The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1917-10-24
PRICE or SILVER
CLIMBS RAPIDLY
Reaches the Highest Point in
Thirty Years.
Story Of Metals Rise in Value In War
Times Reads Like Romance-Rus-
sian Ruble and Indian Rupee Are
Worth More as Bullion Than as
Money.

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 it was
given as 3749; 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
lshing as it seems at first glance. De-
spite its use as subsidiary money all
over the world, silver is still merely
commodity, and its increase is only a
little less than that of other cOmmodi-
ties. The Economists index figure at
the end Of July, 1914, was 116.6; at the
end of August, 1917, 1t was 257.1.
Silver has gone up In value as com.
pared 10 gold, but not as compared to
commodities. 1t has actually fallen a
trifie in comparison with the average
of commodities. Measured in gold the
price of silver is higher today than II
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 a tendency to withdraw the
coin from circulation, melt 1t down and
sell 1t as bullion. In various countries
silver coins are right now worth more
as bullion than as money.
RubIe Worth More as 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
Is. 71bd., or 63 cents. IL one could get
hold Of a few tons of rubles at their
nominal price, melt them down and
ofer them for sale in the London silver
market 1t would be fine speculation.
The effect is that the ruble disappears
from ordinary circulation. The Russian
time as worth only 61a., or 13 cents.
Russia is thus on a paper basis, with a
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 IL one should
have gold sovereign offered to him
out of the shopkeeper's cash register
1t 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, whfre In France
1t is so 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
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 ago
financial authorities were worried be.
cause India was constantly pulling In
gold from all over the world and bury.
Ing II. The wiseacrvs OF finance agi.
tated themselves vastly about what be
came Of the gold that got to India.
The country's appetite for the metal
seemed unsuitable.
Rupee Exceeds its Face Value.
Recently the advancing price of sill
yer has increased the difficulty of the
situation In India. The silver rupee
Is now considerably more valuable as
bullion than as money. So there Is the
temptation to hoard the coins or to
melt them down and sell the bullion
back to the raints. The government is
under the necessity Of maintaining a
steady supply Of money, and this stu
alton causes difficulties that do not
need to be described.
The government Of India has taken
steps to prohibit all imports of silver
into the country except on government
account the government taking pains
to discourage boarding and melting by
every possible means. The Indian
stock Of silver has within the last year
fallen to point described as danger
ously low, and 1t is proposed to supple
ment II by increasing the issues OF