Silver Catch

Unsuccessful last fortnight were a group of Senate silverites who tried to enlist the support of President Roosevelt for legislation to up the metal's price from 45-c- to $1.29 per oz. by huge treasury purchases. Before their White House visit, however, hard money Senators had already made what they hoped would be a strategic move to head off Inflation by the silver route. Adopted by the Senate was a resolution calling upon Secretary Morgenthau to supply a list of all big silver owners. Unlike gold, silver is not an illegal private possession but if it could be shown that the loudest silverites, in or out of Congress, were also heavy owners of the commodity for private profit, the cause of bimetallism would receive a bad moral tarring before the country.

Last week Secretary Morgenthau submitted his lists. As expected the biggest silver holders turned out to be banks and precious few bankers are silverites. Chase National of Manhattan nominally owned the largest amount (18,000,000 oz.). Since futures for silver are normally higher than spot prices, the banks had bought and stored spot silver while selling equal quantities for future delivery. Such transactions gave them a profit of 2 1/2% on their investment, about five times as much as they could get on other short term investments.

Not a silver Congressman was found on the list. Democrat Joseph Tumulty and the wife of Democrat Jouett Shouse made small headlines as silver owners but neither the onetime secretary to Woodrow Wilson nor the wife of the onetime party manager could be called insiders with the silver bloc. Notable catches were Errett Lobban Cord, member of the Committee for the Nation, owning 1,651,000 oz.; Frank A. Vanderlip Jr., son of another member, owning 300,000 oz.; Amy Collins, treasurer of the Radio League of the Little Flower, mouthpiece for ardent Silverite Father Coughlin, 500,000 oz.; A. Atwater Kent, radio tycoon, 675,000 oz.; Everett Sanders, chairman of the Republican National Committee, 75,000 oz.

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