The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1922-06-23
Hoarded Stocks of Gold and Cur
renCy Make Appearance as
Exchange Falls.
MOST VEXED WAR PROBLEM
European Countries Flooded With
Cheap Money When Emergency of
War Compelled Abandonment
of Gold Standard.

tional finance and economics are
nection with the deprecated currencies
of Europe. These currencies have con-
stituted one of the most vexed prob
lens brought on by the war.
The need for greatly increased sums
of money, brought about by the war
cost, was met by most of the nations
by the issue of paper currency with
out relation To gold reserve. In nor
NAL times the paper currency of ma
ton has a definite gold reserve. gen.
orally about 40 per cent The emer-.
gency Of war caused the abandonment
of this reserve by all belligerent ma
tiOns excepting the United States. be-
cause the national treasures of these
nations lacked adequate gold to main
tain the reserve ratio In the United
States the treasury and the federal re-
serve banks discouraged use of gold
and gold certificates for general circu-
lation and accumulated the greatest
stock of gold ever assembled In the
history OF the world. 1t was with
drawn gradually from circulation and
piled up in the treasury and the vaults
of the federal reserve banks.
An inevitable result of this policy
was that during the war and following
the armistice the European printing
presses, being definitely cut loose
from the retarding element Of gold
reserve, kept on running at high
speed, turning out reams of paper
money which went into circulation. 1t
is natural rule that the increase of
the supply of anything makes It cheap
er. This Is as true OF money as of
coal or potatoes. The result was that
this plentiful supply of paper money
made money cheap. In other words.
people who had consumable goods TO
sell would not exchange them for as
small quantity of the cheap money
as of the old-fashioned money, backed
by gold. This meant that prices rose.
The United States experienced infla-
tion of currency but Of milder char
acter. The gold standard was not
abandoned here. Prices rose in this
country 100 or 200 per cent In some
cases, but in Europe they rose thou
sands Of per cent.
Exchange Hurts Europe.
A further result was that European
money, being cheaper and more plenti-
full than American money, foreign ex-
change became unfavorable to Europe
That is, European money would not
buy as much here as American money
would buy in Europe.
There is a law Of economics known
as Gresham's law. which lays down
the rule that where two kinds of
money are in circulation and one is
much inferior in value 10 the other,
the more valuable type will retire.
People who have 1t. believing Ii TO be
of greater value and therefore more
worth keeping will hoard Ii away.
This was done TO great extent all
over Europe As the imitation pro-
gressed, people who had gold pieces or
silver money or paper money of ma
tions in better financial shape than
their own hid this wealth away and
used the more plentiful cheap paper
currency
The extent to which European in
fation has gone is notorious. The
European news cables every day say
something of the difficulties being ex-
perienced as a result of the imitation. |
The Russian ruble and the German |
mark are favorite comic picture and |
vaudeville theater jokes because they |
have become so cheap 1t now costs |
more than 100000 rubles 10 buy a |
meal in Russia.
The German mark. which in normal |
times was worth at what is called the
par of exchange, nearly quarter in |
American money now is so cheapened |
that you can buy three marks for an |
American penny. The Austrian crown |
has been as cheap as 5000 for 81. A
SO bill of American money in Russia |
would exchange for enough rubles TO
make what would have been a Rus |
sian fortune before the war.
Trade, especially international /
trade. has become very difficult under /
these conditions The problem Of re-
storing these currencies TO something
like normal value has perplexed Euro |
pean financiers and economists ever
since the imitation started. II is one
of the big questions before the Genoa
which has been called TO 7
solve European economic and political
problems. The United States declined /
an invitation 10 this conference. part !
" because of the danger of becoming
involved in so unstable condition OF
affairs as that created by the cheap