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Show FRANCE BUYING MUCH GOLD. The Bank of France (iss been drnwn upon by Germany to the full extent that tho bank could stand, for gold; and then Germany bought a good deal of gold in New York, German' has been a prolific buyer of gold for the past six months, and her gold reserves in the National Bank at Berlin, show largely in excess in tho mid-May report; re-port; this year, compared with last year at the same date. Tho total cold holdings hold-ings of the principal European banks show an aggregate in their mid-May reports this year of 526,049,31S, compared com-pared with 507,006.358 In mid-May of last year. Germany's proportion of this increase amounts to well above .$20000.000. On the other hand, France has increased her holdings less than $2,000,000, even after receiving part of the $10,000,000 in gold that tho ( Bank of France has bought in the New York markot. The final $2,000,000 of this purchaso was shipped on Saturday Sat-urday of last week, $6,000,000 of it having been shippod earlier in, the month, and a portion of it included in the returns of May 15th. Russia incroased her holdings during dur-ing tho year by almost $50,000,000. Tho Bank of England increased over $30,000,000, with France and Austria practically stationary in thoir gold holdings in the two reports. During tho week ending with May loth, tho Bank of France had increased its gold holdings by almost $2,000,000, but it lost upwards of $500,000 in silver. sil-ver. Tho silver holdings of the Bank of Franco havo shown remarkable fluctuations fluc-tuations in tho past throe years. In mid-May of 1911 the silver in the Bank of France amounted to S54,0o0,000 francs, but now the stock of silver in tho Bank of France stands at 600,-873,000 600,-873,000 francs, a loss in the two years of almost 250,000,000 francs, or, say, $50,000,000. Tho occasion for tho Bank of France to make such extraordinar- efforts as it has been making to strengthen its gold reserves and generally its financial finan-cial position, oven standing tho loss of tho exchange in order to got gold, is becauso that bank anticipates large demands during tho next few months iu tho form of loans to tho Balkan statos, which will look to Paris as one of tho chiof Tenders. It is expected, indeed, that France will increase its order. for gold as long as tho metal can bo obtained by merely paying the exchange upon it, as the $10,000,000 obtained in New York was had. Tl. is often said that tho Bank of England is the financial center of the world, but it is plain that tho Bank of ! ranee docs not yiold this preeminence, pre-eminence, and is strengthening itself to play tho leading part m tho financial settlements that aro coming, and that must presently be made in tho different nations of Europe. It is certain, also, that as compared with tho urgency of Germany to borrow money, tho Bank of France need fear no rivalry in that quarter. |
