Show Treasury Views New Congress Attitude on Silver Buying Policy Studies Decision on New Year Price in Light of Gains Made by G. G O. O P. P in November Election WASHINGTON Nov 14 Treasury AP-Treasury officials wondered today today to- to day aay u if the me Republican and conservative gains in congress would facilitate facilitate fa- fa a- a modification of the nations nation's silver buying policy Secretary must decide by New Years Year's eve for instance what price he will pay for domes domes- mined silver in the following year By his recently renewed attacks attacks attacks at at- tacks on the principle of subsidies he has indicated at least a desire to cut the price again as he did last year He must also decide how much he will pay for foreign silver because because because be be- cause the United States treasury is the worlds world's only scale large-scale buyer of the metal and fixes the price Chamber Raps Policy The importance of the election returns to the silver problem was I hinted by when the New York chamber of commerce I recently urged him to abandon purchases purchases purchases pur pur- purI I chases of the metal He replied I Iam Iam I Iam am only doing what congress ordered ordered ordered or or- dered me to do They ought to di direct direct direct di- di I their appeal to congress I IThe The new deal started buying silver in 1933 as part of f its plan to boost farm prices and to increase employ- employ t mt he mining states of of- the west wesE e Last t the year t treasury pa paid d 1101 il an ounce zor lor domestic and 45 cents an ounce for foreign silver This year it paid for domestic and 43 for foreign metal although congress said in 1934 that silver should be valued at per ounce for currency purposes Big Total Bought Altogether ounces have lave been acquired since 1933 by the treasury i including n c I Iud U d i n g ounces of old domestic silver ounces of newly mined domestic domestic domestic do do- silver and ounces of foreign silver This brought total treasury silv silver r holdings to ounces and caused the building of a special vault at West Point N. N Y to hold some of it Except for small amounts used in n minting coins from a dime to a dollar the treasury has no direct Continued on Page pace Two Column Six U. U U. U S. S Scans Silver Policy In View of f G. G 0 O. P. P Gains Continued from Page pase One use for kilver silver It has issued only enough silver certificates to pay for the metal and has not tried to spend the apparent 86 cents profit on foreign and 64 per cent profit on domestic silver indicates by current prices Profits Attacked It is these profits proms that Republicans cans and some conservative Democrats Democrats Democrats Demo Demo- have attacked as fictitious and dangerous They argue that the soundness of the currency would be imperiled if it was based on silver at an ounce when other countries are glad to get rid of silver at 43 cents less shipping charges Silver state lawmakers particularly particularly particularly Senators King of Utah and Pittman of Nevada however assert that the program is tiding the silver industry over a temporary low price situation and is keeping thousands of men at work in mines which could not operate profitably at lower silver prices In the first nine months of this year ounces of domestic silver were sold the treasury at cents per ounce compared with ounces in inthe inthe inthe the same months last year when the price was cents Buying Starts in 1931 The buying of foreign silver was started in 1934 under a congressional congressional congressional mandate to the treasury to acquire a dollars dollar's worth of silver for every three dollars of gold it owned owned owned-a a goal never achieved because because because be be- cause gold stocks grew faster than silver The treasury now owns of gold and of silver at per ounce and is or ounces short on silver At the beginning the other important important important im im- im- im silver nations agreed to help boost silver prices by limiting sales or buying surpluses but after the United States found itself carrying almost the whole burden of ot this London silver sUver agreement the plan was permitted to lapse without re renewal renewal renewal re- re newal on January 1 1938 Effect on China China for instance which was the only important nation with a silver monetary base found that the higher external prices resulting from the agreement pulled so much silver out of the country that it abandoned its silver standard and turned to gold Since then China has shipped large quantities of silver to the United States both to buy gold and especially since the Japanese Japanese Japanese Japa Japa- nese invasion to buy airplanes and other goods Mexico and Canada also have used silver shipments as means of getting getting getting get get- ting the dollars to pay for goods they customarily buy in this coun coun- try In the first 10 months of this year silver imports included from China from Mexico and from Canada |