Evening star., 1935-04-25

No very enthusiastic response greet
ed the Governments boost Of the price
of silver from "a 64 to Till cents an
ounce. except in quarters directly in
terested. The press as whole divided
chiefly on the question of whether tic
move was inflationary in itself or likely
to serve as a backfire to check the in
flationists and more radical silver ele-
ment in Congress.
Discussing the background. the
Danbury (Conn.) News-Times ex-
plains: "The demand for more use
of silver as a money stock met with
favorable action to the extent that
Congress passed a law which requires
hand silver in a fixed proportion to
gold en- hand. The quantity which
must be acquired would have value
of almost three billions. Only one
third as much has been acquired" In
view of this fact. it seems to the
Alliance (Ohio) Review that "the
executive order having the effect Of
raising the price that the United States
Government is paying for silver to II
cents an ounce was perfunctory
compliance with the process ordered by
Congress, by which the ratio of silver
to gold in the monetary reserve must
be held at one to three"
"Silver is being manipulated to
pacify certain congressional imitation
lists" thinks the Portsmouth (Ohio)
Times and the Manchester IN. H.
Union likewise interprets the transac-
ton as "a political move to hold the
good will of the silverites and in
flationists." In the opinion of the
Lincoln (Nebr) State Journal. 1T
may mean that the silver men will be
less insistent upon radical imitation
schemes, now that a new high price
is offered for their product"
What real national advantage is
promoted by this fantastic silver policy
is hidden from most mortal eyes," ex-
claims the Kansas City Times, but the
Watertown IN. W Daily Times thinks
that the increase in the price of silver
should do three things: It will help
the silver States, it will widen the in
flationary base, and it should step up
the price of commodities"
The Philadelphia Record declares:
1.-THE process is called broadening the
monetary base The idea is that the
Government now can print more
money because it has more silver to
back up the money. But this is only
an idea"
1.-THE only importance the price
raising for newly mined silver possess
ses. is political" in the opinion OF the
Wall Street journal, which adds that
"it Is pure economic falsehood to as
sert that the prices Of commodities IN
general depend in any manner what
ever upon the price of silver" A SIM
liar opinion is held by the Cleveland
News. which insists that silver ma
nipulation to date has had very little
effect on the credit or prices of the
Nation" The News holds, however.
that "the possibilities of imitation and
monetary disturbance are enormous"
The Charleston Is. c. Evening Post
takes the position that "the policy of
raising prices by artificial schemes is
perhaps the most fundamentally er-
roneous and devastating obsession Of
the New Deal"
1.-The Treasury's action may not be
directly inflationary, but there is in
it the possibility Of imitation which
may sweep the country like q prairie
fire." asserts the Youngstown Vindi-
Gator. The Rockford ull) Morning
Star observes that "the actual me-
chanics by which silver can produce
imitation ere not 20 important - the