Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-04

present ratio of silver to gold is 70 to
/. eS against the old bimetallic ratio
Of 1871 to II This. by raising the
value Of the silver hoa DIS in India,
troubles than the round table confer
ence."
In parenthesis it may b. noted how
India troubles. But in. order to pre-
sent fair and whole picture it may
also be noted that the American share
In the Indian market has tremendously
inc; eased since the war and that she
stands to gain in an important meas
ure from the restoration Of the de-
pressed Indian market. which is very
far from being an exclusively British
market.
Lord Hunsdon continues:
THE foregoing nations should begin
to buy silver at once to form part Of
their reserves and continue to do so
year by year and thus release gold and
raise prices 1t is certain that If this
plan were adopted we should have an
imme date rise in prices, and that for
the next is years industry, so far ct
least as the monetary factor is con-
cerned, would have rising market in
which to trade"
Banker Agrees on Ratio.
Lord Hunsdon's ideas were Endorsed
by j. F. Darling, a director OF the
Midland Bank, one Of the big Ave
banks Of England. Darling points out
the 20 to 1 ratio is well within the
natural ratio Of the relative produc-
tion Of gold and silver today.
That production Is estimated at ] to
IL RlIt uyhArAae enid Dc haiy,o yNrNdnnod
to the limit under high pressure and
the known sources of supply are steadi-
ly falling, silver production is being re-
tarded by general conditions and 1t IS
oimcult 10 say what the maximum pro-
ouction might be in tire absence Of such
world control as, for instance, has been
planned fer tin. Silver is produced
meinly IS a by-product in the mining
OF copper lead. zinc and nickel.
Production would increase. probably
steeply, as world trade revived and the
demand for these metals increased. The
serious problem might then arise of
maintaining the value of silver in the
presence OF overproduction Ardent sill
yer advocates reply to this great ques-
ton in bimetallism. Their argument
Is that increased quantities of these
metals come TO market only as world
trade expands, and that such an ex-
panSion would imply a corresponding
industrial expansion and the need for
more currency-and so larger quantities
OF silver would be needed and could be
put to use.
This sounds plausible but it makes
men who pin their faith on gold-or, to
put 1t more precisely, to the preserva-
ton at all costs Of the one known stable
measure of value in chaotic world
shake their heads obviously. They see
squalls and storms, quagmires and
quickSand.
1t would seem that as the worlds
difficulties increase the weight and area
gold as the sole arbiter OF values will
increase and extend. For instance,
Keynes, whom Lord Dabernon. the
financier and former British Ambassa =
dor to Berlin, describes as one OF the
two leading exchange currency au-
thorities living. says bluntly that the
world has outgrown the money suit in
which 1t is clothed-which is only a
step farther than the candid announce
ment Of big British banker, Reginald
McKenna. chairman of the Midland
that world production and exchange
have outstripped banking technique.
Being convinced that gold, besides
suffering from maldistribution, is in
adequate to world requirements now,
Keynes advocates a managed currency
In Britain. He has been in favor Of
letting the pound go of the gold stand
ard since France and America ignored
the recommendations of the Genoa con-
ference for controlling gold by in
ternational agreements and instead
forced payments on trade accounts in
gold, which they have no use for and
for various reasons cannot turn loose
again to irrigate the fields of world
trade.
international Acceptance Is Crux.
International acceptance is the crux
OF the silver problem. Silver advocates
would like to see international accept
ance Of silver come about as the result
of a world conference to stimulate
world trade before the depression deep
ems still more II this move Is not
made in time. they opine, it will prob
ably come anyway eventually, as a des-
perate salvaging operation to save a
civilization founded on gold and going
to smash as the old Roman Empire
did when it was unable to control the
metal 1t had made the basis Of its
monetary system.
The general feeling in England among
persons Of power, influence and per-
spicacity (termS not necessarily Synony-
mous) may be summed up in remark
which an interested oil king made to
me during discussion of the SUBJ
ject: IF only this business doesn't
throw up another Bryan talking about
crosses Of gold and crowns of thorns,
If we can keep this thing down to hard
terms of trade and finance and out of
emotional politics, something OF value
to the world in general and to Tlgland
In particular should come OF it.