Gilpin observer., 1916-01-13
THE WORLD DEMANDS SILVER

THE WORLD DEMANDS SILVER
Sir Moretcn FIewen. cne OF the
greatest Erg.ish authorities ON stand
ard money the world has ever known
was asked by a London correspond
ent at the Carlton club in New York
the other day for his views en- future
currency and ex ia; ge ard gave the
following reply:
The problem OF the worlds cur
rency after the war;" said Mr.. Frew-
en-, lis net of course decipherable at
this time. 1t involves the question
when will the war end?' In my judg-
meLt. not for two years. Eut it is
quite safe to disc uss the tendencies
ct finance and c-rre cy. You ask
can the universal gold standard sur
vive? l do net think so. 1t was
a .deplorable and most dangerous ex-
pertinent from t. e first and it involv-
es probls m which no cne can ans
wor because tie problem is clean
outside of all human experience h,th-
erto."
And what problem?"
Mans Normal Money"
The problem of silver. We are
now for the first time 'up against
it, :n war; fer t! e first time in the
history of mankind great war is
in progress, and the worlds miLts
are closed to silver. Whatever our
views and our disagreements, Il at
In the last great Continental war,
the Franco-Germ am war. the German
mintS were oren to silver only. Tie
French mints were open to both met
one-half. the An er'can mints were
open TO both metals at sixteen to
one. And not less important was
thistle m.nts of the British Indian
were open to the free coinage of
silver, gold there being rigidly de-
monetized. In short, as Walter Bage-
hot expressed it few years later to
a select committee of the house of
commons: Silver is the last normal
money of mankil d."
But has not tie immense produc
tion OF new gold made universal gold
standardism possible?"
No! l hold rot; the new gold
is O. mere drop in the bucket of our
needs. Take the returns of the ex-
ports of the st class nations:
these have jumped from Thousand
millions sterling in 1893 to nearly
three thousand millions in 1913,
while, in those years cf quite unpre-
cedentad gold production, gold money
GS4O 200, 600 in 1898, has not nearly
doubled. And so l say that, after
the war ii tie worlds trade is to
net soft every ounce of silver Col
orado. Montara ard Mexico can pro-
duce will be required.
But accepting your view and still
bearing in mind the strong prejudice
as to silver" ian u terly insane pre-
judice, MIR. Frewen interpo.ated)
cannot the wolld of trade adjurt
| itself to soft money!"
A Post-BelIum DeIuqe.
"Emphatically TO! That is chaos
come again after such a war as
this. How are you Americans gcing
to frame your ter ifs IL your vast
market is the tai get for great Euro
pean nations with varying gold prem
iums? What use is tariff in New
York harbor il tire German exchange
is fifty points off? Germany will
deluge you with her goods. Suppose
also the exchange with England is.
to come. at 81 to $4.50-what use
then is a specific tariff? 1t will in
effect Shift daily with the variations
OF the exchange. And next, as to
your export trade. how can you sell
wheat to Londcn IL your exporter
gets only 81 in exchange for a SOW
ereign, when the Indian or Australian
or Argentine exporter is getting
here full, normal exchange for his
wheat?
"In almost his last public utter
ance, my old friend. Prof. Emile de
Laveleye. said, fsdling the restora-
tion OF silver the world must revert
to protection and it will have to
be protection of a nature so scientific
as to be impossible. In the days
at hand the cost Of production is
going to depend more than anything
alCa nm fbn rata ~ puoy IDnk