Los Angeles herald., 1891-05-27
THE MONOMETALLIC CRAZE-THE FA
NATICISM OF'FINANCE SHOULD
BE CHECKED.

Dc OnhOhD0s
The financial world just now is busy
pondering upon the withdrawal of gol(
from the United States to supply the
needs OF Europe. The real cause of thi
movement is the desire of Russia to &C
cumulate a large stock of the yellow
metal. 1t has generally been supposed
that Russia was impecunious. 1t turns
out, however, that that country of un
discovered and illimitable resources has
had on deposit very large sums in the
principal financial centers OF Europe
which she is entitled to withdraw ir
gold coin. This action of the govern
Iment of'the czar has followed the decli
nation of the Rothschilds to handle the
last Russian loan.
Russia's eagerness to handle large
sums of gold-her ability to deplett
Europe of gold is fixed at 5000, ,O0O, 1000
is by no means the only event of inter
est during the past six months in con
nection with that metal. The failure O.
the Barring Brothers created an extraor
dinary demand for gold in England. The
tight little, right little isle is par excel
lence the great apostle of the mono
metallic craze. Here was country
which was supposed to be rich be-
yond the dreams of avarice. The
wealth of Solomon's mines was
assumed to be hers, the ancient
Ophir was thought to be only sort of
dump surrounded with tailings in COM
sparison with her stores of pelf, and the
heaped up riches of Ormus and OF Ind
were nowhere according to general re-
port. Yet it is now seen that if the Bank
of France had not come to the assistance
of the Bank ofEngland the latter mighty
institution would have followed the Bar
ings into the mirings of the financial
Slough of Despond.
These facts, which are indisputable,
furnish lesson of very pregnant signifi-
canoe, and which rebukes the financial
fanaticism-fetichism even-of the mon
ometallic cranks.
Who are the people who have suffered
for the lack of gold?
The answer is instant-the monomet-
allie British and German peoples.
Who are the peoples who have relieved
this stringency?
The answer is not less immediate-th
bimetallic peoples of France and the
United States.
The man is purblnd indeed who can
not see the lesson involved in the mere
statement OF the facts at which we have
glanced. Admitting that we have sent
$50,000,0 900 in gold to Europe since the
first of January, we are confronted with
the signi fcant fact that all this outflow
of that metal has gone to the single gold
standard countries of England and Ger
many. More remarkable still, it is not
staying in those countries, but goin g
straight to Russia to replenish the ex-
-chequer of that country, probably o
meet the eventualities of an imminent
war. OF course, we receive q,tid pro
quo for this large output of gold. 1t is
either bought or borrowed at a profit to
the American people, or it is the result OF
the sale of American securities, which
are coming back into the hands OF the
American people on terms profitable to
them, stopping the payment OF interest
abroad, and increasing our great store
of garnered wealth, already without
precedent in the world in the grandeur
of its totals. There is nothing alarming
at any stage OF this business. We have
been buying back American securities
and canceling our national debt ever
since 1866. We can keep on in the good
work with great profit. Besides, the
gold which we are now sending to Eu-
rope will be returned to us in the. au-
tumn months in payment for our wheat,
corn, cotton and other products, not
even forgetting the despised American
hog. The cereal crops of Europe were
partial failure last year. They will be
even more retrenched this year. The
deficiency will have to be made good
from the United States. All we will
have to do will be to calculate our pro-
fits, an assured proposition, at the end
of the current year of grace.
But the striking feature of the pres
ent financial situation is that the
United States and France, both bimet-
allie countries, are the only ones that
seem to have much gold. 1t has been
estimated that, after the large exports
of this metal, we still have $500, 100000
to fall back upon. That is pretty fair
figure; and, with our domestic produc-
tion, and the balance of trade in our
favor, it will be probably $3.50, 900, ,0O0by
the close of the year. This latter is
vast sum of gold-far larger than that
by any other country on earth.
And yet the contemned silver metal cir
culates in the United States side by side
with gold and on parity with it. The
monometallic. fanatics call it dishonest
loIlar, but the nation which has the
sense and patriotism to maintain the
louble standard of gold and silver seems
10 hold its own pretty well.
Next after the United States, of the
nations which have plenty of gold, comes
France. In that country also silver cir