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Show : WORLD'S SILVER YIELD IS25 PERCETJTSHDRT Wide Fluctuation in Value Noted in All Epochs of History. Price Fixing Now Done by "Big Four" London Brokerage Firms. Silver has varied in price in all epochs f li in tori', according to .Benjamin A'hltt's "Silver Its Hi.story .and Ilo-nanct:." Ilo-nanct:." Aatharachiflas, an Arabian vriter who lived 1 8 L -1 1 5 B. C, states hat loOO years before Chrint one ounce f Bllver was equal in value to ten ounces -f gold. Seventeen years atfo, In 1902, silver cached Its lowest value, when one ounce I t (fold was the equivalent of forty-three md a half ounces of silver. The extreme variation in tho valuo of silver is 435 ICKTees. Although tho ratio of ir00 B. C. may )o inaccurate to some degree because ol 1 ho difficulties that Agatharachides had n securing authentic information, there s little doubt that the relative values of iflver and gold In India were 1 to 4 in , ho latter part of the sixth century be-- be-- ore Christ. From the fourth century , )eforo Chrust to about tho time when , -olumbun discovered A m erica in 1492, ! ho ratio of the valuo of silver to gold , u Europo was 12 to 1. Tables Compiled. An examination of tho tables compiled , jy tho director of the United States , iiint shows that from ISfiO to 1872, the ! iverage price ranged from J1.31G to , 11.21:2. In 1H7 the metal took a drop of j ilmost 3 cents to $1,207. From this year t steadily declined in value until, in 1886, its average price was slightly tinier tin-ier a dollar, at $.994. It declined in value . mtil, in 1889. it was worth $.'J35. Tho text year the average price jumped to 11.04. From this year, lStiO, It decreased l itoadily in price until, in 1U02, the aver-ige aver-ige price was $.T27. With the world-wido demand for silver, sil-ver, brokers and mining men aro wonder-' wonder-' ng whether tho "Hig Four," Mocatta & , Jioldsmtd, Samuel Montagu & Co., Pix- ey & Ahell and Sharps fe Wilkins, the London brokers, who for generations , lave controlled the prico paid for silver, i lan retain the power of fixing tho price f the metal. The first-named firm lates back to 1GS4, ten years before the 3ank of England was founded. In the ;ase of the second firm, silver is but ' me branch of their business. ! low Price Is Fixed. This operation of "firing" the price of diver is accomplished by representatives )f the above-named firms meeting at the office of one of their number at 1:45 5. in. every week day except Saturday, .vhen they meet at 11:45 a. m. When :hese autocrats of the silver market , lave decided upon the price of silver, it l h telegraphed to all parts of the wrld, l ind this set prico governs practically all market transactions in silver. With the mines of Mexico, which are ! :he source of a large supply of silver, :iot operating or operating" on a very 11m-ted 11m-ted scale, the mines of America and ; ''anada are left to supply the bulk of . .he world's supply of silver. In regard to the future of silver, the Boston News Bureau contains the fol- owing information; ! Field Cut One-fourth. Silver experts declare the world to be uare of stocks. The supply for both coin- ig aim liitiusii lai purposes inubL i:u w : ?ome from production entirely, and the world's yield has dropped 25 per cent . Trom the average of a decade ago. The president of an important silver . mining company points out that with this country holding so much of the world's ?old and the necessity for "hard" money n other countries aU governments must fall back ipon silver, which will create , i. big demand. Kor some time past there have been in- . :iulrles in New York from several small Wuropean governments for silver to meet heir coinage requirements and these will iow be met with export restrictions out ! )f the way. The silver yield from Mexico cannot improve materially until more stable conditions prevail in that country. The Qui ted States yield depends, to a very i'.rge extent, upon copper company operations, op-erations, and with these cut to 50 per :ent of normal, with possibility of fur-:her fur-:her curtailment, the outlook for an ex-anded ex-anded output does not appear encouraging encourag-ing from that direction. Cobalt cannot ;o very far to relieve the strain. |