Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1909-01-11
MONDAY, JANUARY II, 1908
SILVER MAY YET REACH A ST.

A Washington dispatch under date of
December 25th contains the following
which may prove the foundation of an
international agreement:
The publication in Paris of Senator
Teller's letter to M0reton Frewen, the
English bimetallist, relative to the ratio
of exchange between American and
European countries OH one hand and
Asia on the other, has served the pur
pose Of calling attention to the fact that
Frewen spent some time last winter and
spring in Washington, urging upon both
congress and cabinet the Importance Of
recognition of the rapidly increasing
divergence between the gold prices of
the Occident and the silver prices of the
Orient.
He was given a courteous hearing.
He was insistent in pointing ont the fact
that within the last decade there has
been an uneXampled rise in gold prices,
especially i'll the United States, with an
increase in wages and in the cost of liv-
ing, while on the other hand the silver
rupee, the money of 5000. 600, 900 people
in Asia, has remained stationary, with
the consequence that there has been u
marked falling oil in exports to Asiatc
countries both from England and the
United States.
During the &C urse of his stay in Wash
ington, Mr.. Proven addressed letter
to Representative j. w. Weeks of
Massachusetts, y member Of the bank
ing and currency committee of the
house, and also of the present congress
sional monetary commission, in which
he outlined his plans for an improve
ment in the exchange rate. In this
letter he urged the adoption by the
United States and Great Britain of
what is known as the Goschen plan for
the purchase of more silver.
The Goschen plan originated with
Lord Goschen in 1891, when he was
chancellor of the British exchequcr in
Lord Salisbury's government. He was
IL strong monOmetalist, but he suggested
the establishment of a strong central
gold reserve in Great Britain, to be COM
posed Of gold collected from the public
by the issuance of small paper notes to
be redeemed in silver and to be made
. legal tender for only $40 The English
silver advocates Of the time prevented
the adoption of the suggestion but Mr..
Frcwen admits in his letter to Mr..
Weeks that they were short sighted in
this course, and he now urgently presses
the adoption of the plan, both in his
country and i'll this. Mr.. Frcwen's let
ter was published in the Congressional
Record, but at the time attracted no
attention. In it he dwelt especially
upon the advantages the adoption of
the Goschen plan would be to the United
States. In part, nc said:
"ThC demand for silver tD D,lf behind
the small notes would raise the price of
silver bullion to u dollar an ounce. The
effect of this rise in silver would he
magical. 1t would raise the exchange
with silver-using Asia; it would there.
by greatly impair the ability of Asia to
export to Europe such products as wheat.
cotton, rice, timber, etc. products which
compete with your exports to Asia (which
now languish with each fall in exchange
in other words, with each fall in the
price of silver bullion"
In his interview here Mr.. Frewcn OK.
pressed the opinion that if the govern
ment Of the United States would make
the Goschen plan a basis for Il proposal