Weekly journal-miner., 1917-04-11
RISE PREDICTED |. DESPITE DROP
 IN SILVER
DECLINE ATTRIBUTED BY EXPERTS TO THE IN- CREASED WAR RISKS IN- CIDENT TO GERMAN SUB- MARINE CAMPAIGN.

[ /Z1SC. ms IS d ueCllne or o>SC IIOIu the record high of recent years made about month ago.
 The decline in the price of bar silver is attributed by experts in the trade to the increased war risks as a result of the unrestricted U-boat war fare which has been declared by Ger many and her allies. As result of this unrestricted warfare American producers have been asked to stand the increased expense. Knowing the urgent demand for the white metal, they promptly refused. It has now resolved itself into question of who can wait the longest. Stocks having been practically cleaned up, silver producers are in the strongest posi- ton statistically that they have occu- pied for a long time. The Allies, on the other hand are in urgent need, as the supplies of silver in London are very scanty.
 I home to the world, and especially to those nations which are against the coinage of silver, the fact that if the multitude cannot get gold they are willing to take silver coined by their respective governments-but they are not willing to take paper money or fiat currency of any other kind.
 The worlds supply of gold has not disappeared. It has to great extent been shifted over to the United States. The debts of the belligerents are staggering. The avenue of least resistence and the one which will most likely be chosen is the remonet- ization of silver, thereby relieving the money situation very materially and at the same time helping those coun- tries that use silver as their currency.
 Undoubtedly European bankers will struggle against this, maintain ing, as they always have, that silver never can be remonctizcd. War, how ever, has brought on so many chang es in the financial world, not alone in the monetary powers, but in every thing else, that it will be the only thing left for them to do to avoid disturbance in the financial world.
 There are many factors affecting the price of silver at the present time. Briefly, the three most important are the cutting off of the Mexican pro- duction, which in normal times is the largest of any one country in the world; the large demand from the belligerent governments for coinage purposes and to replace the drainage of gold, and the heavy demand from India resulting from that country's great prosperity. The demand on the part of the warning nations has great ly increased, that of Great Britain. for example, being seven times her normal requirements.
 The important point in connection with silver at the present time is, of course, whether the price of the metal i has seen its zenith or whether 1t will go higher On this point there is con- siderable difference of opinion, cer- tain authorities contending that the price of the metal is high enough, while others do not hesitate to pre- dict much higher prices.
 The boom in silver metal would seem to indicate boom in the stocks of the silver-producing companies. On the contrary, there has been no boom. While the stocks of some of the silver-producing companies have shown slight advances, the majority are selling at figures below their last years record highs. This has arous- cd considerable comment, to which the answer seems to be that the pub- lie has not as yet begun to appreciate the possibilities ahead of the silver producing companies.
 In this connection it is we'll to point out that the worlds annual produc- ton of silver is approximately l0,0OO,- 900 ounces. The United States pro- duces in the neighborhood of 67,0OO,- 900 ounces while its southern neigh Dor, Mexico, produces in normal times about 73,0OOO0O ounces. The Mexican production during the past year has been curtailed to less than 10 per cent of normal, while American production, notwithstanding the in creased output of silver as by-pro- duct, has remained about normal. It will take Mexico at least three years to regain its supremacy after peace is restored. Under these conditions there is no doubt that the market under the present stimulus will con- tinue to advance, with occasional re-