Show SILVER SHIPMENTS SHIPMENTS 1 TO THE ORIENT A press dispatch from san francisco says four hundred tons of silver bullion was being put into the hold of the pacific mall mail liner ecuador this week at the pier at the foot of brannan street the steamship will transport the treasure the value of which is estimated roughly at to hongtong Hong I kong it is going in settlement of bills contracted in the orient by british and american merchants for silk rubber hemp and other oriental products although the united states government has been keeping the strictest tab on the exportation of silver in the last few months only allowing it to be sent out in payment of legitimate indebtedness the flow of the metal to china japan and india is so steady that conservative bankers are wondering what the outcome will be government steps in when the price of silver was going up and up some time ago over the world uncle sam stepped in to prevent demoralizing speculation in the white metal and fixed its price for the united states at an ounce although it is at a big premium in the orient the move of the united states is said to have helped british merchants enormously in its financial edition the london times said as to the action by the government of this country the americans rose to the occasion nobly av each of the bars to be taken out on the ecuador weighs 1110 ounces the value here at the government fixed price is about 1100 after the voyage across a e ross the pacific and dumped on a wharf at H hong kong it is as though an alada aladdin in waved his wand above the metal it is i not trans muted into gold rubies or sapphires sapp hires but remains silver with a value of or more than when it set out on its journey why should not the producers of silver in the united states have this profit rather than give it to the british merchant at I iong hong kong 9 ships bars in the past year a bank on california street has shipped bars to the nations in the east some rome of the shipments were dispatched for the british government and some for amer american lean banks more than half of the bars came from mexico for a while the government of mexico attempted to curtail the melting of silver coins the prohibitory order was not altogether successful and the ban was removed the united states government has been melting down its treasury reserve of silver dollars the possibility of silver coins disappearing from the currency of this country is considered by experts as little likely to come to pass they say if the supply should begin to get low the silver mines could easily make up any deficiency the chinese and must have coins as for ages they have been habituated to metal as the only true wealth the japanese have more or less taken to the exchange of values by means of paper money students of the oriental character say there is slim hope for the token paper to support metal pieces either in china or india |