Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1902-12-12
me DE"LI>E ar SILVER.

/ Dlscuss ng thc rupld lccliur IL the
/ prices "f silver ana the cuuSr- which
! hav" brought It about. the last issric If
the Engineering and Mining .Journnl
/ tN"v. 30 says:
The stead! and rrrs ist"ut fall ia the
/ price ~ silver. which has now been 90.
ing on Ia! over YEAR. strll continues,
and thrrc lis apparently no h'mg tn stop
It SILVER ha~ sod down this week
h"IrlN /" Il ccuiS A. ouu,r "a Nrw
I York. and every Indication II hat i,
must go lower still IN fac'. som" who
ar" familiar with the conditions dn not
hesitate l." S''y that ~ cents an nuur" ~
IN sight, uni"as something now rutircly
unexpected thuud happen tn change
the c"urs" 81 the metal. Such ii price
""uIt hav" b""n Thought imp"sslbl,.
but prnbhhl".
w" have from time Ia time referred Ia
the causes ~ the fall. and "A brief r..
Capit@latIOu w0uli b, sufficient. Chief
among these i the dimIr ishcd demand
from .hc east, wmrh hn- absorbed
nearly iaif u the wor!I's output Tor
many years past. T., the east 81, meant
India. China and JGan chiefly the
Dutch Fast Indies bc,ng included ONLY
rs II small GuNcr. whu~, demand add
It'll" T." The total. or th" three coun.
tries ualnc', Jhrhu ha- ceased t. be- =
thctUi III the silver mRrSc'. leaving
thIna Hmd ludIt a. the great buyers
But lniIa-Im which ~ included the
pcnin- uln. haa had ,hrr" years canine
and plague Nhirh have largely dimn.
ish"d both its ability and it- disposition
t" buy. In India proper has been a de
gre" II porerty which prevented invest.
mcnts Oi saving, in tho time hOuUrrd
way; and probably il will take several
years FOR the country to recover Even
the low price nov prevailing has failed
/" tempt buying Tor the hnHanre; and
tins IL u thing unhcard Of before. The
dcinand from the Malay Peninsula has
diminished III spite oi the high price aud
large production ni tIr; fact which IL
accounted for by the Increased proper
tion 81 that metal handled by English
companies, which sell ou Il gold basis
In China, which is usually second
only t" ludia H. Il buyer Of silver. trade
was thornushi! diSorgnnizcd hy the
Boxer rebellion and the subsequent
war, Cudcr the operation of the i'll
dcmni;y payments cNactod 10y the pow.
era, China Is for th" time u seller ruihcr
than buyer OF silver. while the Aus.
traliHn sIlycr product. Il large jart uf
winch Was usually shipped to China,
now gprs To London, still further in.
crcnsng the supplies there.
Meantime the production II silver
ducS not drcrcasc I" amy considerable
extent, and the reason for this ~
c,,ar Ia the United States at the pres
"nt time, silver IL almost exclusively a
hy product. u is produced in cunncr.
tIOb with copper and lend: anC with gold
nlso. though to u very much smaller rx
tent, This IL the case also III Australia,
and III some degree IN Mexico. though
the last named county has more mines
from which silver alone IL drawn than
any other country. As long ~ there ~
u demand Tor copper and lead. silver
will continue {" be produced III quuu.
titl npproXimntiug the present output
So that tn" relief from th" present sit
uatiun must come from larger demands.
mud not from Diminishing supplies.
II II possible that the low price may
result ~ some ,nCrcnac ~ the rOusurnp-
tiou of The metal in The arts and Undue.
trics. NJ present prices. Tor instance,
solid eilvrrwar" for household purposes
ought not la cost more than the higher
grahca Of plated ware, and itq possession
IL more tatisiaCtory foi many rcasnns.
This demand. hcwcvcr. is comparatively
small. und by itacIf would moi bC sui.
iicicut Ia help materially IN any re-
action