Xhc 1991 Russian reca[ of the 50 artd 100 nrble notes de-. smyed rtre life savinp of many innocent citizens' L tltd rccalt' they had only three days to tum in their cash, and for tax pur-

posos, werc r€quired to explain, in detail, its source..- Olrlrcasury Deparonent eontinues to argue that the U'S'has never had a.recall nor declared any paper cunency not tobe legal edder. But ourgovemment has really dono worse' Itfailed to kerp its promise to redsem our cunency in gold and'silver, andrEtrsed opay goldforfederal bonds issued as pronrises+cts equally immoral to declaring a cun€ncy to be no -longerusable.

Ttre Russian sinration camot be igaorcd. Robat Riedman, aninvesriggtive repon€r fol New York l\fagazine, claims that U'S'banls, with ttr full trnowledge of our Fsderal Resewe, have sent$40billioninnew$lObjltstoRussiasinceJanuary of 194. Thisanpunt is g€atsr than all 0re rubles in circulaion in Russia. C\r-

" rcntly, $100 to $2fi) niillion in cash is flown to Moscow Moday: ttuo,rgh ftiduy to salisfy demands forU.S. errency

Since the Russian Mafia contols the majority of Russian,banks, and it is deeply involved in lhe drug bade, it makes one

. wonder as tothe frrll motivation bohind our govemment's will-ingness to participate in this massive cunency flow.

, ., Myanalysisisthatit's ashort-nrnbenefitto ourTreasqryto- 'export our cash since it helps to keep price inflation in check: ' lieru aihorne. If all this cash cfuculated in tlre United States' it

worldprirrcmurdos prioo pressure on un goods and serviceshere athomd.

' ;'' .Yetlwould notpfutitpsst some of our officials to be in bedwith'the drug dealers-and the Russian Mafta. Is there rullythat mirch difrercnce betweert the Russian Mafirconrolled

I systcm and our higlily secrudvq illogal, and all-powerful F'ed-' I erslResorvesystom!,

, Thciroblemthdy am running hto is thatwith the issuance. : .of th€ neurcurrcndy, tlre nrassos of Russian underground partici

: p4nts aIE g$ting sldttislt' This is the rcason for the TieasuryDepaftment's unbelievable effort tp reassurc the Russians,

' pleading that thoy not dumP our dollors out of panic (which. coutd lcad to qworld-wide repudiatioti of the dollar' or at least

its devaluadbn vis a vis harder currcncie's liko the mart).: .; ' .' I-!te Fpd. and tlre Russihn Mafia are powerful and rich, but

,. they,caruiot conhol public conffdpnce'It is contsolled by the' ' . , martet place, and publlc confidence'is:sracking and threatens' , the esbliShrEnfs rvhole finsncisl €mFire ilphlding tho dolltr

. systsm.Ifitcomesundoft, whichitcouldratherrapidly, there. woulitbo an erplosion in gold pdcas rydma'ssive inflation in

t. do[arEms. '' i' ' ','Issuing nbw cirrtiiy has bedn an on-agin off-again plan

' for mor€ thaq-llyears. Ile.conccms exPre-$€d by many

Americans modifted and slowed down the govemment's plans,ard this newsletbr ironicalty played ttre.crucial rcle in biringingabout the delay.

Even now, ourofficials are quite wonied andhesitantaboutthe way the uew money will be receit'ed, otherwise therewouldn't be ttris lavish PR effort worldwide directed towardmaintaining confidence in the U.S. cunency- It's conceivable,ifnot likely, tlrat this concem could force even another delay.

Many ask me about the possibility of a l0 to I or lfi)to Iexchange on the new money. Under currcnt conditisns, thatrs-------not to be expected. But if, by accident or design, the Russian-U.S. dollar conboversy precipitates a run on the dollar andinstant inflation occurs, all bets are off.

The U.S. government is anxious to heak people's attach'ment to the present design of the cunency as a foreshadowingof more ominous plans later. If the U.S' does default on itsbonds, or has to inflate to the skies to pay them, the porrgr glitewant the flexibility to unde.rtake any rneasums' even exheineones. Govemment officials want that too, and changing thecurrcncy now helps minimize the chances of n panic.

U.S. officials also want to do what they can to uproot thevastunderground economy in legal goods and services. Ifcur-rency switches are in the offing, it discouragss pwple ftommaking long-termconuacts in papermoney and ft'omkeepingunderground savings in this form.

flltimately, the goal of cennsl banken and governnrcnt ispower and wealth at our expense. Honest money and economicgrowttr benefitting the middte class is of little concern to them.That's why reform in money, and the promcfion of individualliberty, will only come ftom intellecnral leaden who care molsabout the middle class than the privileged elite.

Ceour dtAlene MinesAltltough we are big believers in silver's long-tenn role as a

moneWy metal and its significant appreciation poential' GregOnelt and I have rarely mentioned silver-mining stocks.

It is not 6at we have purposely neglected silver stocks; it. has rnorc to do with the fact that there is rto longer a silvermining industry in North Arnedca as there on€e was

WhibheS& madledtrdrelffiroftfiesol+,minitgindtssy inNorthArnericaas goldprices irtabilizedilound$4004n ounce,the silver mining industry was wrecked by deprassed pde&sand highercosts.

Tlre Spokane Stock Exchange, which listed mostly silver'ielated issues, closed dorm in ttre late 80s for lack of interest:.Venerable'silver prtducer Sunshine Mining went basicallybankmp;irisonlylowrec --.---" : --