The daily silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1903-1907, 1906-11-15
THE PRICE OF SILVER

for the miners of the metal, and per-
haps a good thing generally, says the
San Francisco Chronicle, is bound tc
make serious trouble for all those coun
tries which in recent years nave ISSUED
their silver coinage at the ratio OF 8.
to / with gold. These countries include
Japan. the Straits Settlemt nts, the
Dutch East Indian colonies, the Philip
pines. Mexico, and perhaps others. In
1873. when the crime of d~emonetiza
ton of silver was committed, one ounce
of gold would buy very nearly sixteei
ounces of silver, the ratio usually flu
tuating between Is II to 1898 to !
With silver and gold coined on tina
basis, and the fluctuations as hke to b.
in one direction as another, the tw
curreneies would circulate tog Their s
both were legal tender. With he ger
eral decentralization Of silver the dc
cline in the price of that metal began
at first slowly and then with rapid
accelerated speed, until in 1894, on
ounce of fine gould would buy thirty
two ounces of silver, and the grea
monetary discussion was on. From l89
there were ups and downs in the pric
of silver, but with a steady aevrag
sag until, in 1902, the price of silve
in terms of gold was a trife less tina
So s cents per ounce and an ounce Q
fine gold would buy 1915 ounces of sil
yer. The prize of silver quoted are tn.
--.oo, 60 4hn xraarc nana6
The downward tendency had been Sc
long continued that the financial worl,
had ceased to expect any importan
rise in silver.
During those years one s~ilver-usinf
using country after another, who's
commerce suffered from the fiuetuatinl
values of silver coin, decided to estat
lish q stable silver currency by coinin
at the ratio of 80 to l, strictly limitins
the quartity issued, making it lega
tender ard redeemable by the i~ssnins
government in gold at the ratio of B.
to l. This seemed perfectly safe. Tn
ownerk of t~hirty-two ounces of silve'
could obtain for it in the country o.
issue gold coin weighing one ounce. II
he should export it, however, to som
other country, he would have, in 1902
to export over thirty-nine ounces of sill
yer coin to get one ounce of gold. Ev
identity he would not export it. TIL
minted silver would circulate in tn
country of it's issue as money having
a fixed value in gold, just as our ow
silver dollars have. Silver and go
would circulate together each being
used indifferently as the convenience
of the people required. The public, ant
especially the press, rejoiced in the flu
assurance that the everlasting silve
question had been got rid of forever
But we were all mistaken. The silve
question has bobbed up again. Sine
1902 there has been a steady rise in thu
price of silver from 52.8 cents per fin
ounce, until it was, on Saturday, an
nounced that the director of the min
had paid 71.S27 cents per ounce 70
silver needed for subsidiary coinage
At that price the silver in the Philip
penes pesos, japanese yen and Mexical
dollars is worth more for export III
bullion than for money in the %countr,
of issue. The Philippine governmen
will require thirty-two ounces of silve'
coin in exchange for gold coin weigh
ing one ounce, but the owners, by ex
porting it can get an ounce of gold for
say, twenty-five ounces of silver coin
Evidently it will be exported, and i
it is sought to keep it in the %countr
by an export tax, it will be smugglec
or boarded. As fast as the minis cal
coin money it will disappear from cir
culation, because each coin is wort
more as bullion that the gold coin witt
which it was redeemed. The result Il
already evident in financial distress il
all countries having a limited circula
ton of silver redeemable in gold at
fixed price, except our own. We coli
on a ratio of 16 to /, and our silve
currency is apparently safe, althoug
a still further rise of silver is cont
IDENTIFY expected. The price of fine 81
yer will have to rise above $1.33 pc
ounce before our silver dollars viii ho
melted down. The same is true of tn
silver coinage of Canada and all Flu
ropean countries.