Charleston, South Carolina, Post, March 9, 1928
RUSSIAN GOLD REJECTED
“The saying “ As good as gold” has little significance in its
application to five million dollars worth of the precious metal
shipped by the Russian Soviet government to New York and held
in its vaults at banks there for some time while the United States
Treasury considered whether or not it should be admitted to assay.
The Treasury has ruled that the Russian gold shall not be assayed
at the mint, and it has no authentic status, therefore, and will
probably have té be sent back to Russia.
“The Treasury takes the position that ownership of the gold
by the Soviet government is not established, but, on the contrary.
is subject to question and that, should it take the gold, as it is ac-
customed to take such offerings at he mint, the United States
might later be involved in international contentions over the owner-
ship of the metal.
“It seems like an overstrained point. The United States is the
only one of the great powers which has not recognized the Soviet
as the de facto government of Russia, and the Moscow regime, there-
fore, has full status in the international scheme save only to this
country. If the Soviet is the recognized government in Russia,
its possession of gold shipped by its fiscal department cannot be
questioned, and none of the European powers, therefore, would be
in position to challenge the title of the Soviet to this store of metal
m New York.
“Much more likely is the United States to make trouble fof
itself by rejection of the gold, since it thereby tends to set itself up
as a censor of the authenticity of any like shipment made by a Euro-
pean government and even to admit claims for recovery of dis
puted gold taken in at the mint. Perhaps the administration is afraid
that the handling of gold from the Soviet treasury may corrupt the
government of the United States and even threaten overthrow of
the republic.”
New York Times, March 11. 1928
GOI.D TINDER SIUISPICION
“Our Government’s refusal, after prolonged consideration, tO
put its seal of approval on the import of $5,200,000 gold from the
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