The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1920-01-01
WHY NOT INTERNATIONAL b.
METALLiSM.


In view of the present value oil SILL
yer it seems logical that we should
nave international bimetallism. The
PRESENT time is unquestionably an OPP
Fortune one to regulate the rate OF
exchange between gold and silver
using countries. There is absolutely
no chance according to students OF
finance, for silver to drop materially
in price for number OF years at
least. The huge surplus of the worlds
silver held by Uncle Sam has been
dumped ON the market and in face OF
an absorption of better than half a
billion dollars in the white metal the
price has continued to soar.
Gold To-Day is the debased metal as
compared with silver. In today's mar
ket gold is the cheaper Of the Two
sured that gold was the only thing in
the world endowed with an absolute.
constant unvarying, positive value.
But conditions have changed all this.
We are now confronted with a situa.
ton wherein world conditions. have
brought revenge to William Jennings
Bryan and his followers and the re-
gent metal of the hour is the despised
white metal of the past. In the YER
nacular it is Bryan's time to Grow"
AS matter of fact the Nebraskan
statesman has been addressing some
rather embarrassing queries to the
gold bugs of New York. In the eyes
of Wall street he Is still a dangerous
citizen" with financial views too per-
nicious to demand serious considera
ton. The free silverites get consider
able satisfaction from the knowledge
that silver has come into Its own and
the standard gold dollar created by
the act of 1900 is now the short
legged dollar of the country.
There is shortly going to be greater
Industrial development in Asia, Afri-
ca, South America and other countries
which have not, in the past, joined In
the steady march of human progress
|, Like the hundreds of millions IN
China and India, the Africans and the
) South Americans demand metal mon.
| ey in payment for labor and supplies
1t is now a question of whether tht
mines of the world can produce
: enough silver to supply this coming
great demand for additional quaint
| ties of this metal which will be needed
In the worlds industrial expansion
/ The copper producers know that an,
, surplus metal that is piled up will ID
quickly consumed when industrial
conditions in Europe become norma
ard the silver producers also look for
, ward to unprecedented demand for tn
, white metal, The effort to break tn
| price of silver by dumping grea
$ amounts into the worlds market ha
proved unsuccessful and with onl,
limited reserves left there seems T.
l be nothing now that can be done ex
cept to remonetize silver and stabil
: ize exchange. When Mexico return
to normal conditions, that republi
will be able to supply a great deal o
. silver, and 1t would appear that tn
r authorized government of Mexico l
r getting firmer grip each day on tn
9 reins of law and order, although tn
S same old propaganda is being sprea
l in this country as to possible inter
vention by Uncle sam. We must re
t member, however, that Uncle Sar
= must repurchase half a billion dollars
5 worth of the white metal for the Unit
e ed States treasury and with the nor
r NAL demand now greater than pro
. duction the mines will have to work
long time to overcome the shortage
! Congress could do worse than to tax
5 all taxes off of silver production.