Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-30
NEW GOLD STANDARD
To Be Adopted by Austria, That May
Affect the United States.
A DRAFT on OUR MONEY METALS
That Will Have to Be Net in Some Way, at
Uncle Sans Expense.
ONLY FRANCE LIKELY TO HELP Us OUT
,srEcrAL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH.

:srEcTAI TELEGRAM TO THE DIsPATcH.l
NEW YORK, May 29.-"Austrias New
Gold Standard" is the title of Matthew
which is as follows:
While the silver men have been busy at
Washington, both in the Senate and in the
bi-metallic convention, laboring for the res
toration of Tree silver coinage, and while
the President of the United States has been
occupied with the convocation of an inter
rational bi-metallic conference, the great
empire of Austria Hungary has been pre-
pairing to adopt gold as its exclusive stand
ard OF value and to relegate silver to the
subordinate position of material for mere
token money. Bills for the purpose nave
been submitted to the Austrian and to the
Hungarian parliaments, and are now under
consideration there, with a certainty of
their ultimate though not, perhaps, their
speedy adoption.
Nominally Austria and Hungary have for
many years adhered to the silver standard,
but, owing to the long-continued suspension
of specie payments on the one hand and to
the restriction of silver coinage on the
other, the real standard mas been part way
between silver and gold. Thus the forfn,
which as bullion is worth about 26 cents of
our money, and which when originally
coined was worth about As cents has an
actual exchangeable gold value of about Al
cents. 1t Is TINS latter actual NAlue WHICH IL
is proposed to adopt as the basis OF the new
currency.
A New Unit to Be Created.
A new unit is to be created called the
crown, consisting OF gold to the value of
about 2O12 cents, or about one-halt the value
of the present fiorin. 1t is to be coined in
gold, in pieces of 10 crowns and of 20
crowns, and in silver in lcrown pieces,
each about l6 times the weight of the gold
crown and one-half the weight of the
present silver florin, which is to remain cur
rent as the equivalent of crowns. When,
therefore. the change is fully accomplished,
the Austrian metallic currency will consist
OF gold lO-crown pieces worth 81 10 each,
silver tlorinS really worth 26 cents, but
token money passing for Al cents, and silver
crowns really worth lS cents, but as tokens
2Ola cents. There will also be halfcrowns in
silver and smaller fractions of a crown in
nickel and bronze.
The scheme proposed does not attempt to
impair the rights of creditors, public or pri-
vate, whose claims are specifically payable
in gold. These are to continue to receive as
they have been receiving. the full amount
due them. Debts, too, payable in either
silver or paper, will evidently not be dimin-
ished. Creditors will be paid in gold the
present actual value of their dues in cur
rency and they will, in addition, be pro-
from the further depreciation of the silver
form. On the score of justice, therefore,
the scheme is unobjectionable. All that
stands in the way OF its accomplishment is
the difficulty of obtaining the necessary
quantity of gold for it. Negotiations are
pending on the subject with the great Euro
pean bankers, but as yet they have had no
definite result.
Comparatively Little Metal Needed.
The paper money at present in circulation
in Austria and Hungary combined amounts
TO about $500, 0G0 and if this alone needed
TO be put at par in gold, under the new
system, and kept there comparatively little
of the metal would be required. But since
the old silver f1orins, of which the amount
can only be guessed at will also have to be
protected, and since, further, it is proposed
TO add to them 000O,O 900 in new silver
crowns, which, like our dollar, can only be
made to circulate at their nominal value by
being always convertible into gold at par,
at the pleasure of the holder, the estimate |
of the quantity of gold necessary made by |
the Austrian Government of SIS 600 600 |
for Austria, and $50, 900 900 for Hungary, is 4
probably none too great.
The Kingdom of Hungary is already fur |
nished with Sls,000O00 OF its quota OF gold, |
and it proposes to reduce the amount OF its |
paper money by funding some OF it, so that |
the task of maintaining gold payments in |
that portion of the Empire will be compara-
tfvely easy. Austria, on ii contrary has
not yet secured any great amount of gold |
and expects to sell bonds for the purpose,
taking the opportunity at the same time to |
convert a large amount of its funded cur
rency debt into gold debt at a lower rate of /
interest.
The importance TO this country OF the pro- |
posed change by Austria Hungary from the |
silver to the gold standard lies primarily in |
the TACT that upon us Will probably fall, in |
great measure, tie urden of furnishing the |
additional quantity of gold needed to ac- |
cOmplfsh it, The Bank of France may be |
applied to- in the first instance, since that |
institution has besides its stock of $500. .000,- |
0O0 in gold nearly an equal amount in silver |
coin, which is legal tender in France the |
same gold. |
France May Furnish Most oft.
On several previous occasions the Bank of |
France, when there was an extraordinary |
demand for GOLD in other countries than !
France, has suspended gold payments and |
sold its gold at a premium, which has been |
sometimes as high as per cent. 1t would /
be likely to do the same thing in this in
stance, but it is not probable that it would |
consent 10 deplete. its stock of the entire 4
$4,000 900 or $9O.OOOOOO which Austria
Hungary requires The United States being
the next most accessible holder of gold, would |
therefore naturally be applied to for the
deficiency, and what the result would be it is
easy to imagine. Cur banks, if it were to be
demanded of them, would, by paving out
legal tender notes or silver transfer the de-
mand to the United States Treasury, which
is already reduced to only Sl3 OO0 600 in gold
over and above the SlCO 600 600 set aside for
the redemption OF the legal tenders. 1t
would therefore very soon be compelled to
tender silver dollars in order TO stop the run
on 1t, and then gold would at once go to
premium.
Furthermore, Austria Hungary. by placing
itself alongside of Germany and Great
Britain in the maintenance of the single
gold standard, will make the adoption by
European nations of international bi-metal-
ism, never very probable, almost impossi-
bic. No argument can disprove the proposi- !
tiOn that bi-metallism, on n ratio of silver to
gold Of either 151& to or Is to !, would imme-
diately result in the demonstration Of gold
and the establishment of a single silver dol
lar standard, while the adoption of the |
actual commercial ratio of 2315 to ! would !
throw the coinage of all Europe into confu-
sion.
Harrison's Scheme Is in Danger
If the United States, therefore, ever sue
ceeds in restoring free silver coinage at all
it must do it without the cooperation of
Europe, and President Harrison's inter-
national conference is doomed to end in
failure. In view of the considerations it is
rather surprising that so little attention has
been paid in this country to Austria's con-
templated action. 1t is true that the prop
ostions / have decribed have vet to be
enacted into laws, and that after they have
become laws they have to be executed, all |
OF which involves much delay and will
defer Tor a long while, the arrival of the
results L have indicated. But that the
Austrian ministry is earnestly pushing the
matter, and viii do its best to bring it to a
successful conclusion, there is no doubt.
Ihat they have the support of the CONNER
cial and financial portion of the Austrian
people, as well that OF the foreign cred
itors of the nation, is equally certain.
The RothsChilds and the Bleichroders, it
is said, indeed, have declined to lend their
aid IN acquiring the needed ,rold br1t isc |