Fair play., 1892-06-25
GOLD GETTING SCARCE.
The supply Running Out In All the Minir G
Sections of the World.

Sections of the World.
"IIow is the world going to get along
when all the gold has been exhausted?"
said a. metallurgist to a Star writer, in
terrogatively. There is no joke about
At. The gold production of the world
is steadily decreasing from year to year
and it will not be very long before the
supply is practically used up. Not more
than sl00, 600, 900 worth of the precious
metal is now mined annually, and this
- is not nearly enough to meet the re-
quirernents of expanding commerce. OF
course new deposits will be discovered
from time to time, but they will soon be
exhausted.
why is gold so rare? Simply because
1t is heavy. There are only two metals
that are heavier. namely, platinum and
iridium. Remember that at the begin
ming the earth was body of gas. BY
gradual condensation it became liquid,
while now the whole of its mass, save
only an outer crust. much thinner in
proportion to the whole bulk than is
the shell of an egg, would be a fluid
but for the fact that it is held together
by tremendous pressure. Naturally, IN
the course of its formation about n CEN
ter of attraction, the weightier particles
composing the globe gathered about
that center Accordingly we find that
the earth as whole weighs five times
as much as water, while the rocks form
ing the crust are only about two and
one-haif times as heavy as water.
'FrOm this it is evident that the ma
terials composing the globe near its
center are very heavy, and it is to be
presumed that they are chiefly, if not
wholly, weighty metals. Gold and
platinum being, with only one known
exception, the heaviest metals existing,
1t seems highly probable that enormous
masses of these precious substances are
gathered about the center of the earth.
What pity it is that such colossal
treasures should remain forever mae
ressible to greedy mankind! At all
events. it is unfortunate that more gold
is not to be discovered on the surface Of
the planet, because no other metal Is
equally available for use as money.
''One naturally asks how it has hap
pencd that any gold and platinum are
found on the surface of the globe. The
answer is very easy. Both of these
metals are always discovered among
rocks which have been upheaved by
volcanic or other causes out of the in
terror of the earth. Platinum. which
has only been found in abundance near
the Ural mountains, comes from serpcn-
tine, rock thrown up from the depths.
Gold occurs chiefly in quartz veins.
When the earth was contracting, great
cracks were formed, and these were
filled from below by the action of hot
springs or otherwise with gold-bearing
quartz. Occasionally this quartz con-
tains Sc large an amount of the metal
that the vein is called a bonanza.
But such deposits are soon worked
out and fresh regions must be rcsortcd
to for supplies of gold. Thus the avail
able mines of the world are being rap
idly exhausted. They are usually dis
covered at the extreme limits of civiliza
tion. In ancient times gold was OBJ
tanned abundantly from the rivers of
Asia. The sands of Pactolus, the
golden fleece secured by the ArgonautS.
the yellow metal of Ophir, the fable of
King Midas, all illustrate the eastern
origin of gold. Alexander the Great
brought nearly 500, ,00O, 900 of gold from
Persia. Gold also came from Arabia
and from the middle of Africa by way
the Nile But all of these famous
sources of supply were long ago eN-
hauSted.
Likewise Brazil, which. only a CEN
tury ago was the richest of gold-pro-
ducing countries, has now ceased to be
largely productive. The total output of |
the metal from that part of the world |
from the end of the sixteenth century |
until now is estimated at S700, ,000 |
All the famous gold coast of Africa does |
not at present yield as much as 100000 |
a year. Yet the dark continent was for |
merly noted as the country of gold. |
Mummies have been numerously found
in Egypt with massive necklaces and |
other ornaments of the metal. Hero
dotus tells of king who loaded his
prisoners with golden chains. that sub
stance being more common than bronze.
Copper was even worn for ornament in
preference to gold. The treasures
brought by the Queen of Sheba to Solo
mons temple must have been of enor-
nous value. Since the year 1909 Africa
has produced about $500, 100000 worth
of gold, but the supply is nearly used
up now.
'The supplies of gold drawn from the
United States are steadily diminishing.
1t is the same way with Australia,
which has yielded for the worlds use
about 81, 300, 900, 900 worth of the metal.
Not less than $1,000, 900, 900 worth of
gold has been dug in all countries since
Columbus discovered America, 400 years
ago. The amount is vast, but to pro-
duce it seems to have pretty nearly used
up the available deposits. The time is
nearly approaching when the yellow
metal will be boarded much more than
it is at present, and we may reasonably
expect that it will attain before many
are past a value several times
greater than that which it now pos
sesscs. cs."-Washington Star.
The New Shade of Pink.
A very lovely tint Of ''rose-heart"
pink appears among the list of new
evening colors. 1t is Il fascinating shade,
even more exquisite than the pale En-
glish rose shade of last winter. Perhaps
a blonde woman or a brown-haircd, |
one. with fine COM
pleXion. never looks more beaNtiful
than when she wears certain shades OF
->-, .>ln,. po1y ayapipcr Of |