Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1894-05-17
How Gold IS Lost.

on the precious metals, Suess and Soet-
beer, have recently published very
alarming statement. 1t is to the effect
that the total amount Of gold dug out
of the earth annually suffices only to
supply the present demand for the
valuable substance for use in the arts.
Not bit of the new product Of the
mines is available for coinage. Trlnk-
ct use and waste in manufacture ex-
haust the whole WELD. II this is cor
rect, then gold mus vanish from CIR
culation before long, because the out
put Of the gold mines Of the world is
diminishing rather than increasing.
and there are few fields left to explore
But Uncle Sans metallurgists say
that 1t is not so. The writers quoted
fail 10 consider the fact that the gold
employed in the arts is utilized over
and over and over again. II goes
through a sort OF cycle.
Articles of iewelry often Disappear
bat are seldom lost. When through
accident they pass out of the posses
sion Of the well.to do, they 20 to the
poor and sharr-cyei who sell them or
pawn them. Some jewelry is lost by
fire aud some in the sea, and these
losses are absolute and hopeless; but
irwelrv otherwise is certain, practlc-
ally all of it, to ind It's way sooner or
later to the pawnshop or into the hands
of dealers in gold Thus It s melted
up eventually and reapPearS again IN
other shapes THIS is what is termed
the invisible supply of the metal
There are number OF unavoidable
causes of loss of gold The first and
most important of these is by abrasion
Jewelry loses much weight in that
way. especially rings, whicha are usually
Is carat, and are worn rapidly. Coins
suffer much less, but still considerably
from wear All gold leaf Is a total
loss TO the gold stock of the world.
Where used for decorative purposes It
is never recovered. II not employ.
ed for filing teeth nearly so much az
formerly, porous gold" being snbsti.
tuted. But, Of course, the gold n,l-
ized for teeth is a total lo@s. and IN
the aggregate It is enormous lflt be-
supposed that the average dweller IN
cities in this country has 80 cents
worth Of gold in his or her mouth,
which is placing the figure very low,
it will be seen how great is the waste
in this form. Each succeeding gen
Grafton takes 80 many millions Of dol.
lars worth of the metal from the
worlds stock in this way.
Some gold il lost in remelt'ng'
though all possible means are taken to
reduce it to the lowest possible figure.
Not only are the floors swept and the
dirt treated Tor the recovery Of the
yellow substance, but the wooden
planks are burned eventually with the
same object. Even the shoes OF each
man who works with the metal are
subjected to the chemistry Of ire,
yielding a small button Of the pre-.
cious material. At Tifanys work
shop in New York each artisan en-
gagged in polishing gold, stands In front
Of a big funnel, with wide mouth,
which has a strong suction draft.
This draft takes In ali dust and iiGat-
ing particles from the air Il swal-
lows the flaments ground from the
bufingwheels, and these, with what
ever else has been caught, are de-
posted in a receptacle, forming sort
of felt. This felt is scraped out
pressed into bricks and burned, being
thus made TO yieli the gold it contains
Incidentally, tn workmen get pure
air. f.f
MA. SAID Bobby, "is il wrong for
little boys TO tie tin kettles 70 dogs
tails"
Decidedly wrong, Bobby. hope
YOU never do such thing a. that
mo, indeed, MAJ replied Bobbie'
emphaticallyi all | do u to hold the
dos"
The frog-WelI, old man, how are
! YOU getting along?
r The tuttle-slow. How is it with
you?
The frog-oh, everything is rushing
with me-keeps me on the hop from
morning till night
.L----r r. - -----------
4 What can be more pathetic than
|, the spectacle presented BY Ex-senator
IngalIs-that Of a statesman out Of 9
: jobr'
THAT Of Senator Pefer--aJob with