The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-08-10

HOW the ACClOn was Drought
About and What Result Will Be.
Washington, Aug. Accommodating
upon the Associated Press cable of the
committee on Indian currency, placing
India on the gold basis, Director of the
Mint Roberts said today:
THE report does little more than re-
affirm and declare the permanency of
the policy adopted in 1898, when the
minis were closed to the free coinage
of silver. The minis were closed orig
inally because the decline in silver had
I become so. great as to embarrass the
Indian government, which received its
I revenue i'll silver, and had to make a
large share of its disbursements in gold.
The government makes its remittances
to London by selling bills of exchange
on the London market, these being
bought by people who desire TO make
the remittances to India. Before the
minis We're closed the public could
either buy these council bills or send
silver, but by closing the minis the
government hoped to force the pur-
chase of the bills at higher rate. Hard
times followed in India, attributed by
those who criticised the government to
the famine ana other causes.
There was considerable agitation in
favor of reopening the mints and the
business world was in no little uncer
tainty about the future. 1t was consul
cred sighly desirable that the govern
ments future policy should be def
nitely assured, and accordingly some
thing over a year ago a committee of
eleven was appointed by the Indian Of
hcers in London TO investigate the
whole subject. The committee has pub
lished two volumes of testimony, and
now gives its own conclusions. 1t is
unanimous in finding that the minis
should not be reopened to silver, The
committee says:
Fears For Commerce.
Even apart from considerations af-
fecting the government of India it is
not in the interest of India that her for
eign commerce, over so per cent of
which is with gold standard countries.
should be tempered with by the resto-
ration of silver monometalliSm.
The committee pronounces the eff
forts of the government to hold the
value of the rupee at 16 pence sue
cess, and holds the sale of consuls at
that figure to be a proof that India al
ready has the gold standard. 1t hest
tateS, however, to recommend the final
step, viz, that the Indian government
shall give gold in exchange for the sill
yer rupees current. They say that in
their opinion it is not necessary for
the government to bind itself to do
this. 1t would impose on the govern
ment liability to find gold at a mo-
ments notice to an amount which can
not be defined beforehand, and the liza
bility is one which, in our opinion,
ought not TO be accepted
This has been the puZZling question
in the Indian situation. The govern
mert has no gold reserve, nor has it
the means 10 obtain stock of gold at
once. 1t could only be done by the is
sue of bonds, or in installments through.
taxation, and it is not practicable to
increase taxes of India to any consid-
cradle degree. The committee concludes
that the requirement of a reserve may
be left TO the future, and that the pres
ent silver currency of India may be
at a fixed value to gold by
supplying such quantities of gold as
are needed for foreign remittances.
That. they say, they regard as the
use of a natural reserve
Like the United States.
In fact. that is precisely the service
performed by the gold reserve of the /
United States. The Indian committee !
refers to the example of the United Z
States. 1t is recommended that the .
Indian minis be opened to the unre-
stricted coinage of gold. and that the /
British sovereign may be made a legal \
tender upon the theory that gold will I
flow in as more money is needed, and /
that eventually considerable share of .
the currency will thus come to be of +
gold. The significance of the report is
in the determination not TO open the
mints. The policy of India may now
be presumed to be settled
Asked if there was any reason to ex-
pect such movement of gold to India
as might disturb money markets in the
worlds center, Mr.. Roberts replied:
There is not. India cannot draw any
more than she can pay for, and she is
not rich enough or likely to develop ex-
ports fast enough TO make her demands
serious. She has taken nine or ten mil
ion dollars worth of Australian gold
his year She cannot possibly take a
;um that will absorb the increase of
his years gold production over last"
Bearing On Foreign Trade.
Does the final adoption of the gold
standard by India have any bearing
Ipon our foreign trade ?"
1T puts the wealth producers of the
wo countries on common level" re-
,lied Mr.. Roberts, "and disposes of the
I'D argument that the Indian farmer
las an advantage over the American
armer because he receives his pay in
falling currency. Whatever intri-
.acies there once were in the subject
lave been, cleared up, for the Indian
armer, like the American farmer is
low paid by the gold standard. The
alleged advantage was an illusory one,
or he only held it while the currency
continued to fall, and then only as he
ould work it off on some uniformed
II helpless fellow countryman al a for
ner value.
Furthermore. in the nature of things
currency must stop falling some time
When it becomes worthless, if not
ooner. This committee agrees with the
indian government that the interests
f that country as a whole demanGS hat
he depreciation Of its money should
ease, and that its financial system
hould be linked to that of the other
nations of the world"
You know what that tired feeling is