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Hokitika Guardian, 6 November 1919, Page 2

The Chamber of Commerce made another effort this week to solve the price of gold question. The price of gold has not risen-as have other commodities and the gold miner who finds th e increase affecting all plant and supplies to enable him to win more gold, is very handicapped when he finds life product P°f ‘give ap adequate return to pay working and living expenses. With the fall in the rate of exchange as between England and United States the British pound is at a discount of about fifteen per cent, Uncle Sam flijjy allowing 17/- for John Bull’s pound note.’ If ./olm Bull could put the gold into the United States it would be at sterling value, and tlie discount of 3/- in the £ would not he lost. f)}i an of gold this would mean n gain of 12/- ns ngaipst the use of paper credit, and Mr liyild twho moved m the matter at the Chamber, sought to bring economic side of the matter before the Government so that some way might he devised whereby the gold winner could get the advantage of the 12/- payment for every ouif'ce hp princes. During the war a very large amouji.t qf gold was lost at sea” by enemy actio?},' a?td‘ where possible salvage operations are now going on to recover the precious metal. This adds to the shortage of gold and of course fch e commodity is acceptable in nil markets. The Government might well review the position in ap effort to do some measure of justice to the goldminers. The banks and private firms .dealing largely with America, Ji B ye the opportunity of making the 12/-' .which has been referred to, and in tlie interest# $ pose whose enterprise wins .the gold, m Government should act with the object o f giving j the producer the benefit of the deal , which ?s possible. • j

Here ajt jbhe Antipodes with summer approaching, on the other side of the globe winter is fast falling and one speculates with concern to what dire extremities European peoples wilfbe put to in the evidently stressful times ahead. Mr Hoover the great American who did so much to organise the food supply of Europe both during the war a«d after has lately retired from his important office. Before doing so ho had a busy visit of .Central Europe and Silesia apd placed his impressions before the Supremp Council at Paris. His conclusion, after a dQs e fijtudy of the problem, is that, unless the very widest, almost autocratic powers are given .in dealing with the coal situation m Silesia, nothing can save Europe from 1 a : crisis .which will show itself both economically and politically. In Buda pest Mr Hoover says, there is a Hemepdmij? scarcity of food. Hospitals Jwhieh nontax mr 20W° have no anaesthetics, a»tis,ep{ics, or dressings. There i« no milk for children. Throughout Austria and Hungary both rickets and tuberculosis have increased to an absolutely appalling extent in universal disease among children in Hungary." Everywhere paper .clothing and paper bandages have to be used, the limited stock of better dressing being reserved for very special cases. Tlipro is no vaseline or any other ointment with which to treat the skin diseases and bedsores caused by the malnutrition of babies. Sterilizing has had to be reduced below tb 0 safety point owing to the coal shortage and cleanliness of linen : n hospitals has .become a* impossible as surgical asepsis. Nearly all tbe troubles of Austria and Hungary can be traced .to the world coal crisis. This question of coal is, indecd > -at the present moment, perhaps the most important question the world has to consider since the outbreak of war in 1914. America can

supply Europe with a certain amount of coal, but for every ton of coal shipped from America to Europe, one ton of foodstuffs will be kept in jthe New World. Throughout the world, in spite of the difficulties of collecting precise information, it may he said with some confidence that this 1 year’s harvest is good, except in the 1 Baltic Provinces. In Central and Eastern Ehrope there is plenty of food in the ports and on the fields but there ' is already enormous difficulty in moving i these food supplies to the towns and cities.