The Minneapolis journal., 1903-04-20

ing the gentlemen OF titles. !
A French author and a publisher have
been fined for putting out an immoral
story. There must be great alarm in
French literary circles.
Mexican.C Chinese Currency Reform.
/ The president has appointed the we'll
known financial expert, Charles A. Conant.
the Hon. H. M. Hanna, chairman of the
executive committee of the monetary
and Professor jeremiah jerks,
members Of the commission, for which
congress made provision sat the 1ast-ses-
sion, which will devise an international
gold standard system Of exchange and
fix a gold value: to the silver currency to
be used in silver-using countries. It is
proposed to hold a conference next month
in London, when Great Britain will be
asked to join the movement thru the
colonial secretary. r.. .
France, Russia, Germany and other
countries having interests in the oriental
countries and with Mexico, will be asked
to cooperate in carrying out the plan
which the commission will adopt. Mexico
will be represented by Enrique c. Creel,
the confidential secretary of the Mexican
minister of finance, and China also will be
represented at the conference, these two
countries being the subjects of the presi-
dents action in the proposition to give
stability and uniformity to their currency
systems.
This proposed conference is not de-
signed to enter upon any quixotic inter-
national agreement for the ''rehabilita-
tion' of silver after the method proposed
by the free coinage element from 1890
to 1900. 1t is not intended to have the,
nations interested enter into treaty obli-
cations on the. subject. Neither bimetal-
lism nor free coinage is coptsnplated,s II
they were the movement would meet with
emphatic defeat. Not a European govern
ment would enter into any such arrange
ment. .. -r~
International trade relations have bred
a. common interest in the promotion Of
the stability of the currency of silver
using countries. The latter buy about
5000, 100000 Of goods from the gold stan
dard countries per annum on the gold
basis, but with a substantial CURRENCY
one which does not f1uctuate in value
every day or two, trade can be increased
by hundreds of millions Of dollars. In
Mexico the railway companies have suf-
fered greatly by the fall of exchange, as
they have to- collect their freights in sill
yer and pay their interest and dividends
| and many of their employees on the gold
basis, while the government has pre-
vented them from raising their rates
hitherto. -. >,4 !, t.t@..esF
Mr.. 'Conant, who has~been appointed a
member of the commission, and who has
personally investigated the situation in
recent lecture before the American
Economic association the serious effects
upon gold standard countries, thru the
recent fall Of silver to about a third of
it's former parity, In the limitation of
their trade with the silver using coun-
tries The silver price of imports natural
ly greatly increases an investment in
enterprises is limited. Such depression
in the Philippines has been remedied by
the new coinage law for the islands by
which the supply of silver currency will
be kept at a fixed relation with gold, so
making gold the money of international
commerce, the government controlling
the quantity of currency and relieving it
from the hurtful fluctuations Of the silver
bullion market and giving It definite
value in gold.
The present plan of the commission is
that each country, party to the proposed
agreement, shall act separately and put
the plan into operation by the proper
legislation and each silver using country
would coin a designated amount Of sill
yer currency to be maintained at a Ger
tain ratio with gold, our government hav-
ing adopted the ratio OF 80 to l for the
Philippines. The president will shortly
issue instructions for our commissioners
| The plan, II successfully carried out, will
solve one Of the most important prob
lens Of the day. It is an American plan
/ with an American initiative, and will
rebound to the honor and financial skill
of our country.
Here is sample Of the inanity the
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