The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-02-18
SHIFTING SILVER MARKET.

The silver market is having good
many ups and downs these times, and
the quotations arc so uncertain as TO
lead TO the conclusion that silver prices
are now matter more of speculation
than OF rca supply and demand. 1t is
natural that this should bc so, since
The rise In silver was uuquestionably
caused by the great demand for the
white metal in China, by reason of the
revolution there and the expenditures
made necessary thereby, joined 10 the
uncertainty Of China S future.
In this connection, VIC take leave to
renew suggestion made some days
ago in these columns, 10 The effect that
now would bo an excellent time to re
store silver 10 lis old coinage bass. The
very orcs who opposed silver in the old
contentious arc now crying out against
the chcapcning of gold by reason of its
over production, and claiming that this
over production OF gold is really the
cause of the inflated prices of the pc,
ccssitics Of life, Their former outcry
against silver was of precisely the same
nature as their present outcry against
gold. Silver, it WAS said was produced
too chcaply and too abundanlly; 1T
would never do TO continue il as a coin
age metal, because Of this eheapness
aud abundance Therefore. the coinage
Of the silver dollar must be discontin-
ucd, aud it was discontinued.
The objection to the restoration OF
silver, as later developed during the sill
YER campaign, was, as stated, that Sill
yer was too nbundauily produced TO al
low the continuance Of it as a money
metal But now that gold is produced
in more tremendous quantities than
ever, and the same complaint is made
now against gold that WAS formerly
made against silver. there is no possible
chance to cvade the point that gold is
subject TO the same criticism now that
silver was fifteen and twenty years ago,
both metals now being equally under
the criticism of those who would wish
10 hold money scarce and dear, and
there would appear to be no reason why
thov should not now be brought togeth-
er substantially on the old basis. II
it is true that silver was justly de-
graded as money metal, and its restor-
alton was refused when the campaign
was made for that restoration, because
Of It's cbeapucss, it is clear that the
same reasoning applies now against gold
that applied then against silver. Both
metals are equally IN the dumps, both
can be treated on the same degraded
scale. II would appear to be clear
case. therefore, that if the nations would
brace up and offer 10 China abundant
loans III silver, there would be provided
a market for all the silver that could
he produced and all the reserve silver
that is now in the world.
Suppose there were but a per capita
Of SO in silver supplied to China, that
would be at present prices, 1000, 900, 900
ounces of silver, and that per capita is
less than one-third Of the per capita Of
money in circulation in the United
States 1t is manifest also that if there
were SO Of silver per capita circulated
in China, there would be nearly as much
more held in reserves Of various kinds
and in the Government treasures; SO
that there is in sight in China the plac
ing of somewhere from 12,000,000,0 ,000
to $4,000, 900 ounces of silver. This
is more than the world can supply, and
the nations could very easily make the
deal proposed, and with the co-opcra.
tiou OF all, to the end that silver and
gold could once more be united on q
coinage basis, even the old standard il
il were so determined.
There has been no time in the last
thirty years when there was as good
an opportunity TO bring silver to the
same old level with gold that it occu
pied for generations, as Is presented
now. The only question is, will the ma
tions Of the earth take hold Of the prob
lem and solve it right, and to the ad
vantage of all their people? We doubt
if there is sufficient courage aud per
spicacity in the cOuDsels of the nations
to DO this beneficial and easily effected
work