The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-07-29
THAT FLOOD OF SILVER. y
CAN THIS COUNTRY SURVIVE 1T?
BY H. w. LAWRENCE.


The gold standard advocates claim
that conditions have changed since
1895, and that with the increase of pro-
duction or gold we no longer need free
coinage of silver at 16 to 1, or at any
other ratio.
What are the facts in regard to the
amount Of gold and silver we have as
"A basis on which TO do the business of
the country The secretary of the
treasury claims that we have in the
United States June l, 1900:
In gold coin and gold bullion. 81, a. 531, 374
Held in the United States
treasury ..--....--- .--.-..-...- Zl6,6bl ,5f5
Leaving balance in banks and
circulation of --.-------.-------$ 6Z2.bI3,659
The question arises, where is this
large amount of gold coin? 1t is a
'weIl-knOwn fact that the amount Of
sold coin claimed to be IN circulation
in the United States has always been
overestimated, and it is reported that
Secretary Gage has lately been trying
to trace up where some $500, 900, 600 Of
this coin is located that was supposed
to be in circulation. Go where you will
in the eastern states and you will sell
dom find any gold coin in circulation.
it being nearly all held in bank re-
serves, and from the best information
that can be obtained there is not to
exceed:
Held in bank and trust COM
p3nleS over ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. $iUU,UOU,VJU
In circulation in the eastern
states, say ....-....--..--...-..-- 5OVU,UJV
In bank reserves and circula-
tion on the Pacific coast west
OF Denver ...............--..---.- 4OUD,OOO
$i9O,OOO, 900
This, il will be seen, leaves a balance
of gold coin to be accounted for. after
making the most liberal allowance for
gold in banks and circulation, of $780,,
600, 600
The money that is in circulation in
the United States and doing the work
of money is silver coins, silver certifi-
Gates. national bank notes and United
States treasury notes, or such portion
of the latter as are. not held as bank
reserves. 1t is safe to say that there
is not available in gold coin in the
United States that the people can use
as money over three dollars per cap
tia. Money, to perform its proper func-
ton, must be in circulation; and gold
coin. gold bullion stored away in bank
vaults, held in the United States treas
ury as reserves, is of no use to the
industrial classes. and cannot be used
as a medium of exchange under our
present system of coin redemption
money.
Silver in Circulation.
The amount of silver reported by the
secretary of the treasury June 1, 1900
is. as follows:
Standard silver dollars coined. .$4S7, 497, $50
Held in the United States treas
ury TO redeem silver certif-
Gates now in circulation. 4OS All, $40
Standard silver dollars remain
ing in United States treasury. Ill ,374. 1893
Balance said to be in circula-
ton ...-.... ....-....--..--.-..-.--- 6I6l9,92S
Subsidiary silver reported by
the secretary of the treasury
as having been coined in Unit
ed States mint and said to be
in circulation Observation-Disclosures. 81, 6l2,0I5
States treasury .............. 49,, cob. ass
Leaving balance in circulation. S 75.65S,5S7
With this showing of silver by the
secretary of the treasury there is about
$67, 000, 900 of silver dollars and $4,000, 900
of subsidiary or small silver in circu-
latiOn in this country, less than goo per
capita Of the silver dollars, and about
81 per capita in small silver coins. But
the fact is that even this small guam
tity of silver is not in circulation, as
it is a well known fact that in every
disaster by fire or water money is lost
or destroyed, to say nothing of the
many silver coins that have been used
in the arts, and for all of this loss
no allowance has been made by the
secretary of the treasury. A large pro-
portion of the subsidiary 5iIver coins
have been coined from thirty to fifty
years, and the standard dollars ten to
fifteen years mot speaking of S,000,0 900
coined fifty years ago or mOre.)
II is safe to say that there is not in
circulation over 64.000.000 silver dollars
and siXty-eight million dollars
in subsidiary or small silver, being
about IS cents in silver dollars and 80
cents in small silver for each person
of our 70 ZOO, 900 population. and for the
lack of a sufficient quantity Of this
kind OF money the American people
are hampered and distressed in many
cases to the verge of ruin for medium
with which to make their exchanges.
Want Dear Money.
The gold standard advocates want
dear money. whereby they can enslave
the people with debt. control the price
Of abor and its products, and are try
ing 20 make the paople believe that to
restore the free coinage of silver at the
ratio or Is to 1 would ruin the bust
ness of the country and turn back our
civilization.
They are careful to not tell the peo-
pie that the present gold standard ad-
ministratiOn is now coming under the
Cuban war bond law of 1898 from sill
YER bullion in the treasury s. 500 900
standard silver dollars each month at
the ratio of 16 10 1, and this has been
going on for two years and is part of
the money used to revive business.
They are careful also not to tell the
people that the $4,000, 900 ounces of sill
yer produced annually in our country
is mostly going to Europe as fast as
produced. for which we receive only
about so cents per Ounce-tO be coined
into money at a higher rate than Is to
I. namely, 15l5 to 1, or $l.S3 per ounce.
They do not, Furthermore, tell the
people that if our government should
coin ali its own products of silver at
the ratio of Is TO il would surely raise
the price of silver to the coinage value
in Europe, as they must have at least
80. 600 900 TO 35,000,000 ounces of this
metal to keep up their coinage on gov
eminent account, besides the silver
that goes to Asia, which is coined at
the ratio of Is to l. or $1.37 per ounce.
North and South America produces
of the silver Of the world,
so that when the United States restores
producing countries will not be silly
enough to sell their product at a less
price.