PROBLEM OF SILVER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20987, 25 September 1931, Page 9

PROBLEM OF SILVER.

WORLD CONFERENCE URGED. SIR ROBERT HORNE'S VIEWS. British Wireless. RUGBY, Sept. '23. At. the meeting held under the auspices of the China Association regarding silver Sir Robert Home, M.P., former Chancellor of the Exchequer, said added importance v.is given to the problem of silver owing to the fact, that threequarters of the world's available supply of gold was in the hands of two nations, while the other nations were being steadily denuded of if, and also because, according to the calculations of experts, the world's supply of gold, no matter how well distributed, was likely iu a comparatively few years to be insufficient for the, needs of commerce. Certain Powers had discouraged the proposal for international discussion on the distribution of gold, but a moro favourable reception might be given to a conference upon silver. The Senate of the United States had unanimously requested the President, Mr. Hoover, to call such a conference, and it was believed that Mr. Hoover would be willing to act if evidenco were forthcoming that such a step would be welcomed. The time was, therefore, propitious. Every economic theory was to-day under new scrutiny. Sir Robert urged serious consideration of all the various suggestions as to how the problem might be dealt with, whether by arrangement among the Governments to sustain the price, of silver, or by the central banks holding silver by international agreement as part of their currency reserves, or oven by remonetising silver and setting up a bimetallic basis for the leading monetary systems of the world.