Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1897-09-16

vance in price on the market Mon
day. At London the price rose IS
penny, to 261s pence per ounce,
making a total advance of IL pence
since Friday. At New York it rose
cent per ounce to 5614 cents, making a
total rise OF "a cents in three days.
AS compared with the low prices of
August 25th. the lowest of the season.
these quotations represent net ad-
vance of 21s pence in London and 5l4
cents in New York.
The ostensible reason for this abrupt
recovery ia the talk, current at the
close of last week, regarding possible
action by the Bank of England in
keeping part of its reserve in silver,
but which has since been proved TO BIO
groundless. Aside from this however,
the available stock Of silver at London
has run very low, and the market il
oversold by contracts for delivery. Last
weeks exports of silver from New York
to London were valued at only S676, 36l,
against s765, 400 in the week ending
September 4th, and s943, 715 in the
week ending august 2Sth.
These facts show that metal silver
stands on all tours with any other
marketable commodity, and that it's
price is regulated absolutely by the
Law of supply and demand. Even the
advocates of free silver coinage now
admit this, but they do SO because
they cannot help it. Last year, how
ever, they secuted tho very idsa, and
insistod that free and unlimited coin
age OF the metal by the government, at
the ratio of 16 to l., would at once
raise the price of the metal to the
arbitrary rate Of S1.29 per ounce-no
more and no less. Even Mr.. Bryan has
been led to modify his views upon this
matter, and his argument this year,
contained in recent public letter, is
that free coinage at the ratio of 16 to l
would fix a mint price"-not 81. 80
per ounce-for metal silver To this
letter Secretary of the Treasury Gage
has written reply, in which he says :
There is, properly speaking, no mint
price for either gold or silver. All the
mint could do for silver at whatever
60 called ratio" would be to give the
man bringing uncoineG silver 10 tho
mint an equal amount in ounces and
grains OF coined silver, loss the cost of
the alloy used by the mint in coming
it. In the one case the man mas his
gold returned to him in gold dollars.
In the other case he ba5 silver re-
turned to him in silver dollars. Up ia
this point, nothing in the shape of q
demand such is Mr.. Bryan talks about
hos appeared. Why, then, does he
sophisticute about the "domand thus
created ny law" when there is no de-
mand thus created by law?' Take
the legal tender quality away from
both, and neither Mr.. Bryan nor ANY
of his intelligent followers would claim
that silver III the form of dollars wouc
bring in exchange for other things any
substantially higher price than the hui
lion world bring before being coined.
Mr.. ljryan adds 20 his statement
''Thus the bullion value will be raised
10 the coinage value. There is NJ
raiee about it. Under free coinage thu
bullion value and tho coinage valuo arr
and must lie identical, but the deter
mining factor ia the bullion value Tn
matter mere might be dismissed, bu
there is an influence at work which
might and probably would operate II
rGis3 The value of silver, to what exten
OF sIew continuously nobody knows. 4
The silver dollars would serve to pa
existing debts, many people wuult
avail themselves thereof to dischaig
tLoir obligations, provided they coull
make profit to themselves by doin
90. This they could do only in cas
tho silver dollars were worth less thai
gold dollars.
We will grant there would be de
mand, and if there were now no silve
dollars in existence, those first COMM
into the market would bring a hig
price. But there are now about $500,
600, 900, and ono dollar can be made I
serve by repeated use in the paymer
of unlimited dollars OF debit So tina
it there vera such demand for I'll
new dollars as to materially enhant
their prices in tho beginning, the il
creasing supply always coming thruug
the mint would soon satisfy it, and Il
price-that 10, the market pricB-wOul
soon decline again 10 a point whore II
value of the silver dollar would |
relegated to its eXchangable power I,
things in the commercial exchanges
the world. Then, when that tin
came, which ii soon would, the mark
value OF tho coined dollar would bu Il
same as the market vnIus Of the bullic
IN ii, and unless new demand shou
arise not now foreseen, or unless 81
silver supply should be much reducei
the value of silver. either as q metal
ms mouey, would not he essential
uit1ereht from tho DFeRgDt Snlup
silver bullion.
Whether the silveritos will take al
comfort in the advance 10 price
metal silver remains to be Haen. IL
hardly pleasing to them, however,
taken in connection with the Tece
slump of the metal on tho market,
serves to completely destroy their p
theory and 10 prove that silvor, like
other commodities, will iuctuato
price according TO the conditions
supply and the strength Of deman
No more can they insist that its pri
regulates the price of wheat, or tn
free and unlimited coinage would
once raise its value to 81. 20 per ount
And with those failacies evpluaed, t
cause Of free silver coinage has moi
leg left to stand upon
The DinGley bill continues to maxi
record as prolpCer of deficits
figures for August being So, Jlil, q
The government recep prs idr the NOR
were :ls, al2. 2Oj, against 80 5j2, 03G