The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1900-11-16
Friday, Nov. l6, 1900.
silver Dead

of the younger people. The Baltimore
.Swn publishes some statistics which may
be safely accepted as substantially
accurate:
"Silver has advanced to SAX cents an
ounce under the influence chiefly of an
increased demand from the Indian gov
eminent. AS much as $25, DOC, 900 of sill
yer has been shipped in the last three
quarters from London to the British East
Indies, an increase of over 81, Goo. 900 over
last year. England imported in the nine
months ended with September Sal, 600, 900
worth of silver, of which amount the
United States supplied $40, 800, 900. The
total movement to India, China and Japan
was $40. Soc, 600. China $2I, SOC, 900 worth.
The foreign troops in China require silver
for local payments, aud Chinese mer-
chants, in consequence of the war, prefer
silver to goods in payment for Chinese
exports. The increase Of silver shipments
to the East over last year is some $751;
600, 600, or 46 per cent. The facts seem
TO show that the East is still capable of
absorbing silver and may continue to do
SO for long period"
Silver seems to be capable of consid-
GTdOkG duluidliOt iOt oSOt PSCs
The Rothschilds family handle all the
silver which is shipped to London
to be marketed. In the continent of
Europe less than $40, ooo, 600 of silver is
mined. America furnishes nearly all the
silver of the world aud the United States
and Mexico produce two-thirds to three
fourths of the worlds silver.
Sixty-four and a-half cents an ounce is
less than half the coin value of silver in
the U. S., and was formerly much less
than that in India, where the coinage
value was about IS to before the Eng
lish government demonetized it.
Forty millions of this silver which the
London Jew silver merchants bought in
the United States would have been worth,
if our minis were open to free coinage.
Sc, 1000, 900. The United States lost on
account of our closed minis Sac, 200, COO,
and England gained what the silver pro-
ducers lost. Silver is valuable crop or
product of this country and selling it to
foreigners at half price is the same from a
business.point of view as selling wheat or
any other product at half price. Such a
sale would not only be loss to the farm
ers but great public loss tending to
depress business-and in fact this con-
dition has occurred. A similar loss in
any other crop has similar result on
business. Whether the first or one thous-
anth link in chain is broken it breaks
the chain alike.
By the above statistics it is shown that
every government in the world, whether
gold standard government or not, is pur-
chasing silver in America-it can be had
nowhere else in sufficient quantity tc
supply the demand-and is coming it to
supply the people with the necessary
medium of exchange to transact business.
England coins shillings, France francs,
Germany marks, and on through all the
nations, coming silver not at I6 to but
at I5X to or less, and these coins are all
equal to gold in purchasing value, just as
our silver coins are. And they buy the
most of their silver in this country and
Mexico, the two greatest silver producing
countries, and pay something less than
half its value when coined into the money
of other nations. If our minis were open
to free coinage they would have to pay,
in place Of 64H cents an ounce, II. 20 ar
ounce, and they would buy the metal just
as readily, because they are obliged to
have it, and there would be no loss tc
foreign nations for the silver is worth
about three cents per dollar more in
European coins than United States coins.
Prior to 1893 the decline in the price Of
wheat and fall in the price of silver kept
so close together that it became almost q
proverb. After 1898 the price of wheat
and silver parted, bullion silver going
below wheat, or rather the price of wheat
rallied somewhat. A great famine visited
India and there was general shrotage OF
crops in all the wheat countries except
North America, where the crop was nm
usually large, and the price also advanced.
In Asiatic countries the people stick to
old customs. They refuse to change no
matter how much they may suffer by this
stubborn resistance. One of the customs
in India is a fixed price of two rupees for
a bushel of wheat After 1874, when
silver was demonetized in the United
also closed their minis, the price of silver
bullion Immediately began a steady
decline. The English government ruling
India allowed the silver rupee, the money
of India, to decline in its ratio to gold, as
the price of bullion silver fell. The de-
cline was so great that it threatened to
ruin India. Two rupees still bought a
bushel of wheat. Finally the rupee fell
till ~ were worth only IS. or the Eng
lish pound sterling, which then bought
II bushels of wheat. The English gold
leeches found that this kind of blood
sucking would soon ruin India, and the
Indian Council-a commission that gov
ems India from London, not unlike we
are governing Porto Rico and are trying
to govern the Philippnes-fxed the rupee
by law, take notice that law fixed the
value, at IS to the pound sterling.
When the rupee was full legal tender
1t was about equal to our half dollar and
ten rupees were equal in purchasing
power to the pound sterling. When the
India Council fixed it at IS to the pound
sterling wheat rose in India with the
rupee, to about Go cents. The rupee is
worth 33H cents in place of its original
value OF so cents, and two rupees buy a
bushel OF wheat in India, which is about
COS cents in our money and wheat at the
farms In this county is worth about the
same, and II has ranged up and down in
the 6o's ever since the India Council
sitting in London said IS India rupees
should be worth pound sterling.
Who can say that silver has not con.
trolled the price of wheat ever since 1874
In its downward price, and that the
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