Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-11-23
The Return of Silver
By rrederioy. Hsskin

Iis7b III E3Fsfy WNifB plhFfI ~ iIflI,pI thfit
4 part In the development N this country,
IS again attracting large niirnbcrs of for
tuue-seekeTs 20 the West. For the first time
IN many quiet years, Salt Lake City is
thronged with pfoepects on Their way bnok
and forth from the mountains, where
mining camps that have slumbered long
er than Rip Van Winl<le ae stirring ia
then sleep and threatening a renewal If
their former activity.
Silver is once more coming into its
own. The reason is that the worlds de-
mand for it is much greater than the
present available supply, which condition
is sufficient 10 keep the price Of silver ~
fair figure for years To come.
One hears much excited conjecture as
20 the future f the metal here in balt
Lake City, which is the greatest smelling
center in the world. As such, Il receives
practically all II the silver ore produced
on this oontinente~ore from Mexico and
Canada as well as that from Utah, Nevada,
and Montana mines. The largest silver
mines are in Mexico, the largest silver
mine in this country Is in Montana, and
the second largest in Utah. Some Of this
product is shipped by way Of San Francisco
10 the Orient, but the greater part goes
10 London.
The history Of silver, Of its rise and fall.
il clrriotisly romantic. Once king among
metals, fought for by pOtentstes and pi-
rates, and capable of drawing an army Of
fortune-hunters across n continent, silver
tottered and fell, after characterization
in 1879, until dozens Of silver mines were
compelled to close down. Before the late
war, the owner Of silver mine was not
20 be envied He was in the same position
as 80 many owners Of gold claims today
who cannot afford 20 operate them. Min.
ing costs were too high, and The price d
silver too low.
Tho greatest demand for silver has al
ways been in the Orient. There are only
two great countries IN the world which are
not on gold basis, and these are China
and India. They sre the chief so-calied
silver nations. This IL because they are
heavily in debt % other nations, and must
trade with them on whatever terms thsir
creditors see fit. II China could succeed
in developing It's splendid natural re-
sources 40 that II could yet out n debt,
IL could demand payment for is goods N
gold. But until then il viii have n tske
silver
TryDfA, THE SILVER sTNK.
IN India the coinage II entirely ~ SILVER,
which IS minted by the British Govern
nnent The demand for silver for personal
adornment IS also very great 70 that
country, owing to the preference y ne
people for carrying their wealth about win
them. Thieverv hOurishes 10 successfully
In India that this il Al almost necessary
preeautjon Al the cry Of Theft in the
night, the average native family mercy
gets up and runs, carrying its riches n the
r4A Oh 80
same custom is observed in certain parts
az our own West, where the men csrry
their wealth not in the form Of silver, but
Of diamonds.
The silver authorities n Salt lake City
sneak Of India az the silver sink. They say
thew don't know what becomes u al q
it. but that no silver which ever goes intn
India ever comes out. While this lsa slight
ersggeration, of course, II y true that
great deal Of metal is boarded from genera
ton To generation, through which i =
passed down much in the same form ~ tnn
families Of other nations pass down their
real estate. Widows 10 India, Tor Instance
have no dover right, but they are per
mltted 70 keep their ornaments which
naturally causes the native women 20
demand as many silver necklaces ss pos
sible
All Of the Indian supply Of silver cnin-
age is provided by the British tSoverIa-
ment, which therefore has always been
interested IN keeping the price u silver
down For when the prlce OF silver rises
above the value Of the Indian rOupee'
which - 81 cents, everybody unnedlate-
| ly nnelts his supply of roupees and sells
them for bullion There Is one group oi
four brokers in London which h2s been
setting the price OF silver for the rest o.
the world for q long period Of years. Or'
firm Is in It's sixth generation. They meet
ST | ! 0 clock every morning, ana exehang'
orders. Some have buying orders and SONS
cling orders, and on the basis OF thees
orders they TX the price OF silver Tor th<
day.
VAR PRICES oP SILVER.
This custom suffered severe check with
the war. Then the British Government and
the other allied governments were n
need of unusually large quantities Of the
metal with which 70 paw China and inGis
/ for war supplies. Most of this silver they
had TO buv from the United States. There
was not nearly sufficient mstsl on hand II
this country 70 supply the demand, alad
the price started rising. As an ally In the
war, the United States Government was
compelled 70 interfere and set an export
price on silver at sl0l an ounce, which
was higher than Great Britain had ever
permitted It 20 20, but not as high as
American mine-owuers liked.
Then, as the demand for the metal
became acute, and it was also needed 70
meet our own adverse trade balance with
India, Congress passed what Is known as
the Pittnan Act, authorizing the SeCre-
tarv of the Treasury 70 melt down $780,
OOO.OCO silver dollars held in the vaults Of
the Treasury and TO sell the bullion The
silver certificates outstanding against these
solard were to be previously retired
and their place in the circulation 20 be
taken bv notes issued by the Federal
reserve banks, secured by special deposits
OF United States Treasury certificates
This kept the price Of silver stesdS for
the period OF the WAY, but upon the sign
ing of the arnistice the export restriction
was removed Immediately, the price Of
silver started soaring until last December
it reached the unprecedented figure Of
81. 80 an ounce. Every body began melt
ing down his silver heiTloons for bullion
which sold st q tremendous profit. Silver
plate and ornaments bought in the years
1904 and 1905 when silver was selling at
from 81 TO 60 cents an ounce suddenly
became worth twice AS much. IL looked As
-, ka old