People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1893-06-02
The Struggle for Gold.
Atlanta Constitution.

In discussing the financial situa-
ton the other day, the Constitution
undertook to show that the root and
basis of the whole trouble is to be
found in the fact that gold is con-
stantly increasing in value. We I'M
dertook to show that the disturbance
in Wall street, in London, in Ger
many, and wherever the single gold
standard is supreme, marks another
step in the upward movement of
gold and in the downward move
ment of all ether values.
The constantly increasing value of
gold is the natural and inevitable re-
suit of the struggle that is going on
among the European nations for its
possession. This struggle is not a
mere matter of commercial rivalry.
1t goes further and strikes deeper. 1t
is in the nature of a contest against
the forces of bankruptcy.
Let us see what these forces con-
sist of. Take the case of individuals
first. There are, say, dozen per-
sons who debts falling due amount
ing in the aggregate to $1,200,000.
These debts are payable in gold, but
the only available supply of gold
amounts to 100000. There will, of
course, be a constant struggle On the
part of each of these individuals to
secure a sufficient amount of gold
to maintain his credit and pay his
debts. In order to secure it, each
individual would be willing to pay a
stiff premium, and this premium, en-
HANGED by competition, constitutes
the increased and increasing value of
the only available debt paying COM
modify.
The illustration we have given is
intended to simplify and make clear
the real condition of affairs that ex-
lists to-day among the European ma
tons that recognized gold only as
the money of final payment. We
invite the careful attention of our
readers to the figures we shall lay
before them. These figures have
been gathered from official sources
by Mr.. James H. Monroe, and were
recently presented in the Financial
Record:
In 1850, all Europe had a circu-
lation of 355,000,OOO in paper in
ox-ooco of %bo1,. ~ ~ U;o ,,ooo~~vo T.
1860, the excess had more than
doubled. In 1870, it had risen to
S1,215,000,00O; in 1880, to 81, 49,
100000, and In 1890 to $1,754,
100000.
We ask the thoughtful reader to
ponder and digest these remarkable
figures. They constitute not the
paper currency of Europe, but the
excess over and above the reserve
of both gold and silver. Since 1890
all these nations, With the exception
of France, have ceased to recognize
silver as money of final payment.
Their notes are redeemable only in
gold.
In 1890, the European banks had
only $754,000,O0O in gold. Deduct
from this the $224,000,0O0 held by
France, and but $530,O0O,OOO is left
in all the other countries of Europe.
Excluding France, which recognizes
silver as debt-paying money, the pa
per notes In circulation in 1890 ag-
gregated 100000, while the
the banks had only $530,000,O00 of
gold with which to redeem them
the excess of paper notes over gold,
the money of final payment, being
One Thousand, Nine Hundred and
Thirty Two Millions This showing
is enough to make some of the ad-
vocates of ''sound money" shlver in
their boots. But this is not the
whole of it. We must now consider
the case of the United States. By
the Harrison policy, which was inau-
gurated by Charles Foster, and which
is still in operation, our silver notes
and even the silver warehouse re-
ceipts of 1890 are redeemable only
in gold, and the statement is freely
made by the goldolators that the sill
yer dollars are kept at par because