Evening star., 1935-04-24
81 SILVER PRICE
DECLARED NEAR
Treasury Boost Expected
as World Quotations Con.
tinue Rising.
Bv the Associated Press.

BV me ASSOclAted Press
Expectation of a quick boost in the
Tress,rys silver price vas added
yesterday TO swirls Of speculation over
possible administration action to close
the weak spot left in the Roosevelt
monetary system by the Supreme
Court gold ruling.
Silver talk had its genesis in mount
ing world quotations for the white
Governments standing offer for newly
mined domestic silver One Treasury
official said it was a logical deduction
from past actions that the price would
be boosted shortly, but all Secretary
Morgenthau would say was. Don't
bet any money on what we do
With the Treasury buying all silver
offered from the mines at II cents
an ounce. a figure established barely
fortnight ago. the price of The
metal rose in London to point
which translated into dollars A. the
current rate of exchange. was 1915
cents.
Gold Argument Up Again.
Gold discussion was reopened when
the Government asked months stsv
in a suit brought in the Court Of
Claims by Robert A. Taft, son Of the
former President and Chief Justice.
He contended that if the Government
refused TO pay him gold on a $50 lib
erty bond 1t must continue TO pa
interest until the date of maturity
and could not call the bond for re-
demption in advance
Such claims cases were the loor-
hole left by the high courts gold &c.
cision. While the Justice Department
said yesterdays delay move was onlJ
TO allow more time to prepare the
case. some observers thought Congress
might be asked to block permanently
all suits Of this type
On the other side OF the monetary
picture. meanwhile. Senators from
silver producing States were jubilsnt
over the rising price for that metal
Senator Adams, Democrat. of Col
orado predicted dollar silver soon. be-
cause the demand is in excess Of the
floating supply Senator Wheeler.
Democrat. Of Montana for the same
reason thought the rise would not
the statute books say is coinage value
OF the metal.
Treasury Increase Hinted.
Treasury officials studied the in
crease in the market price. carefully
guarding their plans for the imme-
diate future. But silver State Sen
ators said they had assurances from
the Treasury that as the world price
rose the Government figure would be
increased. attracting the former ever
higher until a satisfactory level is
reached
Behind the situation lies a series of
developments stretching over more
than year Of monetary history.
Early in 1884. the Treasury offered
the silver miners 645 cents an ounce
for their product. Market quotations
were then about 35 cents.
On the authorization OF Congress.
the Treasury undertook 10 buy more
than a billion ounces both at home
and abroad with the objective Of in
creasing its silver holdings to one
third Of its monetary gold reserves
In addition. il took title to all pri-
vately owned monetary silver in the
country.
Results Are Negligible.
As The result of persistent buying
abroad. the world price slowly climbed
Two weeks ago. il was only a tract
OF cent below the Treasury price of
645 cents. The latter was increased
Immediately TO II cents.
So far as America is concerned.
economists have said. the effect lies
largely in better times for the silver
producing sections Elsewhere do
mesticsllv they foresaw only negligible
consequences.