The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1875-04-08
SPECULATING IN GOLD.
How the Price Of Goid wns Raised to its
Present Figures by Brokers.

How the Price Of GoId wns Raised to its
| Present Figures by Brokers'.
The rise in gold in the United States
within the last few weeks is, according to
the New York Sun, purely artificial
one. That paper explains the whole
thing, as follows:
10 begin with, the amount of gold
held by the nation is small and the pro-
ducts exchangeable with foreign lands
are all raw, unmanufactured, and conse-
quently cheap articles while the ex-
travagance of the people surpassos all
reasonable limits. Everybody wants
everything from Europe, and the United
States accumulates in this way every year
debt of over $3.50, 200, 900 with specie
paying countries. Then, again, all the
freight and passenger money goes to
foreign countries. The gold which
France sends to England and England to
France returns again. The velvets and
silks of Lyons, and the wines of Bor-
deaux are paid for in London in the
same coin and to about the same amount
rs Manchester and Sheffield goods are
paid for ON the other side of the chant
pork are almost the only articles the
SOuholJ y las w puy Will lOI All ullb EtlIO-
pean products absorbed by its fast and
extravagant population.
The position of the United States in
the money market of the world is about
as bad as that of Russia, and by far
worse than that of Austria or Italy. Yet
i'll none of these half bankrupt countries
do people entertain any expectation of
returning to specie payments within the
living generation. In round numbers
there are some $500, 100000 of paper
money in circulation against some S20,-
600, 600 of gold in this country, exclusive
of California. The interest on debt of
$1, 715, ,000,00 has constantly to be paid
in specie, and absorbs almost all that
the resources of the Union can be rea-
sonably expected to produce. By re-
cent statement of the Treasury there
were $7S, 200, 600 in gold in the hands of
the government, of which 1923, 900, 900
were deposited on certificates, leaving a
balance of S55,000, 600, which is just
enough to cover the bonds called in and
the May interest. If to these natural
circumstances OF the case are added the
strong gambling proclivities of the COM
munity, the prevailing practices of sell
ing short and borrowing gold, and the
reckless way in which all business is car
ried on, the fact of gold not having long
ago risen much beyond it's present quo
tation becomes a matter of sur
prise. 1t cannot help going up
to twenty per cent. premium,
that is to say to about the same level
upon which it stands in the empires of
Alexander and Francis Joseph.
Basing themselves upon these general
considerations, number of men, head
ed by Drew and Robinson, organized a
pool, bought and locked up about six or
seven millions of gold coin in their safes,
and are quietly waiting till it goes up
The foreign bills are to be paid some
how, the Custom-house duties take daily
about half a million, and the banks have |
all of them not more than a million or
two in their vaults. 1t might be supposed |
that merchants would begin borrowing |
gold from England, but the moment a
movement of this sort begins, the Bank |
of England will raise its rate, and render |
expectations of metal impractcable. Be
sides, England holds no end of American |
bonds, and when asked to lend gold, she |
will send out these bonds instead of |
metal. The gold pool thus anticipates
that its success is assured, and argues
that the higher the gold be, the more
greenbacks the foreign merchant will OBJ
tain for his sovereigns and the more will
ingly he will come to this market. They |
propose thus to filltheir own pockets and |
to confer a blessing on the country.
That is an illusion, but illusions are such |
pretty things that it is pity to destroy
them, especially at time when they are
so rarely to be met with.