Ripley County democrat., 1917-11-16
PRICE OF Silver
CLIMBS RAPIDLY
Reaches the Highest Point IN
Thirty Years.
Big PROBLEM IN FINANCE
story VI Metal's Rise In Value In War
Times Reads Like Romance Rus.
sian Ruble and Indian Rupee Are
Worth More 40 Bullion Than a.
Money.

Silver has advanced In price by sev.
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. 80 recently as 1909
the commercial ratio Of gold to silver
was stated at 89.74. For 1904 1t was
given as S7.a9; 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 30 aston
ishing as It seems ut first glance. De.
spite Its use as subsidiary money all
over the world, silver is still merely a
commodity, and its increase II only q
little less than that Of other comsnodi.
Ties. The Economists index figure at
the end Of July, 1914, was 1895; at the
end Of August, 1917, It was 257.1.
Silver has gone up In value as com.
pared to gold. but not as compared to
commodities, It has actually fallen o
trife In comparison with the average
Of commodities. Measured in gold the
price Of silver is higher today than It
has been for 30 years,
One Of the problems Of the financial
world is this Of silver. Everybody
knows that whenever the bullion value
Of coin gets above Its monetary value
there Is tendency to withdraw the
coin from circulation, melt 1t down and
sell It as bullion. In various countries
silver coins are right now worth more
as bullion than as money.
Ruble Worth More 40 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 so pence, or 81, per ounce, the
silver In the Russian ruble was worth
Is. 75bd., or 63 cents. II one could get
hold Of few tons Of rubles at their
nominal price, melt them down and
offer them for sale In the London silver
market It would be q 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 en-, or 18 cents.
Russia is thus on o paper basis, with
sadly deprecated stock Of paper
money.
!, Before the war gold coins circulated
as freely in England from hand to hand
and pocket to pocket as they used to
do In the American mountain regions
and Pacific West. Today If one should
have gold sovereign offered to him
out Of the shopkeeper's cash register
II would constitute an incident almost
important enough to divide attention
with the situation In Sweden.
The amount of new silver coinage in
England Is very large. while In France
1t is 80 great that silver coins of pre-
war years are rather exceptional as
compared with those Of the last three
years.
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 Ia
moved to conserve its silver supplies
for exactly the same reason that the
European allies are adopting that
course.
Irdla has a genius for disturbing the
money metal market. A few years ago
authorities were worried,be-l
cause India was constantly pulling IN \
gold from all over the world and bury
Ing It. The wiscacres Of finance ngl-
tated themselves vastly about what be-
came Of the gold that got to India.
The country's appetite FOR the metal
seemed unsuitable.
R0pee Exceeds IL Faes yslus.
Recently the advancing price of Ell.
ver has Increased the dlf1culty OF the
situation III India The silver rupee
= udu <or11Id dn-uI,Iv mora oninok1o -