Evening star., 1935-04-11
FREE SILVER BILL
IS GIVEN APPROVAL
OF SENATE GROUP
WheeIer's 16.t0.1 Measure
Wins in Committee.
Future Doubtful.
PRICE RISE OF METAL
SPURS CAPITOL BLOC
Increase to II Cents by President
Declared Uninflationary
in Itself.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
The Senate Agriculture Committee
today approved the Wheeler manda-
tory l6-to-l silver purchase bill de-
signed to initiate the currency and
speed the attainment of a metallic
currency reserve of one part silver
and three parts gold.
The committee action. taken with
out record vote, spurred silverites
INTO fresh activity. which began late
yesterday when President Roosevelt
raised the price of newly mined do
mestic silver from 641a to II cents an
ounce.
The bill, by Senator Wheeler. DEM
ocrat, of Montana. faces a doubtful
future in the Senate, however.
Democratic leaders expressed conf
Gence it would not pass, but Senator
Wheeler claimed to have gained votes
since the test on the issue last Ses-
sion.
The bill would direct the Treasury
to purchase at least 50000O00 ounces
of silver a month until the propor-
ton of the white metal reached one
fourth of the monetary stocks.
Purchases would be suspended
whenever l6 ounces of pure silver
equaled in purchasing power one
ounce of pure gold. but would remain
suspended only so long as that ratio
was not disturbed.
Pittman Halls Action.
Senator Pittman. Democrat. Nevada,
later asserted in the Senate the Presi-
dents proclamation was proof he was
carrying out enthusiastically" the
London agreement and the 1884 silver
purchase act
1T is not so much the increase in
price that is significant" he said. 1T
is the fact that it concluSively proves
the President intends to carry out the
London pact and silver act fully and
completely and in the spirit in which
those steps were taken
He said he knew of no more sue
cessful handling of any question than
the handling of the silver question by
the President"
He added the Executive had exceed
ed the maximum purchase demands of
silver State Senators by buying more
than 50.000.000 ounces a month. and
to date had acquired about so per cent
of the amount that will be required to
make silver one-fourth of the metallic
reserve.
Congressional silverites greeted the
Presidents action in boosting the price
to II cents with satisfaction. but ap-
parently were not excited over it. They
went right ahead with more sweep
ing plans.
Senator Thomas. Democrat, of Okla
homa, addressed letter to leading
and financiers in which he
foresaw early abandonment of the
gold standard by those nations still
on it, with the subsequent stabiliza-
tion of world currenices on BIZ
metallic standard-silver and gold.
A rapid rise in the world price Of
silver preceded the Presidents procla-
nation. Officials held the belief that
this rise could be attributed to United
States buying under the policy laid
down by CongreSs-to acquire the
white metal until it is 25 per cent of
the metal behind the currency, the
other IS being gold.
Imitation Fear Minimized.
Most experts held that inflationary
in the price boost were
any. They said the amount
Of newly mined domestic silver plays
a comparatively small part in the
whole picture.
Wall Street saw an international
bull market in silver. with possibilities
of many economic and political COM
plications. Some there thought the
world price and the Treasury price
might rise together, with the latter
jump ahead
Much depends, it was felt, on the
pace with which the Treasury goes
about the task of buying silver to full
fill the congressional policy. 1t had
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