The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1878-12-19
THE WORLDS GOLD.
How the Present Yield Compares With
That OF Former Times.
From the PirsSb..rg Dirpafch

How the Present Yield Compares Will
That Of Former Times.
Prom the Pitt.bnrg Di-pafch.
| The formidable movement of New Yori
bankers in the interest of the demonetiza
ton Of silver, leads to a new discussion o
the necessity or uselessness of double
standard. or, in other words, the employ
ment of both gold and silver as the bash
of money circulation. If an article of in
trinsic value be vital to the stability O.
our currency to prevent injurious Huctua
ton, it is desirable that the recognized
standards shall exist in quantity as pear.
ly commensurate as possible with the bulk
OF the circulating medium. The Ural
Mountains. Australia and the United
States are the most productive sources OF
gold supply. the first yielding $40, 200, COG
annually, the second S37, 600, and
the third So, O00, coo. Prior to the dis
coyery of the rich mines of the Ur;.ed
States the total production was on. x6S.-
10000 per annum. The fever for gold
hunting, which was exciting by the find
ing OF the great mines of .de Pacific coast.
rapidly increased the yearly production,
until In 1850 y reasned over $f2O, 600, 600.
and hve az SIX years later gold bullion was
mined " the-extent of the enormous sum
OF nsarly> tlS5, 000,C00. This was the
largest yield of one year, and since produc-
lon has gradually fallen away, and seems
% have finally reached an equilibrium of
about $40. OO0, 900 per annum. nearly all
OF winch Is found in the three regions
named. Now, if this represented the
actual yearly increase in the volume of
gold which Is used as the basis of the cur
rency OF gold-using countries, it might
serve, unassIsted, as a standard. But
the fact Is. this production does little more
than supply the place of that which disap-
pears from calculation as money annually
oy loss and wear, or metamarphosis into
articles Of commerce.
A few years ago sope English statisti-
clan, after a careful investigation. esti-
mated the yearly loss of gold coin to the
British Treasury was at $4,000. 900
sterling. and, calculating from this
basis, the loss to the world must amount
to nea, y the total production. and there
lore t.ftle addition to the bulk of gold in
the treasures of all nations can be expect
e.. 1t is true that new mines NAV be
.cund. 1t is not to be supposed there are
no undiscovered regions rich with aurifer-
Gus deposits. Against this are the
uncertainties of discovery, with an almost
certain decrease OF the present
production. That there has been
a large increase of the stock
on hand during the past Quarter Of
century cannot be denied. but this has
been due principally to tie remarkable
discoveries in the United States. which in
a few years doubled the store. Thirty
years ago the entire stock Of gold coin was
only little more than $1,000, OO0, 900.
Now it is S70O.5OO 600, 600. but the in
crease was made during a few years. and
the past decade has added little to the
stock.
Pertinent to this statement is the vast
increase in population and busieesss in
those countries which use gold as stand |
ard. The proportion of gold in store at |
this time is much smaller in proportion to |
the wealth of the country than it was |
quarter OF a century ago, and the ratio Is |
steadily decreasing A greater quantity |
IF the metal Is used in the domain Of art |
than formerly. Its employment as mocsy !
is being extended to re-- cceiis in COM
Dany with exn.....,iry trade. and underlv-
ng TIC ciiole question is the self-evident ,
,act that production itself is subject to the
chances of discovery. 1t is, therefore.
made plainly apparent that gold alone
Ices not and will not be adequate to sup
BY the demand for precious metals az
money, and unless some new financial svs-
EN- shall be discovered which is still nn-
lnown to any enlightened philosopher of
rational economy, by which money of in
rinsic worth may be dispensed with al
ogether, the employment of some other
METAL as an assistant to gold seems i'm
,eratiye.