The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1897-07-17

The white Metal Has steadily shrunk
I'm Value.

A Springfield Qli) 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 also asks IL, in our opinion, silver
will not have to be limited TO subsidiary
uses only IL the metal drops much be-
low fits present price. The answer to the
first query is that with silver quoted Mt
60c an ounce the amount of silver, 37iA
grains, in a standard dollar is worth 46c
and mills, or slightly less than 46hc.
The designation. soc dollar. that is TO
say, which was applied to it in the can
vass OF 1896, and which. according 10
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.
46c or Ate dollar.
Now that silver absorption by the
government has stopped, never TO be re-
newed under existing conditions. IL Is
interesting as a historical question 10
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 tile gold
line MT the United States coinage ratio.
When the Bland law was enacted on
February %. 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 at the ratio of sixteen
TO one proportion. No prophecy, how
ever, was ever more completely and
| signally falsified by the event. Silver
went down in place Of up, and the coin
which was 10 be n 100c dollar in few
months after the enactment OF the law
was a 00c 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 10 the 100c 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1898, was repealed.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 a
few short rallies since 1893, as there
were 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
upon the silver currency now existing?
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
at their gold level now that their vol
ume cannot be expanded. While the sill
yer element of the circulation is sta
tionary, and will remain so, the gold
element will keep on increasing. II
will doubtless increase much faster
than population or business. Thus the
silver per capita win continue to con-
tract and the gold per capita 10 expand
and silver will no longer be menace to
the country's financial stability. The
Sherman notes are practically a 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 ant
constructively, though, both silver Ger
tificates and silver dollars are made re
deemable in gold by that clause of thu
Sherman act--a clause that still stands
which proclaims that cit is the estab
lished policy of the United States T.
maintain the two metals on n part,
with each other" So long as the gol,
currency continues TO increase and tn
silver currency remains stationary, tn
silver dollar and its paper representa-
tive will be held up 20 the 100c line b.
the government, even though the dol
lars bullion value shrinl1s TO 10c or IL
st. Louis Globe-Democrat.