Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-05-07
HAS NO PLAN TO URGE
Purpose of the Monetary
Commission Going to Europe
TO HOLD CONFERENCES
NO RELATION 70 THE FREE COIN
AaEoFss1LvER.
Governments to Be Consulted Are ALI
Gold Standard COUNTRYSIDE
Sail May 10.
TO HOLD CONFERENCES

Messrs. Hugh II. Hanna, Jeremiah M.
jerks and Chas. A. Conant, who compose
the United States commission on interna-
tional exchange, will sail from New York
for London May 10. While on the way
across the Atlantic the commissioners will
map out detailed program for the work
which takes them to Europe.
In general way 1t Is now contemplated
that after a stay in London the commission
will visit Berlin. Paris, st. Petersburg and
The Hague, where conferences will be held
with the officials who have to do. with the
colonial possessions of the respective gov
ernments. -
The commission hopes to be able to re-
turn to the United States not later than
October l. which would give four months
abroad. 1t Is expected that the stay in
London will last q month. and that a
month may necessarily be spent in one or
more or the other important foreign cap
itals, while few days might suffice at The
Hague.
Sole Purpose Of the Commission.
The purposes of the American commits
sion IN its trip abroad are frequently mis-
understood. The sole idea which caused
the formation Of this commission, and
winch Will control 1t in all of it's opera
ions abroad, Is to learn, If possible, wheth-
or there is any way in which the great pow
ers OF the world can come together in some
plan to steady the rates of exchange be-
tween gold and silver-using nations.
The fluctuations in the price OF silver.
with silver regarded by gold standard
countries merely in relation to its bullion
value, have been SO great as to seriously
interfere with commercial exchanges. Mer-
chants OF gold standard countries in sell
ing goods to silver-using countries, to be
PAID for six months or a year after the
sale Is negotiated. have found 1t impossible
to anticipate what the rate of exchange
would be when the payment for the goods
Is actually made. If they accept an agree
ment that the goods shall be paid for in
silver they may find that when the pay
ment is made the depreciation in the value
OF silver Is so great as to destroy all their
profit. If they agree to have the payment
IN gold the purchaser of their goods finds
that his loss on account of the fiuctuation
IS SO great that he cannot dispose of his
stock with a profit. =
Whether the payment is to be made in
gold or silver, there is element of risk,
the result of which has been to greatly en-
oarrass those engaged in such trade. The
trade of the United States with China and
South and Central America has been en-
barrassed by these fluctuations The COM
mission of which Mr.. Hugh H. Hanna is at
the head will seek to learn whether there is
not some practicable method by which these
disadvantages may be overcome
The Commission Has No Plan.
If any plan for bringing about this re-
suit has been suggested 1t has merely been
in the form of an individual opinion. The
commission has no plan to propose to rep
resentatives Of foreign governments. It
will rather confer with the heads Of fiscal
and colonial departments of these govern
ments in order to discover whether after
an exchange of opinion some plan can
be decided upon. During the trip across
the Atlantic the members will have ex-
changes of opinions with view to further
laying out their plan of procedure.
Nothing that the commission has done or
expects to do will affect the monetary sys-
the integrity of the gold standard Is con-
cerned. All the five governments to be es-
pecially consulted on this trip of the COM
mission are gold standard countries. There
Is nothing at all akin to the free coinage
of silver. or even the more extensive use
of silver as money, that Is contemplated
SO far as any public expression of any one
connected with the movement is concerned.
Restriction Of Coinage.
A difficulty that has presented itself to
those who have favored the establishment
of this commission Is the fact that sill
yer is everywhere, so far as gold standard
countries are concerned, commodity, just
as is cotton or wheat. In order to obtain
stability of exchange there must be sta
bility Of the value of the commodity sill
YER The difficult question arises involving
a plan of the great governments to give to
this commodity stable value when coined
It is pointed out that If such a stable
value is to be fixed and maintained 1t
will have to be accompanied by an agree
ment as to the quantity Of silver money
that can be issued by silver-using coun-
tries that are to be benefited by the agree
ment, otherwise the same problem would
he presented that comes up in connection
with propositions for the free and unlimited
coinage Of silver.