The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1915-10-05
SILyfR'S PRESENT
AND FUTURE STATUS

Mr.. Solon Spiro, president of the
Silver King Consolidated mine, recent
ly furnished the Copper Curb and Min
ing Outlook of New York with the fol
lowing interesting expression of his
views on the present status and future
prospects of silver;
1.-The great war has already given
us number of lessons in monetary
science and it will teach us more. We
have learned for one thing that III
time of stress people put their faith in
silver coin in preference to paper mo
ney. The banks and the government
hoard gold; the people hoard silver.
1he reason is plain. Silver is wealth.
Il embodies labor. There is only linn
tied amount of it in the world. 1t IS
the only kind of money with value In
itself that can be used in small trans
actions. Ninety per cent of the busi-
Less transactions in the world are IN
amounts of less than five dollars.
The biggest debt in the world can
be paid in silver, but 90 per cent OF
the world S purchases cannot be made
with gold alone. As a measure of value
gold is all right but it never can be
as serviceable for money as silver.
" Silver is at a premium in Europe.
We can t say Just how much of pre-
MUM now, but it is worth more than
paper No matter what the premium
is it will increase as the quantity If
paper in circulation increases. That
paper is going 20 lie legal tender IN
the payment of debts So long as sill
yer is at a premium and paper at
discount the hoarder of silver will buy
paper money to pay his debts. Credit
ors viii be paid off in a deprecated cur
reney.
"There is but one way in which sill
yer and paper can be made of equal
value, and that is to coin more silver
ard put it in circulation This viii have
to be done if the creditor classes in
Europe are to escape tremendous losses.
Here is a peculiar thing about sii-
yer No one ever questions the value
cf silver coin in the country where
il is minted. Paper may fuctuate, but
silver always passes at its face value.
It's usefulness as money is so great as
10 offset the low price of the metal IN
it. In its home country ii IS absolute
Is the best money there is.
eft is a matter Of common knowl-
edge that the fighting countries have
collected every ounce Of gold they can
pet to paw neutral nations for food and
war supplies After the gold is gone,
( they viii borrow il back on the seeuri-
ties Of the neutrals When the securi-
tiey are all hypothecated there is no
telling what they viii do-stop fight
ING. it is to be hoped-4but in the mean
time the five principal powers have on
hand silver coin Of 4 face value of
billion dollars It's metal value is about
$4o0 0Q0, 600. Yet its military value in
ills tremendous crisis is-nothing.
Remember this: As coin this silver
Is worth a billion dollars; as metal it
Is worth $400. .e000 GOO Still, in their
hour of greatest necessity the nations
that own it cannot use il because there
| Is no universal market for it.
Judging from their scramble for
/ cold thev would gladly send their sill
yer TO the United States a its metal
valuation in exchange for food and NM
nitions and take if back again for
/ American securities hut the United
States has not created a stable market
| for silver America produces practical
1 ~ All the, silver Of the world, vet it
! eliows a CLIQUE Of sneculators in Lon
son to manipulate the price
Suppose we had little more fnan
cial natr'otism
| 'SSuuaase orr trcasurv wonli accent
4 tfis billion tIalla~s ~ ecip at its metal
vf Inc and iasue therefor 100000 o0a
;a silver certificates redeemah'e in hui
J lion or foreign coin.
! D'Then imagine the war over an'f
+ E'urone attemntipg IN resume its inte~
+ So h,,rfneSs without silver coinage.
''Who, then, would he in q ocsitia~
to name TIE rqtio Of value between sill
yer and gold
''Tsn I it very probable that those
silver certificates would go TO pre-
niium9 And that our government would
have to raise the price of its silver hui
lion TO keep them down to par; and
trat in doing this il would make pro
ht of sl00,O00000 to 100000 900; and
taat ii would therea fter command the
market price of one of the money met
ais throughout the world; and that il
would gain the trade of every silver
mining country Of the world and that
+ would benefit immensely three OF
It's own national nanstries-mining
sneltipg and freight transportation
''Give an automobile to a Hottento'
md il is worthless; give il to civil
ed man and it is of great utility.
''The United States has the moneta
q, automobile
Are we civilized or Hottentots Z