New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1918-04-09
WOULD MELT SILVER
DOLLARS To bullion
Emergency War Measure Present.
ed to Senate by Pittman
TO PAY TRADE BALANCES
Silver Certificates Would Be With
drawn From Circulation as $780,
100000 "Cartwhecls'' Are Thrown
Into the Pots at the Mints.


Washington, Apri 9.-Meting into
bullion of not more than $50, 100000
silver dollars now in the treasury for
sale and export to pay trade balances
and re-purchase of silver at 5 an
ounce, is proposed in an administra-
ton bill introduced today by Senator
Pittman as an emergency war meas
ure. Silver certificates will be with
drawn from circulation as the dol
lars are taken from the treasury and
federal reserve bank notes of new
81 and 50 denominations substituted.
If enacted, the measure virtually
would fix a standard price for silver
at 81 an ounce, several cents above
the present market, and stabilize the
world market, since the United States
produces almost half OF the total.
The bill also is intended to stimulate
silver production, and to use the
treasury reserve stocks Of that metal
instead of gold, to settle this countrys
commercial trade balances in the
Orient and elsewhere.
In anticipation of action by con-
gress, Raymond T Baker, director of
the mint, has formulated an agree
ment with silver producers and deal
ers to sell to the government at the
81 rate.
The bill would permit the secretary
of the treasury to fix the selling price
of the governments silver, but it is
assumed this would be not less than
ST. India, China and Japan need sill
Yer most for coinage, and quantities
also might be exported to South
American countries and European
neutras whose trade balances are
against the United States. India's re-
quirements would be negotiated
through Great Britain.
491, 900, 100 Dollars in Treasury.
The treasury now holds 491, 1,000,100
silver dollars containing about 376,-
| 600, 900 ounces of silver. In with
| drawing silver certificates based on
| this coin, effort probably would be
! made to take bills of denominations
| Of SIS and more, leaving the S and 81
! bills which now are in great demand.
} To guard against contracting cir
| culation, however Senator Pittman's $
! bill would provide for issue of fed
| eral reserve bank notes, of which
! only 1,670, 900 are in circulation, in
smaller denomination than the pres
! ent minimum.
| Federal reserve bank notes viz
! tually are the same as national bank
notes, but the special notes would
have a slightly different basis, con-
! sisting of treasury certificates of in
! debtedness or one year gold notes.
| Arrangements would be made for the
! federal reserve board to force with
| drawal of these when the silver is
| replaced in the treasury. No more
! hn ct mo a
! face value of silver taken from the
| treasury.
| McAdoo Supports Bill.
! Secretary McAdoo wrote Senator
Pittman supporting the bill as war
measure, although he suggested there
| might be q wide difference of opinion
| on the best method of replacing sill
YER certificates with other currency.
| "In this way, he explained, 1.-The
large mass Of silver which is servin g
no useful active purpose now can be
made available for direct war pur-
pose. There is no intention of making
any permanent change in the status
| of the silver certificates. The propO-
sition is in brief to retire silver certi-
| ficates, to borrow from the treasury
| the silver for use for war purposes,
| and then as silver from time to time
! in the future comes on the market
| to replace the silver SO borrowed by
purchase in the market at the fixed
price of 81 per fine ounce and to re-
place the borrowed silver by coming
the new silver acquired for that pur-
pose into standard silver dollars
There is no limit in which this must
be done"
NO silver dollars have been coined
since 1904. For half dollars, quar-
ters and dimes, the government this
year needs about 21, 100000 ounces OF
silver.
Determination on the part of the
treasury officials to urge the fixing OF
q silver price resulted from the er-
ratio fluctuations of the silver market
| PRAGER PROBE HELD UP.
Ct.