The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1894-06-14
INTERNATIONAL B1METALIsM

moaetary conference is among the near
possibilities. Germany and England are
suffering from severe business depres-
mons, as indeed is all Europe, and the
civilized or semi-civilized nations Of
Asia. Mr.. George Rutledge Gibson, of
the banking firm of Watson & Gibson,
has returned to New York after three
months trip abroad, and gives his opin-
ion, which is certainly entitled to re-
spect, of the money situation. We
quote few paragraphs from an article
by him pertaining to the subject as
follows:
Deficits exist in every European
treasury and new issues of government
securities are brought out to make both
ends meet, and on account of the small
profits of trade anc small incentives to
any sort of commercial industry, the
idle surplus capital of the public readily
seeks the new issues of securities of
national and municipal character. The
most striking instance, perhaps, of this
was the city of Paris 211s per cent loan,
brought out about two months ago
which was subscribed for eighty-five
times over. Within the last fortnight
1he Ottoman loan of SO, 900 bonds brought
ont subscriptions of 900 bonds.
The subscriber of one bond got it, under
thd European plan for supplying small
investors first, but the subscriber for
1000 bonds got only six. This loan is
not especially attractive, but the entire
m1r aH 20
to invest in commercial enterprises
forces this idle capital into these public
securities.
There is no parity of exchange be-
sween London and India; no means of
sFanslating with perfect certainty the
language of the gold pound of Great Bri-
tain into the rupee of India, the tael of
China, the paper money of the Argen-
sine Reprblic, the silver dollar of Mex
ESQ, the lire of Italy, or the peseta of
Spain, and therefore trade is hampered
and lang contracts are gamble of the
zzost hazardous description.
'sThis break in the parity of exchange
between the gold standard of Europe
and the silver standard of other coun-
4TTes. whose trade Europe solicits, can
not be remedied until some parity of
value is established between the two
,xDetaIs- England being one of the great
est international commercial treaty ma
1lons in the world, is really the most
deeply interested In the. restoration of
some parity, whatever it may be, be-
seween goi6 and silver.
Germany is a rival of England in
seeking trade with silver using countries,
and this foreign trading interest of Ger
many, acting in union with the de-
pressed agricultural interest, has secured
a parliamentary commission in Berlin to
examine into the possibility of some
international silver agreement. This
movement, you understand, originated
in the nation which 20 years ago was a
demonetizer of silver, and which as
lately as the International Monetary
conference IN Brussels, only little over
n year ago, instructed its delegates to
listen to the arguments, but to express
mo opinion, and thereby gave no aid to
the cause of bimetalism.
''The most hopeful political sign that
INTERNATIONAL blmetallsm may yet be
secured is the fact that constantly con-
yerts are being made in London to the
overwhelming necessity of some such
movements to restore the parity of ex-
EAanges between commercial nations.
Mr.. Balfour, too, the leader of the con-
seTvative party in parliament and the
nephew of Lord Salisbury, is one of the
most ardent advocates of the enormous
1raportanee of action in the matter of an
international agreement, and the liberal
party, holding Office now by slender
majority of fourteen is showing signs of
political dissolution
Mr. Gibson seemed to think there was
Ettle doubt that with the return to
Bower OF the Salisbury regime England
would readily agree to international BIZ
metalism.