ounces
of silver was very much larger than was expected and was entirely due
to the increased output of silver in Mexico.
The
full effects of the shortage of labor, the inefficiency of much of the
labor available, lack or increased cost of transportation, and high
costs of material did not reach a climax until 1918. The world's
production of gold will undoubtedly be less in 1919 than in 1918,
though the decrease will not likely be so large as it was in 1918. The
decreases will not be so pronounced in South Africa or the United
States, and there may be small increases in Canada, Mexico and some
Central American States.
The
world's production cf silver will not show much change, for although
there will be smaller quantities of silver received from copper ores
in the United States, Peru, and some other South American countries and
from siliceous ores in the Cobalt district in Canada, the imports into
the United States of silver from Mexico for the first six months of
1919 were valued at $5,000,000 more than in the corresponding six
months of 1918. On the whole, there is a greater probability of a small
decrease in the world's production of silver in 1919 than there is for
an increase. When the production of copper becomes more normal and the
silver mines now under development become productive, the output of
silver will expand in the United States and in Peru. The imports of
gold into the United States were much less in 1918 than in 1917 and the
total imports only exceeded the exports in 1918 by about $21,000,000.
Since the beginning of 1919 there has been a considerable quantity of
gold exported to settle trade balances in South America and Asia, and
it is evident that active participants in the world war have not any
gold other than part of the current output from such producing
countries as South Africa and Canada which is available for shipment to
the United States.
War
demands for silver, because of continued imperative needs in the Orient
and because of the large increase in silver coinage to relieve gold
currency and to pay armies and workers, steadily increased in 1918.
Commercial uses of silver in the arts and most industries, which
probably decreased in 1918, have increased considerably in 1919 and
the use of silver nitrate has increased enormously, as shown by the
increase of more than 10,700,000 fine ounces used in the arts and
industries of the United States. In order to stabilize the market for
silver the maximum domestic price was fixed on August 1, 1918, at 101|
cents an ounce; and under the Pittman Act of April, 1918, 350,000,000
silver dollars held in the United States Treasury were made available
for remelting into bars and are being utilized by the United States and
Allied nations to settle trade balances in India, China, and other
large silver-using countries. The quantity of silver required for this
purpose was in excess of the total output of silver in the world in
1918, and about 260,000,000 ounces of silver dollars had been remelted
up to June 30, 1919, and the refined domestic silver bullion exported
in 1918 was valued at. $236,411,000. All restrictions on the sale of
silver were removed in the United States and Great Britain in May,
1919, and since then the price of silver has fluctuated from $1.05 to
$1.30 an ounce, and the average selling price was $1.07 in May, $1.10
in June, and SI.11 in August. It is unwise to venture any prediction as
to future prices of silver, but the coining value of an ounce of silver
is $1.29+ m the
