SIS I3: but none
of this money was coin except few million
dollars in gold on the Pacific Coast In 1895
the total supply Of money was S2,3!'S, 2o0a34. or
II per capita supply of S34 -, Of which over
onc-haf is gold and silver in about equal pro-
portions How the 'crime of 1879 did contract
the money supply.