Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1939-07-04

BY the Associated Press.
Treasury officials plan to issue a
clarifying statement on the compli-
Gated monetary situation early to-
morrow without waiting for the
Senate to vote on the monetary bill.
They would not say what the
statement would contain, but indi-
Gated that it might answer these
questions:
l. What is the price of silver
mined in this country?
z. What price will the Treasury
pay for foreign silver and in what
quantities?
3. Is the $4,000, 900 900 sterilization
1und operating, and under what
conditions?
4. What is the price of gold?
Inc statement will be given out a
few hours before the Senate acts at
pm. on a House approved bill ex-
tending the Presidents power to
change the gold value of the dol
lar. continuing the sterilization
1und. and fixing the price of do
nestle silver at Till cents an ounce.
A Republican filibuster prevented
nnal action before the expiration
oaIe OF the old laws Friday night.
Disagree on Loyalty.
Attorney General Frank Murphy
ADVISED the President that the ex-
tension would be legal even though
the gold and sterilization fund DOW
ers apparently have lapsed, but Re-
publicans said Congress could not
extend something that no longer
existed. They said the powers
could be revived only by new leeis-
lation.
The clatter of the sterilization
funds tickers throughout the long
week end Government holiday an
sWered, in part, one of the questions.
The regular fund personnel was on
DUTY as usual, although one official
SAID fund transactions. if made
would be in the name of the Score
tary OF the Treasury rather than in
the name of the fund-just for legal
safety D SAKE.
The Treasury bought no silver,
either domestic or foreign, over the
week end. But nearly all of the repu-
lar Wednesday working hours will
come before the Senate vote and
that Is why the statement is forth
coming.
New Offerings Unlikely.
Fixing domestic price, however.
was not so urgent. The old 64.64
cents an ounce domestic price will
apply to all domestic silver mined
before Friday midnight. no matter
when it is actually refined and
rendered to the Treasury. Satur-
day and Monday were the onlv
working days on which some new
silver might have been unearthed
and prepared for tender to the
Treasury tomorrow, since the tender
can take place before the metal is
refined.
But as matter of prudence, mine
owners were not expected to offer
any new silver to the Treasury be-
fore the Senate vote, which may
give them by law higher price than
the Treasury might voluntarily
offer.
In the case of foreign silver the
Treasury faced more immediate de-
cisions. Customarily, it would be
expected to post at noon Wednes-
day price at which it would buy all
foreign silver offered at that quo
tation on the New York silver mar
ket.
The last such price, posted Friday,
was 38 cents an ounce, the same as
on Thursday, although the price
had been cut from 43 to 40 cents
Tuesday, to 38l2 on Wednesday and
to 80 on Thursday.
Voluntary Curb Talked.
Some persons suggested unoffi-
cially the Treasury might try to
placate the Senate by voluntarily
curtailing foreign purchases. mas
much as that chamber originally
objected to them.
The legal price of gold, mean
while, appeared to be s35 an ounce,
as it has been since the President
boosted the price from $2O67 in
January, 1884. The question was
whether Congress would extend his
power to change it again, If he
saw fit.
Whatever Congress does, how
ever, the President can effect what
technicians call de facto devalua-
ton" by paying whatever price he
thinks right for gold, ignoring the
stated price. The Reconstruction
Finance Corp did this in 1888. bid
ding the gold price up to $34.45, as
high as an ounce before the formal
devaluation.