Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 October 1899 — THE PEOPLE'S MONEY [ARTICLE]

THE PEOPLE'S MONEY

Silver Bullion. The challenge has been made In the United States Senate time and again to show where there is more than $25,000,000 of silver bullion in existence in the world, outside of the United States treasury, and no gold standard man has ever attempted to point out where even such a quantity of silver bullion exists. The reason there is no great quantity of silver bullion in existence is because It has not been profitable to keep silver in the form of bullion. Silver has been going down in price year after year ever since 1873. and consequently the man who has attempted to hoard or store silver bullion has lost not only by the lower price of silver itself, but also the interest on the amount he invested in the bullion. The truth is that as soon as silyer bullion leaves the smelter it goes almost Immediately into subsidiary coinage and into the arts. Therefore we could not expect this predicted sppply of silver to come from silver bullion now in existence. In fact we could not expect more than $25,000,000 to come from such a source, and that, of course, is a mere drop in the bucket compared to the enormous demand for $006,000,000 which would be created by the displacement of gold.

The second source from which it is said we must expect a large supply of silver is from the arts. He ignores the fact that the cost of skilled workmanship upon the silver articles adds such a value to the articles as makes them worth more than the coinage value of the silver contained therein. It must be remembered that the cost of workmanship in the proportioning of the metals, in the molding, polishing, the gilding, the carving, and other ornamentation of the article must be very great, and the man would be an idiot who would coin into dollars something that was worth more in the shape of a work of art. As man is guided by self-interest, it Seems clear that not any of this pretended supply of silver would come from the arts. Not even any considerable part of the worn silver articles would be coined, because of the sentimental associations connected therewith. The third source from which it is said we will have the flood of silver is from the conutries of Europe. There is a great quantity of silver in the form off coins existing in Europe. It is said that they are of the value in our money of $1,500,000,000, but the man who says that these coins will come to this coun-

try in the event that we open our mints to the free coinage of silver is either ignorant of or ignores one important fact—that is, that the coins of Europe are la circulation upon a gold valuation, ahd by minting it again be could not make it Any more valuable. So the holder of European coins that are circulating upon a gold valuation could gaiu nothing by having them stamped at our mints. In fact, he would lose enormously by the transaction. The ratio at which ti® coins are in circulation in Europe is 15V& to 1. which makes the coinage value of silver in Europe $1.33 aa-ounce, whereas in this country the* ratio is 1C to 1, which makes the coinage value of silver $1,119 an ounce. The man holding European coins would lose not only the freight and insurance in bringing these coins to this country, but also would lose 4 cents on each ounce of silver coins that he brings. Those Europeans may not be so IntelMgent and bright as are the Americans, bu t they know enough not to lose 4 cents on each ounce of coins they import to us. Thus it is clear that silver coins in circulation in Europe would not be brought to our mints. The fourth source from which they

SSy we must expect a flood of silver is from the silver standard countries. They are China, Mexico, Siam, Straits Settlements, Central and South American States, Persia, Tripoli and Japan, constituting at least one-fourth of the nations of the world in commercial Importance. Japan has adopted a gold standard, but upon the silver valuation, and is therefore still on a silver basis. In those countries silver circulates at its commercial value, namely, about 50 cents on the dollar, and consequently at first thought one might believe that silver would come from those countries to our mints. In order to determine whether any silver would come from those countries it is important that their condition and needs of a circulating medium should be F. Shafroth.

Plnnncl*»l f nnditlona. “So scarce is the local supply of currency,” says the financial reporter of a New York daily, “that it is likely that New York will have to ship gold to the West and South to move the crops, provided the demand for that purpose to equal to farmer years.” If that, to the situation now, What will It be when the gre.nbacks are all retired, and bonds are issued in their stead ? The loss of the greenbacks will make one hole In tbe present insufficient money supply, the interest to be paid on the newly issued bonds will make another, and tbe New York gold brokers must be depended upon to furnish the people with the circulating medium which they should furnish them selves. Is It likely that the people will be better off as their necessities become greater and the mesne of supplying them are made less?—San Francisco Star. The opal mines in New Mexico and the United States have been about ex-, hausted, no gems of much value being extracted from them, though at one time large sums were made out of these mines. •