Back on Bullion

Triumphantly passed by the Chamber, 450 to 22 and by the Senate 256 to 3 last week, was a bill, fixing the value of one paper franc at 65.5 milligrams of gold, 900/1,000ths fine.

Persons without milligrams of gold, but prepared to offer dollars, will now receive 25 francs, 52 centimes--no more, no less--for every dollar that they care to sell.

Thus, Prime Minister Raymond Poincare, the great War President of France, puts the last cap on a monumental achievement. When he took office 23 months ago, the franc had lost 9/10 of its pre-War value (5 francs to $1). By soundest generalship, some retrenchments, and chiefly by the sheer confidence-inspiring power of his personality, M. Poincare caused the franc to double in value without resorting to a foreign loan (TIME, January 3, 1927). That value has been kept stable de facto for 18 months; and now it becomes the approximate stabilized value de jure. For the present, paper francs will be exchangeable for gold bullion and only in relatively large blocs. This will be followed by a new gold coinage and soon almost every French peasant will again jingle gold in his sock. The gold bullion prelude to gold coins is well precedented since the same procedure was followed when Great Britain put the pound back in gold (TIME, May 18, 1925).