Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-22
Silver Purchase Urged by
Gold Standard Believer
TO the Editor Of The Star:

To the Editor of The Star:
In the brief period of two years sill
yer has dropped In price from go cents
an ounce to 26 cents. 1t is a moot ques-
ton whether this tremendous drop Is
due to worldwide depression following
in the wake Of the world war or whether
silver has been deliberately placed upon
the toboggan for it's ride" to oblivion,
thereby reducing the buying power of
a thousand million silver-using people
from the plains of Hindustan to Mex
leo, all over Central and South America
and India and China.
Mr.. Deterding, the English oil king,
we'll says underconsumption and not
overproduction is the matter with the
globe A recent report on India shows
frightful conditions of poverty and
deprivation. Millions of people starv-
ing to death in China are matters of
daily news. Little children are working
in cigarette factories in India IS hours
for wage Of cents. In our country,
which is very well off If it could only
think so, the farmers of Kansas are
asked not to raise wheat for which they
can at least get 80 cents bushel
whercwith to buy clothes and other
needed articles.
It is believed that the precipitate drop
in silver was due to the British govern
ment in India and the French govern
ment in Indo- China dumping silver on
the market to buy gold to place these
countries on the gold standard. The
writer is a gold standard man out and
out and has no use for the 16 to free
silver hereSy, nevertheless he believes
silver and gold have been the historic
coins Of the masses for thousands OF
years and that steps should be imme-
~ al 70 ctohiliZn silver Tho
minister of finance in China, the largest
user of silver, threatens to put that
country on the gold standard if they
ever get cured Of civil war. Should this
happen, silver would go to less than 10
cents an ounce, for it would have been
practically demonetized throughout the
world.
An international conference has been
asked for to have the leading countries
agree on ratio between gold and sill
yer, but England objects.
The writer suggests that the United
States start the work of sterilization
and it can do this very nicely and at
the same time get rid of an anachro-
nism in our currency system. For some
mysterious reason we retain S346, 681 ,0l6
of greenbacks, Civil War fat money.
These have been reprinted scores OF
times and reissued. At one time they
became an endless chain to deplete the
Treasury of its gold. A gold fund of
$156, 039 ,278 is now kept in the Treas
ury to keep, these bills at par, but, of
course, the entire gold fund is also in
trust for them, for all United States
money Is now at par with gold, includ-
ing the 498, 498, 028 standard silver dol
lars coined and taking up needed room
in the Treasury against which are issued
silver certificates.
Briefly the writer's suggestion is that
our Government use the gold fund of
S156 ,039,278 to purchase enough silver
at the market price to replace the
greenbacks with silver certificates.
1t is also suggested that the silver
so purchased, along with a lot of the
standard silver dollars which refuse to
circulate, be melted into silver bullion
bars of such size and weight, not easily
stolen, and put on exhibition in a room
in the Treasury called the silver room,
open to the public, as a concrete con-
tribution to the sterilization of silver.
If other countries would copy our money
system which is sometimes made fun of
by bankers, no doubt times would speed
lily mend. JEREMIAH JOHNSON.