Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1921-08-13
Writer Tells Some Of His Expe-
rienCes With Exchange in 18
Foreign Countries.
CHINAMAH MAKES IT CLEAR
One Little Transaction In Exchange
Nets Traveller 700 Per Cent at Har-
bin-Gold Coin at Picking, II
Sold, Would Upset the RI
nanciai System.

Washington, d. C.-Yariations In
currency exchange rates have not only
d broad economic significance but also
an extremely personal %pertinence to
the traveller. Maynard Owen Williams,
who has just returned from a 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:
1T Is only in times Of extreme stress
that the average American considers
the cart wheel and the 'greenback'
dras shifting, but for most Of the
world foreign exchange Is Il vital mat
ter every day In the year. When 1t
takes 20 silver dollars to buy an X
and a W In Budapest, 1t sounds like
a fairy tale to the maj who stops to
think 1t Is Uncle Sans own currency
which Is treated In this manner But
the Chinese keeper of an exchange
shop makes 1t as plain as day.
A Chinaman Makes II All Clear.
"You walk up to his open counter
facing the sidewalk and ask him how
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, a money changer
in Hankow sold me some Picking notes
for 20 per cent of their face value,
asserting that / could get full value
in Picking, If ! ever got there. | was
on my way to Petrograd and had to
get my passport amended in Picking,
so | took a chance on $25 worth of
Picking notes issued by the Bank Of
Communications which cost So In Han
kow, the railway service between the
Yangtze port and the capital being
interrupted at the time.
Transaction Nets 700 Per Cent.
Most Of the money | spent at face
value In Picking for government tele-
grams, but as / was leaving | invested
a few dollars In Chinese postage
stamps. At Hardin. where the Chi
nese and Russian post offices COM
peted, | 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 q high exchange rate, I affixed
stamps which | had bought In Picking
with Chinese currency that was de-
based in Hankow. My profit on the
transaction ran over 700 per cent.
'Certain firms and mission boards
In China are In the habit of guards-
teeing their workers a rate Of at least
two Chinese dollars for every gold dol
lar In their salary. Otherwise a gold
would be subject to a decided
variation since Chinese dollars In 1915
were worth only 40 American cents.
and In 1918 they were worth nearly
a dollar. Under this arrangement EN-
ployees of one American corporation
we're sending home more money each
month than they received as salary. |
Two hundred dollars q month, con
yerted at two to one would bring four
hundred Chinese dollars. For go OF
hese the American could buy Ameri-
an exchange for $500, and he would
ave 1870 Chinese dollars to live on.
Consular officers get a guaranteed
ate Of exchange. Military officers