The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-10-26
A 81 TO I.
Considered Proper Ratio by In
ternatiOnal Commissioners.

Washington, Oct. 26-~The report of
the commission on international ex-
change has been made public at the
state department. This commission was
appointed by President Roosevelt in
the spring in response to a request
from the governments of Mexico and
China for the cO-oOeration of the gov
eminent of the United States in such
measures as will tend to restore and
maintain a fixed relationship between
the moneys of the gold standard coun
tries and those Of the Silver-using coun-7
tries. The members of the commission
are Messrs. H. H. Hanna, of Indian
apolis: Charles A. Conant, of the Nor
ton Trust company of New York, and
Prof Jeremiah W. jerks. of Cornell
university.
The commission report that they Wis
tied the capitals of Great Britain,
France, the Netherlands, Germany and
Russia and presented to those coun-
tries the general subject of adopting in
the silver-using countries a currency
system based upon gold. They directed
their work primarily to securing the APP
prevail of the leading powers to a plan
for a gold-exchange standard in China:
but incidentally asked the European
powers to adopt a similar system in
their dependencies in the Orient and
to adopt coinage unit issued in each
country at substantially the same ratio
to gold.
The American commission was ac-
companied or its tour by a commission
of the republic of Mexico and the two
commissions eO-Operatedf in the preSen-
tation of their mission to the European
powers A special commission to con-
fer with them was appointed by the
government of each country visited In
every country officials of their repre-
Britain. the Hong Kong and Shanghai
Banking corporation; in France the
Bank of Indo-China; in Germany, the
German-Asiatic bank; in Russia, the
RnSSn-( Chinese MI sat
mission
The plan proposed for China is based
upon what is commonly called the gold
exchange standard. similar to the plan
recently adopted by the congress of the
United States for the Philippians ard to
the plan which has been in opera ion in
the Netherlands and the Dutch East
lndles for twenty-eight years. The Sue
cessful maintenance of this plan IN the
Netherlands for so long a period, coy
ering fluctuations of more tnan so per
cent in the gold value IF silver, and
the more recent success of a similar
plan in British India, IN the face also
of great fluctuations in Silver, t.;sEel
many of the doubts whicn night alise,
in the absence of such historical wi
dence, of the practica oility of ire plan
recommended for China.
A similar system has recently been
adopted by the Russian governller for
Bokhara and is about to tie adopted by
Mexico for her own currency, by Great
Britain for the Straits Settlements, and
by France for Indo-China.
In discussing the effect of re gold
exchange system upon the price cf SIl-
yer bullion the commission states that
there was suggested to the various gov
ernments the wisdom of SO distributing
the purchases of silver which might be
actually required by them for coinage
purposes as to cause as little disturb
ance az possible to the market. 1t is
declared that it would be unwise for
any government to attempt to maintain
the price of silver by purchasing beyond
it's regular needs and storing or coming
it, and that no one whose knowledge
of the monetary history of the past
few years is at all complete would ad-
vocate such a course. If the ratio adopt
ed by the different governments that
are now about instituting new systems
of coinage were fixed, as suggested, at
about 90 to 1, that fact in itself would
practically compel these governments,
without any formal agreement, tc sus-
pend their purchases whenever the Pr1ce
of silver per ounce rose TO Esd or ESD
1t would obviously he entirely contrary
to sound policy for any government 10
increase it's purchases Of silver. hIl1on
beyond its legitimate and usual needs,
and it is not to be expected tlat any
gold standard country will take steps
to increase it's present use of SILVER or
to modify its existing monetary sys-
tenn.
Upon the soundness of the general
proposition laid down by the Mexican
adoption of a gold exchange standard
in the present silver using countries
would greatly contribute to their eco
nonic progress-there was universal
agreement at every European capital