The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-03-26
SOME NEW BOOKs.
Sold and silver. and the History Of their
Varying Relations mud Ises.


learned more or less visionary, respecting the
hietOry and functions Of the precious metals.
On this subject, as on some Others connected
with poll ical economy. we rad not wanted for
fheores but there has hitherto been singular
deerih Of authentic stati.tics ani consecutive
data. Among the recent product ms 81 tho
German press which aim 90 remedy this de-
fcicnc,. statistical G,sohirhic d,s G,'is. hv A.
eOTDEER. and Die Edet-M,tNon i'm Cp'uu- L.
ben monograph by Mr.. NruNANN-sr aLL'Rr'
are especially useful, and some u the facts
brought out nv their Investigations will be
found novel and significant.
The progressive discovery and production OF
che precious metals exhibit n curious ccinci-
Bence with the westward movement ~ civll2a-
tlon. The mythical Eden, where the Semitic
and Aryan races place their common point OF
departure Is reasonably referred 10 thst very re-
cion Of Asia which, in the most archaic legends
and traditions, was repHted to be the richest In
gold. On the southern slope Of the same noun
gains dwelt prehistoric race. the Dardi and
here. according to a Greek photographer. was
90 be found a species Of ants smaller than dog
and larger than foxes tprobaby the small hunt
ing leopard Is intendedl. whose custom 1t was to
grub up collaborating sand. This is the earliest
tntimation OF surface diggings, but the first rec
ord Of quartz mining belongs to tho Egyptian
annals, considerable quantities Of gold, silver
and copper having been extracted in the reign
of Osiris. The richest deposits known 20 tho
patves Of the Nile valley lay in the mountains
on the confines OF Ethiopia. Ahyssinia In
deed, fppcars at all times to have sbounded in
gold and II It be correctly identided with the
!" land Of Ophir" we have n clue to it, ancient
productlvencss. We are told that King David
(B. c. 1910 imported from Ophlr the equivalent
en- gold OF seventy millions Of collars. and that
Solomon derived fifteen millions a year from the
name source.
The colossal empires Of Western Asia, Bat ylo-
niaAssyria. and Persia cor sttute the next stages
An the march Of civilization, and the concurrent
development Of luxury and trade gave a notable
tmpulse to the demand for the precious metals.
These continued to Cow In some measure from
Thibet and Hindostan. bu, the bulk OF the sup
plies exacted by tho splcudid monarcGies OF
Semirsmis and Cyrus seems TO have been drawn
from the Altal and Ural noun tains. The bul-
ton mined in those remote regions reached Su.
"a aud Per-epolis In such vast quantities that
Alexander Is said to have connscated in those
cities 10000 talents, or $50 10000.
New sources Of supply were opened with the
Expansion Of Greek Industry and cou.merce.
The precious metals were now mined In 1hracc.
ne well AS in several islands OF the Asoan sea.
In Attica ono Of the richest silver lodes known
60 the ancients was laid open at Lauriun. whose
" ailirgs." We may add, have recentv been
worked over with profit Gold was brought IN
ships from the quartz mines Of the Caucasian
noun aims and the placcrs OF Colchis. The
myth Of the Golden II zee is doubtless a dis
torted reference to rude method OF arrest
tne the precious dust by stretching skeepskin
athwart a Gold-bearing stream, a process by the
way not unfamiliar to our Arsonaut, Of 40. The
sum Of bullion, however, attainate from all
these sources was by no means adequate 10 the
wants Of Greece. and much larger contribute IA
were derived from Persia even prior TO the
Macedonian conquest. From the outset. Europe
has never been sef-suT porting in r. spcct OF her
consumption Of precious metals, and We shall
continue to lind her LARGELY dependent upon
Asia until tie beginning OF the sixteenth cen
fury.
AS late as the epoch Of Dcmosthenes f390 h.
c. the Romans seem TO have been greatly
slaughtered for gold and liver. since thcYamass-
ed with the greatest difficulty the ransom ox-
acted by Brennus-lL00 pounds OF gold (about
f2Oo0cll-and the additional weight Of the bar
baran's sword would have gone nigh TO bank
rup' the state. When, however, the Treasures
OF Carthage. Mccedon the Seleuci1T, Mitlri-
dates and the Ptolemies had been girncred. the
precious metals became abundant in Rome and
Ger ain citizens Crassus. for in e. ana Lucul-
ius. held amounts OF specie In their Golfers un-
para'leled by any private individuals priCr T.
tIr present century. \ et lotN outstanding the
es,iduons worKng OF all the deposits previously
known 70 tho Greek world. and the DEVELOPMENT
of new and rich silver mines in Spain, the larger
part Of the precious metals consumed by Rome
was ll'ereo across her eastern frontier drt wn
originally fiom those quartz-beaIins moIntiins,
bounding Siberia on the south and west, wcich
hid ilrca1y fed the Persian empitc. and consti-
tnte 4 TINS hour capital factor IN the bulhJn
product u the globe.
Daring the middle nccs-from theslx'h 60 the
sixteenth century-ihcrc was a dearth OF the
precious metals ia Europe. The eastern foln-
tans We're cut Of, while the most fruitful Of
western mines, those Of spain. were ia the hands
OF the Muors. Moreover, agriculture being OBJ
strIctel By incessant wars and manufactures
expanding but slowly, most counties had moth.
inz TO sell. Those accessories Of bullion indis-
pen able to the lnchoate exercise Of the ants
and the sluggish movement Of commerce were
gained mainly through the trading republics Of
Italy, which IN turn replenshed their own r; ck
OF cold ana silver in the ports Of the Levant.
Although the quantity OF bullion forwarded
from Mexico and Peru by the earlier Spanish
coug.n;ors hcs probably been ox sGer.ieG
thcr' Is n DOUBT thar the discovery Of the sil-
yer min 20 Poto.l "A. d. lj4ji, and susscquent-
~ Of the ere 4" mother lode" at Gurnaxuato.
effected a complete revolution in the sources
and volume Of European supply n.sir-a long
PERIOD the annual Weld Of Poto~i uey-i fell
short Of twelve millions OF dollais and It is
comruted that the quantity extracted since 1915
must approximate billion and quarter.
FIR IN Guanaxuato twenty millions were often
delivered In single year Finally, the whole
precinct of the globe, between the ye.rs 100
and 1870. hns been estimated by competent sta
ti-tlci Al ten billions OF dollars. or more than
City times the aggregated trea- IRE secured by
the conuuoror Of Darius from the spells Of the
Persian Empire.
Tie Yield OF Spanish America, however was
no more than adequate to European consump
tion, and the export Of bullion to Asia wa re-
served for the new epoch IN the annals Of gold
and silver which opened with the year lsl9, The
extraordinary richness and precipitate develop
nlenl II the deposits revealed in Cal fornin Aus
ueha nd Nevada are well known, and we need
ONLY call attention to the fact that the combined
pr dnction OF the world from 1913 to 1874 at
taincl to Eve billions Of dollars, or one-half the
quantity hmassed 10y the three previous ceutu-
Ties' For the first time IN the history Of the pre-
oious metals the West could spare a surplus to
the East. Durinp several years Of the last two