Yerington times. [volume] (Yerington, Nev.) 1907-1932, 1920-05-26
EXPLAINS
SILVER SITUATION

Prompted by the many conflicting
statements from various sources III
explanation OF the recent decline i'll
the price OF silver. Henry NJ. Rives,
secretary OF the Nevada Mine Oper-
ators' Association, telegraphed to
Senator Key Pittman. at Washing
ton Yesterday, for such information
as might be available there. This
morning he received the following
reply:
Replying to your telegram. have
conferred with the treasury and the
mint officials, and have obtained all
information possible at present
There is no truth III the runlor that
the government is selling silver to
India or to any other foreign gov
ernments.
Il saw another telegram today.
from a person in Reno, stating that
the San Francisco mint was closed
There is no truth in this statement
BY law each mint is required to
clean up once year and make set
tlement. During the few days re-
CURED for this purpose, the refinery
operations cease The mint is still
accepting bullion 70 refinement, and
will settle on ASSAY as soon as 1t can
be made.
"The best authority for the slump
in the price Of silver ! can obtain
is as follows: SAt the time OF the
removal OF the embargo on the ship
ment OF silver. China, japan and
India were starving '.or silver be-
cause the amount they ordinarily abb
sorbed each month from the United
States had, been cut off during the
war. Large purchases made by
these countries alter the raising OF
the embargo. not only raised the
price OF silver quickly. but substan-
tally satisfied the absolute require
ments OF those countries.
Germany was expecting to buy
silver as reserve for her paper
money She has nothing with which
to buy silver. She could only buy
silver either with money or with
goods. If she bought it with her
paper money she would have to pay
about ten dollars i'll her own money
for every ounce of silver. Germany
is not only buying silver as was
expected, but also selling silver. She
is selling her silver reserves because
it is the only thing she has to sell.
With what silver coinage she has
she can buy i'll the open market at
par With her paper money she has
got to pay ten times as much. This
silver is helping temporarily to sat
isfy demands.
"All these conditions arc only
temporary. AS commerce is re-es-
tabished between nations and its
volume increased the damands hor
silver must increase with it. A sud
den complication OF such conditions
might have driven silver down to
where it was in 1915. but for the
Pittman act.
Inquiries are reaching the direc-
tor OF the mint from many sources
asking if the director will purchase
silver when rendered him at one
dollar an ounce. The director is also
being asked & he will purchase such
silver if reduced in this country but
mined in some other country.
Gle has officially construed the
Pittman act as meaning that it is
obligatory upon him to purchase all
silver rendered him at one dollar an
ounce uptil the $271 100000 that have
been melted up have been re-coined
and placed in the treasury. provided
only procured in theUnitedStatcs but
is reduced in the United States, In
other words, he will not accept any
silver except silver actually mined in
te United States. He has prepared
certificate which must be duly ex-
ecuted and accompany every offer of
sale OF silver to the mint under the
Pittman act.
"(Signcd) KEY PITTMAN."
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