Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1897-07-21
SilVER'S PAST AND FUTURE.
The white Metal aa. steadily ssraaL
I'm Value.

In Value.
Springfield Ull) reader of the
Globe Democrat asks what is the value
of the silver in the standard dollar when
silver is quoted at coo an ounce. around
which figure il has lowered recently.
and ais" asks IL. in our opinion. silver
will not have TO be limited to subsidiary
uses only IL the metal drops much be-
low its present price. The answer TO the
first query is that with silver quoted at
coo an ounce the amount of silver, STlL
grains, in "a standard dollar is worth 46c
and mills. or slightly less than <6,,c.
The designation, soc dollar. that is to
say, which was applied to il in the can
Vsss of 1896, and which. according to
Chairman Jones, OF Arkansas. hurt the
popocratic party in the campaign more
than anything else that was said by the
republicans and the gold democrats.
does that coin too much honor. Ii is a
ACC or 4Tc dollar.
Now that silver absorption by the
government has stopped. never to be re-
newed under existing conditions, il Is
interesting as n historical question to
recall the steadiness with which silver
has shrunk in value, despite the at
tempts OF the government, persisted in
for Is years, 10 send il up TO the gold
line at the United States coinage ratio
When the Bland law was enacted on
February IS, 1878, the bullion value of
the silver dollar was 92c. The friends of
the law said that act would send silver
up, and soon close the narrow gap be-
tween IL and gold ut the ratio of sixteen
to Nn ~ 4
ever, was ever more completely and
signally falsifed by the event. Silver
went down in place of up, and the coin
which was TO be n l00c dollar in n few
months after the enactment of the law
was 90c dollar instead. 1t was an soc
dollar in 1890. when the Sherman law
which was To quickly and permanently,
according TO some OF the sooth-sayers,
send il up TO the 1Ooc line. was passed.
but il was down TO 76c in 1891, and was
below coo when the Sherman law, in
1898, was repealed. There have been n
few short rallies since 1893. as there
we're In previous years, but the general
tendency in silver prices has been down
ward since that date as well as for
many years before.
What effect will this shrinkage have
1pon the silver currency now existing Z?
None whatever. The silver dollars, sill
yer certificates and Sherman notes. the
latter of which were issued against de-
posits of silver bullion. can all be held
ut their gold level now that their vol
ume cannot be expanded. While the sill
yer element of the circulation ia sta
tionary, and will remain so. the pold
element will keep on increasing. 1t
Will doubtless Increase much faster
than population or business. Thus the
silver per capita will continue TO con-
tract and the gold per capita TO expand,
and silver will no longer be a menace 10
the country's financial stability. The
Sherman notes are practically gold
currency. Silver certificates are re-
deemable in silver dollars, and silver
dollars are their own redeemer-that
IS. they are, in the jargon Of the silver
ties, primary money" Virtually and
constructively, though. both silver GER
tificates and silver dollars are made re
deemable in gold 10y that clause Of the
Sherman act--a clause that still stands
which proclaims that cit is the cstab-
.ished policy OF the United States 10
maintain the two metals on parity
with each other" So long as the gold
currency continues TO increase and the
silver currency remains stationary, the
silver dollar and its paper representa-
tive will he held up to the lOOc line by
the government. even though the dol
lars bullion value shrinks TO 10c or 1c.
| st. Louis Globe Democrat