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Show SILVER DOLLAil MM GOIIIED ATM Treasury at Work on Bullion Bought Under Provisions of Pittman Act WASHINGTON, March B. Operations Opera-tions have been started at the United States mint In Philadelphia to renew the coinage of silver dollars, the first I that have been put into circulation since 1905. The new coins have been authorised tuider provisions of the Pittman act, approved April 23, 1918, which permitted permit-ted the secretary of the treasury to break up and soil not to exceed 350,- OUO.000 silver dollars. It alno specified I that he should purchase sufficient sil- ver to replace coins broken up and ottl. The Pittman act fixed $1 an ounce as the price at which purchases of silver should be made, Hiving the secretary no discretion in the matter. Silver now In 1h mint. iKtK I. " ln.l dollars was purchased at that price, and the treasury department, according accord-ing to the present program, Intends to make further purchases st the same figure, as silver becomes available. The price of sliver in the open'market now is about to cents an ounce. The secretary oi the treasury is restricted re-stricted Jn his purchases by the Pittman Pitt-man act to silver produced in mines within the t'nited States. If the Pittman act remains on the statue books and the provisions are fully csrried out, as now planned, very large quantities of silver will be in- volved. In fact It would contemplate the purchase of more than three times the entire production of American mines during the last yenr. and would provide . In the government of the United States a buyer for all of the silver sil-ver available from mines In this country coun-try at the rate of II per fine ounce. While this is a figure considerably In advance of the price quoted on the open market, the government would not pnataln an actual loss In the transaction,, trans-action,, as practically all of the ailver It obtained from breaking up and melting melt-ing silver dollars since 11S about 209.OO0.0VO ounces was sold by the government at s fraction over 1 an ounce. MAY 8TART FIGHT. It Is considered probable In some quarters here that the decision of the treasury department to purchase silver and revive the coinage of silver dollars will start a fight against that policy In congress which will be directed at the repeal of the Pittman act. There Is a question In the minds of some as to how such a fight would end. it is the general belief that the government's gov-ernment's decision to go ahead with the purchase of silver at the tt level and the coinage of silver dollars will tend to stabilise the silver market, and there may be a sharp difference of opinion between senators snd representatives repre-sentatives from mining states and -Those from other states ss Ut the ad-- visalilllt)! and justice of the pruposl-tion. pruposl-tion. I The situation Is one of unusual Importance Im-portance because of the large amount of silver Involved and the effect that the decision either to continue the life of the act, with He government guarantee, guar-antee, or to repeal or amend it, might have on economic conditions. The Pittman act was passed at a time of crisis during the war, when Great Britain was sorely in need of great quantities of silver for shipment to India, where silver is the basis of currency. The demand was urgent and ; far exceeded the current production of the world's mines. Revolutionary conditions con-ditions were threatened In Jndia unless the demand was met. In pursuance of the authority of the Pittman act, the secretary of the treasury treas-ury arranged to sell to Great Britain for use of Its Indian government 200,-000,000 200,-000,000 fine ounces of silver. Most -of this was obtained from breaking up silver dollars, which under the Pittman act mqst be replaced. 270,000,000 PIECE8. In all from 208.000.000 to 209,000,000 ounces of silver, representing about 270.000.000 silver dollars, was obtained by breaking up or melting silver dollars under the Pittman act. Up to this time none of these coins has been replaced. Literally Interpreted, It Is held, the Pittman act provides that the iTO.SSO,-000 iTO.SSO,-000 silver dollars must be replaced. In approaching this task the treasury treas-ury department, through Its mints, has purchased at $1 per ounce about 87c 000,000 ounces of silver. This silver will be used to manufacture the first of the new silver dollars. It Is proposed pro-posed to continue to buy silver until enough Is obtained to replace the 270,-000.000 270,-000.000 dollars. This will require about 172.000.000 oiuices In addition to the 37,000,000 ounces on hand. When information reached Washington Washing-ton from Philadelphia that preparations prepara-tions were being made to turn out silver sil-ver dollars again, Raymond T. Baker, director of the mint, was aaked about it by a correspondent He confirmed "the 'report. Mr. Baker said the mints were simply sim-ply acting under