STATE PURCHASE OF SILVER

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19807, 24 May 1934, Page 9

STATE PURCHASE OF SILVER

BOLD EXPERIMENT IN AMERICA

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT’S PLAN OUTLINED United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright WASHINGTON, May 22. Mr Roosevelt recommended to Congress to-day that it should declare the United States policy to be "to increase the amount of silver in our monetary stocks, with the ultimate objective of having and maintaining one-fourth their monetary value in silver, and three-fourths-, gold.” The policy would be mandatory. The President, in fulfilment of his agreement with the Congressional silver advocates, said he should be authorised and directed to make purchases of silver necessary to attain this ultimate objective. Payments for the present silver holdings in the United States will be limited to 50 cents an ounce, and profits so made will be taxed 50 per cent. Pointing to a world-wide bimetal agreement as the ultimate solution of the silver problem, the President revealed that he had already begun negotiations with neighbouring countries in regard to the use of both silver and gold, preferably on a co-ordinated basis as the standard of monetary value. Legislation Introduced. Senator Pittman Introduced the silver legislation in the Senate. He declared that it represented the culmination of long years of effort to give silver a more prominent place in the monetary picture. An appropriation of 500,000 dollars will be authorised to carry out the purchase and the nationalisation programme, and such additional sums as are needed will be appropriated annually. One clause of the Bill authorises the President to take over the nation’s monetary silver stock in the same manner as gold was taken, and the Secretary of the Treasury will be authorised and directed to purchase silver at home and abroad at such rates, times, and terms as he may deem reasonable, and most advantageous in the public interest. Meeting Market Price. Purchases in the domestic market will be limited - to 50 cents an ounce on stocks held on May 1. Whenever the market price exceeds the monetary value, or when the monetary stocks are greater than a 25 per cent, ratio, the Secretary may sell silver. He will further be authorised and directed to issue silver certificates in a face amount not less than the cost of all silver purchased. These will be legal tender, redeemable on demand in standard silver dollars, and the Secretary will be authorised to coin silver dollars for such redemption. He will further be authorised, with the approval of the President, to investigate, regulate, and prohibit by license or otherwise, the acquisition, importation, or transportation of silver. Under the nationalisation clause, the President, when in his judgment action is deemed necessary to regulate the value of money, may, by Executive Order, require the delivery to the United States mints of any or all silver by whomsoever owned or possessed.