Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-09-11
THE RISE IN SILVER
MAY RESULT IN DRAINING THE
PHILIPPINES OF COIN.
An Advance Of Five Cents on Ounce,
It is Declared, Would Require Radi-
cal Steps to Prevent Disaster.

The rising price of silver Is beginning to
fill treasury and Philippine officials with
fear that the Philippine coins now being
turned out by the mints of this country
may become valuable in a short time
as to be taken up and sold for their bull
lion, thereby draining the Philippines of
their silver and necessitating a renovation
of the financial system adopted for the
islands by Congress at its last session and
now being put into force and effect.
The Current Price Of Silver.
The director Of the mint yesterday bought
300, 600 ounces Of silver bullion for the con-
tinuation of the coinage of the Philippine
peso and other coins and paid the sum of
5S27 per ounce, the market price in Lon
don being $50. The advance over the
London price paid for the delivery
Of the metal in San Francisco. But for
this the silver would have to be trans
ported across the continent for shipment
afterward If the bullion was delivered at
the Philadelphia or New Orleans mints.
In the last three or four months the d.
rector of the mint has bought for the
Philippine account total of about 5000, 600
ounces of silver and since the announce
ment that there was to be considerable
coinage for the islands the price of silver
has been on the increase. The first pur-
chase was at 49. 10 per ounce, and even that
price was an advance of several cents an
months before. There has, consequently,
been rise in price in several months Of
more than cents an ounce, and in year
of considerable more than 10 cents an
ounce.
Would Drive Out Silver.
1t is estimated that should silver advance
to fraction of cent above GA 10 cents the
silver in a Philippine peso would be more
valuable than the face value of the coin,
and the chances would be favorable to the
expectation of the money to Hong Kong to
be melted for the silver. sudden rise In
the price of silver of cents more an ounce
would drive every peso out of the islands
unless radical steps should be taken to
prevent. Consequently the situation will
be watched with keen interest by the Phil
ippine government, and by the director Of
the mint, who is the agent of that govern
ment In this country in the purchase OF sill
yer and the turning of the bullion into
coins.
Under the existing monetary system in
the Philippines the Mexican dollars and
other silver coins that have been circulat-
Ing in the islands will cease to be legal
tender at the close of the present year, and
there will be no legal tender coin except
that now being put into circulation With
the law expelling the Mexican dollars and
the price of silver making the new coins
more valuable for bullion than Tor money
the financial system of the Pfdlippinesis Is in
fair way to give its promoters some trou-
BILE.
Might Extend Our System.
The suggestion is made that under the
circumstances Congress might be disposed
to carry out the bill proposed at the last
session that the financial system of the
United States be extended to the islands
If this was considered impracticable, the
new coinage for the Islands might be called
In, and greater amount of alloy added to
It, SO that its bullion value would not be so
great as at present