The weekly Elko independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1872-1887, 1876-06-11
lvnEnE rllE ruEc1ous s1ErNLs

Wherc do tho prec;ons IuetalI 20
to-two hundred and nineteen mil.
lions of dollars of which arc ann,,-
ally produccd-is question easily
asked, and ono TINT is easily answer.
ed. Ills the cline OF the Eilst, the
land OF tho sun"-tlIat parallclogram
OF tho earth surface included between
tho Red goa. tho Hinilaya moun-
! taln3, Tho China sea and tho Indian
ocean, inhabited by more than one
half OF the human race, AMI among
, whom paper money is unknown
which is absorbing and Inns absorbed
Tor centuries q largo amount of the
precious metals. Rome, before the
christian Era, imported carpets from
Babylon. spices from Ceylon, silk In
pound of which was equal TO a pound
OF gold) from Egypt, and precious
stones and nromatics from India.
The balance OF trade duo to tho East
from tho mistress of tho world, in the
tlmo of Augustus, was four millions
OF dollars nnnunlly-n sum which
must he regarded rs enormous, talk
ing into view that ut that time the
relative value Of gold and silver was
nlne to ono; that tho wages of labor
and tho prices of commodities were
much lower thnn in our time; and
that England and France were Ro-
man provinces and inhabited by say.
nge races, who dwclt in huts and
painted their bodies, rs our North
American Indians did seventeen CEN
turtles later, when tho Puritans lnnl .
ed ut Plymouth and tho Cavaliers at
Jamestown; when Germany was n
Ind OF forests, with climate MS cold
AS Canada in orr time; and when
Russin was land of bogs and mo-
rasses, with its surface very little
raised above tho Mediterranean.
In our tine. all tho countries in
s Europe, rs we'll rs the United States,
arc largo consumers Of tea, coffee,
sugar, spices, silk, hides, tin, dive
stuifs and other products Of tho East,
which hnvo to be paid for largely in
gold and silver. The imports OF the
United States from countries beyond
the Cape of Good Hope amount to
sixty millions of dollars annually,
while tho exports to tho Orient
amount 10 but twenty four millions.
Great Britain and the other countries
OF Europe import annually ono hun
dred and sixty millions of dollars
more than they export to tho Same
quarter. The exports of gold and
silver from tho United States during.
the last twenty-eight years amount to
fourteen hundred millions of dollars,
sum greater than tho amount of
precious metals i'll existence two cen
turtles ago. The Arabians, Persians,
Hindoos, Chinese and Japanese con-
sumo but little Of the products of the
Occidcnt, whilo the products of tho
Orient arc in great demand by the
people of Europe and America. A
French writer states that lilo Egyp-
tians conceal twenty millions Of dol
lars annually Of the precious metals,
and tho Emperor of Morocco has
filled Eovcntcen largo chambers with
gold and silver. The passion for
boarding is shared by tho subjects of
these princes. Silver pnlpits and So
cred ornaments OF gold nro very com
mon in churches, temples, pagodas
and tombs throughout tho Eastern
Hemisphere.
Tho solution OF tho problem of the
disappearance of the precious metals
from tho countries whero thoy aro
produced is, that tie Orient is the
reservoir into which flows the gold and
silvor of tho Occident, n reservoir
from which there is no reflex. II is
with precious metals ns it is with our
sweetmcats-we can not have our
cake and eat it tool Chicago Journal
Of Commerce.