Fixing Mommes

Japanese gold mine executives turned quietly to smuggling, months ago, when the Imperial Government fixed a "legal price" for gold nearly 30% below its value in World markets.

Not even dire threats from Japan's militarists had any effect on her strong-minded gold miners. They continued to smuggle, to hoard. Last week the Government loosened up a little. With gold worth around $33 per ounce in Manhattan and London the legal price in Tokyo was raised to 9.94 yen per momme (equal to 3.75 grammes) which worked out that day at $25.81 an ounce.

Since this was still far below the World price, Japanese mine owners were unimpressed. "The Japanese gold price," announced bleary-eyed old Finance Minister Takahashi, "will be revised once each two weeks." Since the Government seemed to have no idea of controlling Japanese prices or the value of the yen by its purely academic price fixing, foreigners in Tokyo told each other knowingly, "Well of course the Japanese are an imitative people. They enjoy making the motions."

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