The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1923-10-11
FOUR LONDON BROKERS
FIX PRICE OF SILVER
REFUSED ADMISSION TO AMERi
CAN WHO WANTED TO SEE
HOW 1T WAS DONE.

and in secret fix the price of silverJ
The four men who meet in London
each day to fix the price of silver are
entirely willing. / am assured to have
representative of the producers meet
with them AT present they assemble
behind closed doors There have been
times when persons have been ad-
mitted bat il is not the practice For
"a time "a London representative of the
American Smelling & Refining co. sat
with the brokers.
In conversation with II. l.. Baggal-
lay and Benjamin White, two of the
men who sit on the committee, asked
why the daily meeting is a star-cham-
Der proceeding, in view of their pro-
testations that any manipulation is i'm
possible Mr. White could see no adj
vantage i'm fitting the room with "a
gallery-an addition which me thought
would be necessary. as the admission
of one outsider would mean that the
privilege could bee denied 10 no one
Mr. Baggallay. on the other hand sees
no reason why anyone concerned
should not be present
Request to Attend Meeting.
After listening. at great length, to
reasons advanced to show that the fix
ing of price is as close am interpreta-
ton as can Doe made of the balance
existing between supply and demand,
/ inquired if ] could attend one of
their meetings so as to be able to
visualize the process. MI Whites inn
mediate reaction was that il should
not be done When asked for
reason why the representative of the
leading metal mining paper i'm the
world a paper much concerned with
the silver situation, and bearing as
did credentials from the American
Departments of state and Commerce,
and from the Senate Committee of
Gold and Silver Inquiry, could not be
admitted he weakened TO the extent
of suggesting that l might make for
NAL application to be allowed TO at
tend This 1 did through Mr. Bag
gallay because 1 had sensed that he
sympathized with my request
AZ Tue iltEllAAE Oll Nllf iOilWW iAA1 NetNf
Mr. Baggallay laid my request before
his colleagues They not only decided
not to admit me, but have reason to
think regarded my request as rather
presumptious feel very sure that
this was in spite OF q very earnest
plea on my behalf 10y Mr.. Baggallay.
! was much impressed with Mr. Bag
Al ia,
and by his genuine desire to remove
from the price-hXing transaction any
suspicion arising from what he evil
IDENTITY regards as unnecessary resort
to secrecy Mr. White is inclined to
he cynical and to have little patience
with what he terms efforts on the
part of producers to interfere with
economic law lie knows silver, how
ever and lacks nothing in intellectual
keenness. Incidentally. he has sense
of humor
Brokers Unmoved.
The action of the four brokers in
denying me access 10 their meeting
was taken after / had explained that
most of the producers of silver i'm
America are suspicious of secret price
fixing under any conditions but when
that operation is conducted in a coun-
try whose interests are best served by
cheap silver, the suspicion is all the
stronger. 1 also set forth the preva-
lent feeling among miners of the white
metal that they should take more in
terest in their own product after il
has left their hands and that they are
now taking very definite action to that
end l went so far as to explain that.
accustomed as we are in the United
States to the conduct OF business
transactions in the open, to refuse me
admission to one OF the price fixing
conferences might carry with il an
warranted deductions Realizing that
this account of my reception would be
read by practically every silver pro-
Queer i'm the Western Hemisphere. I
called attention to that fact. l believe
that point was weighed by the brokers
before deciding to decline my request
1t is my opinion that the brokers. other
than Mr. Baggallay are quite indif-
ferent as to what opinions the Ameri- /
can producers may hold as to their /
conduit of the price-hNiug operation.
Efforts of Silver Men in Contempt. /
was unable to secure any evidence .
of manipulation" in their price fixing /
procedure. 1t is the firmly held opinion .
Of Walter $ Tower. the American
commercial attahe. who investigated /
the matter recently at the special re-
quest of Secretary Hoover, that the
procedure permits OF no control on
manipulation. That opinion is shared
by such an outstanding mining man as
r. Gilman Brown, the American who
has been honored so signally by being
chosen president of the British Insti-
mte of Mining and Metallurgy. 1t is
my opinion, however that the efforts
of the silver producers to better their
position are regarded with a certain