the provisions of the Pittman act, which staled specifically that the silver dollars broken or melted should be replaced. He said the payments pay-ments due to the United States for silver sold would more than balance the money necessary for the purchase of silver to replace the dollars broken up. Great Britain bought the 20s,-000,000 20s,-000,000 ounces of silver needed for India In-dia in 1818 at a price which averaged about jl.OlH an ounce, or a shade over the tl fixed price at which the government gov-ernment under the Pittman act. must now make Its purchases. The program now put Into effect by the treasury department will not Increase In-crease the dollars In circulation above the number in use when the act became effective. It directs that the dollars broken up ahall be replaced, but does not provide that a greater number shall be coined. DEPARTMENT EXPLAINS. A statement as to the purpose of the act by the treasury department clarl-fle clarl-fle the-strtratton presented.-ltTeadtrr "The purpose of this act was to permit per-mit the use of silver dollars held In the treasury against outstanding sliver certificates, but only with the concurrent concur-rent retirement of such certificates. Silver, aa is well known. Is the principal prin-cipal money metal of the orient. The demand for products of the orient for war purposes, such as jute, hides, etc., wss very pressing, and It waa impossible impos-sible to settle the adverse trade balances bal-ances thus created through the shipment ship-ment of commodities as in normal times. The shipment of gold to the orient Is at all times highly undesirable, undesir-able, because both silver and gold, but particularly gold, are there hoarded and disappear from commercial use. "It seemed wise In these clreum- stancea to put to use the silver collars lying in the treasury. This could only be accomplished through the simul-, simul-, taneous retirement of a corresponding : amount of silver certificates. The 1 Hittman act accordingly authorises the secretary of the treasury from time to time to retire silver certificates, and aa auch silver certificates are retired to melt or break up and sell as bullion "The" stiver dollars represented by such certificates up to the limit of $350,000.-000 $350,000.-000 standard silver dollars. Upon the sale of any such bullion the secretary of tips treasury is required immediate, ly IS direct the director of the mint to purchase in the United States, of the product of the mines sltusted In the United States and of reduction works so located, an amount of silver equal to the amount necessary to recoin the silver dollara so melted or broken up. Such purchase Is to be made in ac cordance with the then delating regulations regu-lations of the mint anil at the fixed price of $1 per ounce, 1000 fine. FURTHER PROVISIONS. "Silver bullion derived from the melting of standard ailver dollars can be used for the purpose of conserving conserv-ing the existing stock of gold in the United States, of providing silver for subsidiary coinage and for commercial use, and for assisting foreign governments govern-ments at war with the enemies of the United States. "In order to prevent contraction of the currency, provision Is made for the Issue under the direction of the federal reserve board, which is authorized, author-ized, at the request of the secretary of the treasury, either to permit or require re-quire such Issue of federal reserve bank notes in any denomination In the aggregate amount of not exceeding the number of silver dollara melted or broken up. Such federal reserve bank notes canbe issued only on deposit with the treasurer of the United States as security therefor of United States certificates of indebtedness, or of United States one-year gold notes. "From time to time, aa silver bullion bul-lion is purchased by the director of the mint and standard ailver dollars are coined therefrom to replace the silver dollara originally melted, an equal amount of such federal reserve bank notes must be retired. This retirement can, at the proper time, be easily effected ef-fected by permitting the certificate of Indebtedness deposited as security to be paid off at maturity. 4. The Pittman act does not effect sny change in the permanent currency structure of the country. Silver dollars dol-lars are retired and replaced by federal reserve bank notes, and when silver dollars are in time recoined federal reserve re-serve bank notes are to be retired, thus automatically restoring the original status.' Carrying out of the program to restore re-store the silver dollars melted during the war has been held up until this time, because the mints were running at capacity, turning out other colna. It now Is proposed to go ahead without further delay, unless congress repeals the act Representative McKadden has a bill before the house calling for the repeal, and it ia felt that the action of the mints In starting to coin new dollars will bring on the fight |