Tombstone epitaph., 1922-06-11
SILVER RESERVES NEEDED
Financial Daily AmericaI

Europe psui! needs more metal re- serves Why not more silver, which has been allowed to decline in use since 1913? An increase of cents an ounce 10 T cents in the foreign price in the last month has been ascribed to the belief that long de ferred currency needs in silver must he met.
 Increased demand for copper. lead and zine in recent months in increas. ing production. Incidentally il adds to the output of silver long held at a low point. partly by the poverty Of governments and the widespread de .pendence on printingpress money.
 Two-thirds of Americas pre,war silver production was by-product of copper. lead. zine and other metal mining As these increase the silver content of their ores comes upon the markets In Mexico. Canada and Australia. the largest foreign produc- CTS. much silver is prod1ssd hy the same process Of min.nE and smelting ether metals The poor market for
 he silver by-product in the last two years has tended to raise the price of the other metals produced with it
 The world has been economizing in the use of silver money since 1914. The substitution of vast amount of notes. with constantly shrinking percentage of metal reserves, has brought many countries to the point Of bankruptcy Nearly a dozen Euro than % per cent in the foreign ex- change market. The National City Bank recently placed the ratio of gold 10 reserves in 36 principal coun- tries at e per cent. against more than e3 per cent in 1913. Paper cir culation was placed at 122 billions against 1.3 billions in 1913.
 Disbelief in the ability of the low rated countries to redeem this noun tain of paper from their molehills of metal has sapped their credit. They must substitute a more substantial currency before their place in the markets is restored Their effort to maintain a rold reserve worthy Of the name failed long ago. \ repudiation in fact of discredited paper has fol lowed. as represented in the 90 10 s9 per cent discounts Rebuilding new currencies is the problem ahead of them.
 If the money of 1914 would satisfy the needs of Europe today the prob lem would be easy. She possessed lately gold reserves of about 2,s35 millions, or two millions more than in 1914 Unfortunately she also has contracted enormous debts payable in gold. Repudistion Of these would precipitate new miseries on millions who derive incomes in part from the debtor governments payment of in terest
 There has been an increase of
 European debts of more than 200
 billions in eight years. The in-
 terest charge alone amounts 10
 nearly nine billions annually . Taxes are levied to pay these charg- es as well as 10 maintin armies be- cause of the menace of Bolsheyism and of mutual distrust and still threatening conflicts Taxes are add ed to the prices Of goods and services Prices thus range from v per cent above 1913 in Switzerland 10 4e.7o0 per cent above that level in Russia.
 Until such abnormal conditions are changed for the better the volume of currency that served in 1913 will not enable Europe to transact the same volume of business today as in pre- war years. We must expect that the retired paper issues will be re- placed by others as large at least as the various national reserves justify Some of these countries, like Austria and Russia. have no gold reserve on which to base any currency. Ger many's situation is little better Their position is embarrassing to others, as well as themselves. They seek loans that will enable them to produce and