Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1906-08-16
GOVERNMENT WILL ENTER THE
MARKET FOR 100000 OUNCES
PER WEEK.
FIRST TIME IN IS YEARS
The Silver Bullion In the Treasury
Exhausted, and the Governmet
Must Meet the Demand For
Subsidiary Coin.

Washington. For the first
time for 10 years the government has
announced its purpose to purchase
silver for coinage purposes. Tenders
are invited at the office of the director
of the mint in this city on Wednesday.
the 18th instant, up to l o'clock D. m,
and every Wednesday thereafter until
further notice. These tenders are to
be for delivery at the Philadelphia,
New Orleans or Denver minis, settle
ment to be on the New York basis OF
bullion, guaranteed 500 fine. The
treasury reserves the right to reject
all tenders, or accept such part of any
tender as may suit its convenience. It
is understood that, anticipating that
its temperance as a purchaser might
temporarily disturb the market I'M
duly, the treasury has obtained con-
troll of considerable amounts for flu
ture delivery, so that it is in position
to drop out of the market for several
months IL desirable.
100000 Ounces Per Week.
The average requirements of the
treasury throughout the year will prob
ably not exceed 100000 ounces per
week, and it will be the policy Of the
department, while keeping a reason
able amount on hand, to so distribute
its purchases throughout the year that
its demands will be Inform and not
an element Of uncertainty in the mar
Ket
From the resumption of specie pay
ments in 1879 down to the year 1900
the constant increase in the stock of
subsidiary coin required by the grow
ing population and trade of the coun-
try was supplied by the recoinage of
old and uncurreLt subsidiary coins
which accumulated in the treasury
under the resumption act. This stock
was running low, and authority was
granted in the monetary act OF March
IA to the secretary of the treasury to
divert bullion, purchased under the
act of July Il, 1890, for the coinage of ,
silver dollars to the coinage of sub
sidiary pieces. Under this authority
about $S3,OOO,OOO has been Coined
since 1900.
Perfectly Legal to Purchase Silver.
The stock Of the treasury had be-
come so low, in fact exhausted, that it
was apparent according to the de-
partment that the demands of a con-
stantly enlarging trade could not be
met without additional coin
age. The secretary of the treas
ury was in doubt whether existing
statutes authorized him to buy bullion
for this purpose, and, moreover, was
of the opinion that it would be a bet.
ter policy to meet future demands for
subsidiary coin by the recoinage of
silver dollars in the treasury, and so
recommended to congress. Congress,
however, having failed to act upon his
Secretary Shaw re-
quested an opinion from the attorney
general as to his authority to purchase
bullion for this purpose under existing
law, and he returned a favorable re-
ply, based on Section 1926 of the Re-
vised Statutes. The policy now an
nounced was accordingly determined
upon.
Silver Purchases In the Past.
From January, 1875, to Febru-
airy, 1878, the government pur-
chased 81 SOB, 800 fine ounces
OF silver, cost S37,571,l las in
gold, average per fine ounce. .S11SS
Under Bland-Allison act, $751;
272,O1S fine ounces were pur-
chaser, cost $3OS,279, 26O, or an
average price Of .$l.O5S
Under tho Sherman act, 16S,674,-
6S2 fine ounces purchased, at
cost of S153,9S1,6O2, or an ay-
erage cost f.............. S0.924
The last purchase under the
. Sherman act, October 80, 1898,
was at '...............$ 0.12
From that date until the present
the government has been out of the
market for the purchase of silver, ex-
cept as the agent of the Philippine
in the purchase of a little
over 1S,500,OO0 ounces, costing ST.
S67,995, or an average Of $0.54h.
Lowest Price Silver Has Touched.
The lowest price for silver was
tounced on December 8, 1902, when
the price on the London market was
equivalent to SO.47S per fine ounce;
the average for last year on the Lon
don market was 81 cents per ounce,
and for the month of July last, &C
cents per ounce.