The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-06-17
EXPECTS CHINA
TO BOOM SILVER
United States and Mexico Are
Watching New Coinage
Scheme in Orient.

Last Sundays New York Herald con-
tains the following story from Washing
ton concerning the prospects of boom
in silver. China, it is claimed. is pre-
pairing to mint silver on an extensive
scale for a period of ten years:
Silver producers of the United States
and Mexico are watching with deep con-
Germ the developing plans of the Chinese
imperial government to enter upon a ten
year program of silver mintage, at a
rate which is expected to boom the pro-
ductiOn and the price OF silver all over
the world. 1t is believed here that the
imperial authorities have about decided
against the effort to place the money of
China on a gold basis at this time. On
this point there seems to have been a
sharp difference of opinion among the
Chinese authorities themselves.
About the time of the death of the
emperor and empress dOwager COM
mission of Chinese finanCiersN came to
Washington and at the same time visited
the financial centers of this country,
with the view to gathering information
to guide the home government in its
monetary reforms Like commissions
were sent to Europe and Japan for SINH
lar Investigations.
"AIl three of these commissions, it IS
stated, recommended that the gold stand
ard be adopted, and the American and
European governments are said to have
given the same counsel. But the home
authorities in China have hesitated to
make so great change. They doubt
whether il is practical or wise. Hence
the disposition TO cling to Nthe silver
standard and to buy up a stock of silver
sufficient to supply the empire either
with silver coin OF else with paper
currency based on boarded silver, exact
ly as the American silver certificates are
circulated. The Chinese board of fl
nance recently in discussing this ques-
ton said:
In conforming to the standard of
money used by our ancestors for up
ward of 4,O03 years. We do so gladly.
in the light of all that has been revealed
in recent years of the Gripping effect
of the single gold standard upon Nsev-
eral European nations and the United
states, which is made evident to US by
the numerous societies of European mar
chants who are demanding of their gov
ernments an enlarged use of silver, and
the report adopted by the imperial Ger
man government based upon the petit
ton of the greatest banking and com
mercial interests Of that empire which
want more silver injected into the cur
rency of that nation
The governments plan is understood
to be adoption of the silver stand
ard, making the teal, with about 50
cents worth of silver in it. the basis
China has been buying vast quantities
OF silver for some time in authorization
of this great coinage of the white metal
Its minis have taken practically all the
silver that has gone out from London
Tor some time The nineteen provincial
mints have all been taken over By the
imperial government. It was expected
that in May of this year these would be
set at work coming the new teals but
no word has been received that this has
begun, and there is fear that the whole
project of money reform may have been
held up by reason of some of develop-
ments following the death of the EN-
perOr and the dowager. 1t is reported
also that there is still indecision wheth-
or the new money shall be put out based
on the silver or the gold standard"