The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1917-10-30
PRICE OF SILVER
CLIMBS RAPIDLY
Reaches the Highest Point In
.s,.,. Thirty Years.
BIG PROBLEM IN FINANCE

story es Metals Rise In Value In War
Times Reads Like Romanoe--Rus-,
elan RubIe and indian Rupee Arc
Worth More 40 Bullion Than a.
Money.
Silver has advanced In price by sew
en-leagued strides for a considerable
time. Everything In the present mar.
ket for precious metals points to the
probability that the rise will continue.
The story OF silver since the war
began is one of the romances of the
great struggles. SO recently as 1909
the commercial ratio Of gold to silver
was stated at 1914. For 1904 1t was
given as 87.49; silver has therefore
slightly more than double In value, as
compared to the nominal quotations of
gold since the first Of the war.
This, however. is not really so aston.
ishing rs It. seems at first glance. De.
spite Its use as subsidiary money all
over the world, silver Is still merely q
commodity, and Its increase is only
little less than that of other commodi-
ties. The Economists index figure at
the end Of July, 1914, was 1865; at the
end of.August, 1917. 1t was 2571.
Z silver has gone up In value as com.
| pared to gold, but not as compared to
commodities. II has actually fallen
| trtfie In comparison with the average
of commodities. Measured In gold the
price of silver ls higher today than 1t
has been for so years.
! ! One Of the, problems Of the financial
world is this of silver. Everybody
knows that whenever the bullion value
OF a coin gets above Its monetary value
there is tendency to withdraw the
coin from calculation, melt 1t down and
sell IL as bullion. In various countries
silver coins are right now worth more
ns bullion than as money.
~ RubIe Worth Moro az Bullion.
For example, the Russian ruble was
worth before the war 81 cents as
money, but its bullion value was much
less. When the price of silver bullion
got to, 80 pence, or 81, per ounce, the
silver In the Russian ruble was worth
2s. 7hd, or 63 cents. II one could get
hold, OF a few tons of rubles at their
nominal price, melt them down and
! Offer them for sale In the London silver
market II would be fine speculation.
The effect Is that the ruble disappears
from ordinary circulation. The Russian
paper ruble was quoted at the same
time as worth only ,6h., or 13 cents.
;. Russia Is thus on paper basis, with n
sadly deprecated stock Of paper
money.
Before the war gold coins circulated
as freely n England from hand to hand
and pocket to,pOcket as they used to
do In the American mountain regions
and Pacific West. Today IL one should
have a gold sovereign offered to him
out Of the shapkeeper's cash register
II would constitute an incident almost
important enough to divide attention
With the situation In Sweden.
2 The amount Of new silver coinage in
England Ia very large, while in France
IL IA 10 great that silver coins Of pre-
) var years are rather exceptional as
compared with those Of the last three
years. t7,
The demand for silver at the mints
promptly started the price upward. Be-
, fore the United States and Canada
came into the war both were still ex.
porting silver, but now China is reach
ing out for all the white metal she
can get, while the United States is
moved to conserve its silver supplies
for exactly the same reason that the
European allies are adopting that
: course.
India has genius for disturbing the
: money metal market. A few years age
, financial authorities were worried be
!. cause india was constantly pulling In
geld from all over the world and bury
4 ing II. The wiseacres of finance agi
!. tated themselves vastly about what be
cnme OF the gold that got to India
The country's appetite for the metal
seemed unsuitable.
Rupee Exceeds tie Face Value.
Recently the advancing price Of sill
: yer has increased the difficulty Of the
situation in india. The silver rupee
d IS now considerably more valuable a'
4 bullion thnn as money. SO there is the
}. temptation to hoard the coins or tC
melt them down and sell the bullion
back to the mlnts, The government l:
under the necessity of maintaining q
> steady supply of money, and this stu
J. alton causes difficulties that do no
IT need to be described.
y The government of India has taker
o steps to prohibit all imports of silvel
into the country except on government
e account the government taking pains
% to discourage boarding and melting b!
I every possible means. The lndiaI
stock OF silver has within the last yea
. . fallen TO point described as danger
. ously low, and II is proposed to supple
IL ment II by Increasing the issues o