The Holbrook news., 1921-07-22
Writer Tells Some of His Expe- riences With Exchange in 18
 Foreign Countries.
CHIN.MAN MAKES IT CLEAR
One Little Transaction In Exchange Nets Traveller 700 Per Gent at liar bin-GoId Coin at Picking, If Sold, Would Upset the Fi-
 nanciaI System.

Washington, D. C.-Variations in currency exchange rates have not only a broad, economic significance but also an extremely personal pertinence to the traveller. Maynard Owen Williams, who has just returned from trip through IS countries to compile in- formation and collect picture material for the National Geographic society, relates some of his experiences with exchange as follows:
 Ut is only in times of extreme stress that the average American considers the tcart wheel and the 'greenback' as commodities much like flour or ma ,dras shirting, but for most of the world foreign exchange is a vital mat ter every day in the year. When it takes 20 silver dollars to buy an N ;and 'V' in Budapest, it sounds like a fairy tale to the man who stops to think it is Uncle Sams own currency wkcch is treated in this manner. But Ithe Chinese keeper of an exchange shop makes it as plain as day.
 A Chinaman Makes 1t All Clear.
 'You walk up to his open counter IdCiuS lllG SihCheiAh anu eiSEA AAAAh AC" much American dollars are selling for this morning.
 "'This morning, price very bad. My no want 'em. No man want to buy. No steamer leave today. Saturday big steamer leave for 'Merica, can give you more better price
 During the attempt to reseat the boy emperor on the Chinese throne in the summer of 1917, money changer in HankOw sold me some Picking notes for 20 per cent of their face value, asserting that I could get full value in Peking, if I yer got there. I was on my way to Petrograd and had to get my passport amended in Picking, so I took a chance on $25 worth of Picking notes issued by the Bank of Communications which cost 50 in Han Row, the railway service between the Yangtze port and the capital being interrupted at the time.
 Transaction Nets 700 Per Cent.
 Most of the money I spent at face value in Picking for government teie- grams, but as I was leaving I invested a few dollars in Chinese postage stamps At Harbin. where the Chi nese and Russian post offices com peted, I trusted my letters to the Chi nese post because of a censorship on Russian mail, and instead of buying Chinese stamps in Russian currency at a high exchange rate. affixed stamps which I had bought in Picking with Chinese currency that was de based in Hankow. My profit on the transaction ran over TOO per cent.
 "Certain firms and mission boards in China are in the habit of guaran- te,.ing their workers a rate of at least two Chinese dolLars fer every gold dol liar in their salary Otherwise gold salary would be subject to decided variation since Chinese dollars in 1915 ,were worth only 40 American cents. and in 1918 they were worth nearly ,n dollar Under this arrangement em- DlOyees of one American corporation were sending hOIne more money each month than they received as salary. Two hundred dOEIa<s month. con- ,veFted at two to one would bring four lhundred Chinese dollars. For 220 of rhese the American could buy Ameri- can exchange for $2o0, and he would have a80 Chinese dollars to live on.
 -COnsular officers get a guaranteed rate Of exchange. Military officers