The daily star-mirror., 1923-03-12

ferent, owing to the fact that early
in the war Great Britain was badly
in need of silver and arranged with
the United States government for, the
purchase of 2OS, 900, 900 ounces, the
price of which, after consultation with
silver producers of the country, was
fixed at one dollar an ounce and un-
der the Pittman act the United
States mint was authorized to re-
purchase an equivalent amount of
silver from American producers at
the price received from John Bull.
The purchases of silver under the
terms of this act will be completed
about September or October of this
year at which time, of course, the
price of silver in the United States
will drop to the present world price
or perhaps even below it, due to the
throwing of the American silver into
the world market.
General Condition Serious
"The world situation in silver is
perhaps more serious than it has
been for many years. About seventy
five per cent of the world production
of silver is used as money or as
medium of exchange, about one-third
being coined and about twO-thirdS
being used in the form of bullion.
The balance of the silver production,
or about twenty-five per cent is used
in the arts but the situation appears
to be that when the price of silver
drops it's use in the arts decreases, |
due to the natural human tendency |
to desire the most expensive things. |
There appears to be rapidly in
creasing tendency in Europe to de-
crease or abandon the use of silver
&c, ,~~lo fov~ nxyo 1v,la
has debased her silver coinage from
it's former standard of 1926 fine to 500
fine-in other words from coins |
which were practically pure silver to
coins which are only half silver The
South American countries have done
the same thing, while Germany,
France and most of the other Euro
pean countries have abandoned silver
coinage entirely, substituting paper
aluminium, bronze, Nickel and
copper alloys as their substitutes.
Even in the United States the use
of paper money in one and two dol
lar denominations has been rapidly
due to the attitude of the
treasury officials.
Price Fixed at London
Another disturbing tendency of the
silver market lies in the fact that the
world price for silver is arranged in
London, although North America
produces 80 per cent of the worlds t,
silver. England's interest in low
silver price is due to her great orien-
al possessions and trade. In the
Orient an ounce of silver is practic- .
lily the standard of value, conse-
luently the lower the price the j
greater the amount of labor or COM
nodities which the British merchant
,an purchase in the Orient. Another
important factor is that with the dis
urbed political conditions in the
orient, Great Britain feels that she
must always be ready to redeem with i,
liver the large issue of paper rupees
n India. 1t will be the problem of
he senate committee to investigate : :
III of these factors and to endeavor
% far as possible to interview for
ign governments and foreign users
# silver and see what may be done
0 relieve the plight which the silver
miners will be in at the end of this t
ear. :
Comparatively little silver is, of |
curse, produced by ieself, most OF it
eing produced in connection with e
cad and copper mining and smelt
ng processes, and any serious de- '
line in the price of silver will, of t
curse, have to be covered by an in :
rease in the price of lead and cop :
er in order that producers of such Il
res may continue to mine profit. i
"Greae credit is due to Senator
Ticholson of Colorado, H. N. Lawrie
the American Gold and Silver In 4
titute, and Ravenel Macbeth of the
daho Mining Association for bring
1g about the appointment of this