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No prude, Mr. Traylor modified his strictures to the extent of saying that a man who trades in $10,000 sums should be permitted to continue such crap-shooting de luxe. But "scrubwomen, day laborers, small home owners, wives and youths" must be barred by law from market speculation.
Silver Grapple. While the Debt and Tariff grapples were straight U. S. v. Europe contests, everyone had something to say last week about the catastrophic fall in Silver's price,a world problem primarily affecting Asia.
Asia's grapplers made the politest speeches. But all flayed the West by implication for doing nothing to check Silver's collapse.
Japan's grappler was President Kenkichi Kagami of Nippon Yusen Kaisha, the Japanese Mail Steamship Co., largest, most luxurious operated by Asiatics. Bland, bespectacled, slightly plump, Mr. Kagami, an incessant smoker of U. S. cigarettes got his technical training in the Occident, sailed home to become an executive genius of Japan's No. 2 house of merchant princes, the Mitsubishi, which controls the N. Y. K. (No. 1 is the House of Mitsui.)
In Japan potent President Kagami has a system of working from wooden boxes. One box for all papers about this, another box for all papers about that. Last week Mr. Kagami dipped into his wooden box on Silver and addressed the Congress thus:
"My own country, Japan, after many years' lingering over the question of weak and fluctuating currency situation decided on a return to the gold standard. ... No sooner had this courageous decision been put into execution, than the world over Depression became more pronounced and caught Japan with all its force. It has proved to be something like jumping out of the frying pan into a conflagration fire. . . .
"Any scheme for control of the price of silver must be considered in conjunction with what monetary policy may best be adopted in China. . . . It is certainly beyond the ability of an individual or an institution or a government body other than China herself, to formulate any plan for the stabilization of silver currency for use in China."
Thus a spokesman for small, strong Japan momentously proclaimed noninterference with large, weak China on the silver issue. For China spoke keen, aggressive young Tsuyee Pei, president of the Bank of China.
"As you all, no doubt, know," amiably began President Pei, "silver represents the wealth and savings of more than one half of the world's population. . . . The lack of confidence in silver as a precious metal by the peoples of the world . . . has a great deal more to do with . . . Depression than many are willing to recognize."
Softly Mr. Pei next breathed a threat that if Occidental countries do not cooperate with China in rehabilitating silver she may retaliate by an embargo against all silver imports. Today China buys more silver than any other country, and the Occident is anxious to sell. But Threatener Pei hastily added that China is still open, wide open, to any and all favorable offers. These he proposed to crystallize by calling under I. C. C. auspices an International Silver Conference later this year. In 48 hours this Pei plan was whipped into shape—Senator King of Utah (silver State) aiding—and on the last day was passed by the Congress. Score one for Asia's grapplers with Depression.