New-York tribune., 1885-02-11
WHAT IS THE CONSUMPTION OF GOLD,

WHAT rs THE CONSUMPTION OF GOLDf
Mr.. Burchard's Investigations lead to some
startling inferences. In his most useful and
nraiseworthy effort to ascertain the amount of
gold used in the arts and manufactures in this
country, he sent inquiries to 1869 persons and
firms, all whose addresses could be obtained
Reple, were received from q trine over two
thirds, of whom 2,73f-about half of those
ply,ng-were using gold or silver, and the
amount of gold thus reported was SID 100000.
II the one-third who did not reply ut all used
relatively as much, the amount consumed would
exceed S2l, ,O00,OO0 There are, moreover,
other manufacturers, no doubt, whose addresses
tho Mint was not able tO obtain.
But il $1,000, 900 inhabitants Of the United
StatcsS consume from SD, 100000 to
S2l 900 900 or more of gold each year, what
may be the consumption Of the rest of the
world9 Fifty years ago. high authority esti-
mated that Europe consumed twenty times rs
much as this country no one would make such
an estimate now. But Ii was then believed by
Mr.. Jacob that Europe used in the arts and man
ufactures $2s,O00,000 Of gold and silver
yearly, Of which France was supposed to use
50, 900, 900. For the past twenty y-nlne years,
however there has been an oihcial registration
of the consumption of gold in France, averag-
ing S9.25O.OOO for the whole period, and the
amount of gold alone has recently exceeded
$40. .OOO, 900 yearly. Mr.. Burchard therefore
estimated the consumption OF gold In Europe
and America, five years ago, at Sf5,OOO,OO to
S55, 900, 900, bat in 1881, with larger iniorma-
ton as to this country, he estimated the world
consumption mt $75,000,00O. Yet he then al
lowed only 81 ,000,O 900 for the United States; |;
now the reports appear TO Indicate that NJ ali
events more than Sill, 100000 must be con-
sumcd in this country.
=. Estimates must of course be largely con-
iectural, in the absence of information from
some of the countries known to be using gold
most largely. Fifty years ago, Jacob thought
that Great Britain used twice as much as
France. IL 1t now uses only rs much, we have
probable consumption in three countries of Mt
least $50, ,O00, 200, and their population is only
13O, 200, 900, while the other European coun-
tries east of Russia and Turkey exceed
145, 200, 900 in population. Certainly it does
not seem quite reasonable to suppose that all
the rest of the world does not yearly consume
more gold than the 130, 700 inhabitants of
England, France and the United States. But
the total production of all the world last year
appears to have been less than $9O,O0O,O 900.
This would leave a slender supply for coinage,
and for the whole worlds loss and wear of the
coins in circulation.
These considerations make it clear that the
United States should not longer persist in pre-
venting an international agreement as to coin
age by continuing TO coin silver for which it
has no present use. The sooner other nations
are compelled to seriously consider the question
of coinage, in the light of the recent decrease
in the production of gold, and late evidence as
to its annual consumption, the better for all
commercial countries.