Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1914-06-13
IS STILL UNSOLvED.
Commission Fails to Solve MyS-
terry of Hoartad Gold.
What Becomes of the Precious Metal
Poured Into India Remains Puz-
Extraordinarily Flowing Into
That Country.

The report of the British royal com
mission on Indian finance ana cur
rency, which has just been Issued
settles some controversies and starts .
others. but ii does not clear up the ,
mystery of the boarded gold OF lndla |
From time immemorial India has
absorbed gold as sponge aDsorpS
water. The flow of gold to INDIA mas
/ ALWAYS continued In the last Il years
/ she has received E136000,0O in gold,
partly in sovereigns and partly In bull
lion. In addition to enormous quanu-
ties of silver II all goes into the
country, but very little ever comes
out Lord Rothschild observed some
wears ago that he had noticed that
none Of the smooth gold bars sent to
India from this country ever came
back. What happens to this great
stream of precious metal, which con-
tinuously disappears like those rivers
in desert lands which lose themselves
underground?
The testimony Of experts is most
conflicting Some say it is boarded,
formidable array of statistics that 1t
cannot be extensively boarded. Those
who believe that India possesses a
vast store of boarded treasure make
the widest guesses at its probable TO-
tai The most popular estimate or
the boarded wealth Of India puts the
total at $500. zoo, which would
q hood nf tho nODnla-
ton: but some credible estimates are
70 far higher The experts quarrel
; again, about the probable effect OF
> midas absorption of gold upon the
B, worlds money markets and the prices
- of commodities. Some say that al
/ gold-using countries benefit thereby
I while others. such as Sir Edward Hol
den. appear to hold that the draii
. Of gold to India" is potential men
. ace. The commission. while declining
u to indorse either of these mutually de
% structive contentious. has declared Il
II effect that an increased use of gold i
o India should not in future be encoui
}. aged by the government, but lndl
"a already seems disposed to resent thi
): recommendation.
~ Whether gold is boarded in India
is really question of terms. All n;
Is lions hoard gold upon occasion.
TX England were threatened with a gref
at war tomorrow we may depend upon
ne that there would be rush for gol
UT on the part of those people who pc
ut sessed both foresight and a balance
)r the bank 1t is estimated that dur1r
all the Balkan crisis the peoples of &c
h" trail Europe obtained and hoardt
G so. OOO. 900 in gold. India has BET
III subjected to repeated invasions al
innumerable internal wars, and n
ay people have never lost their here
is tary sense Of insecurity. Banking
*? cilities are still sparse, and ii Won
"" be surprising II Indians did not hoal
rer But boarding does not necessar
er, mean burying in the ground or CO
ray cealment in the roofs OF nous
cts. though those practises are doubhf
be extensive. Mr.. J. VI. Keynes, me
for her of the commission tells a ste
of a Brahman IN eastern Eengal W
Mt" even boards currency notes in
AZ roof. Once a week he retires priv
,ful and spreads them out in the sun
The remove the damp. \ very large
tic portion Of the boarded wealth of
mo- dia is. however. in the form of q
t it and silver ornaments. IL Is INTO III
tive ornaments that the bulk of the bull
and sovereigns, as well as much
nrn- the silver, disappears.