Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1895-10-17
THE GOLD PRODUCTION FOR THIS YEAR


New York Evening Post.
The journal of Commerce, Through
its Washington correspondence, fur
nishes some advance estimates from the
Mint Bureau OF the world g gold produc
tion for 1880 The revised statistics are
usually one year behind time, and
necessarily SO, on account OF the diff
Guilty and sowness of the collection.
All the statistics of gold production
are hard to compile at their sources,
since there is no common rendezvous
for the producers of IL and no require
ment that they should report their
gains, and indeed there would be no
way to enforce such requirement even
| il governments should attempt to do
so. Gold is easily carried. Much OF
it leaves the place Of production in the
pockets, or belts, or travelling bags of
the owners. and much goes away in
the form Of ore for treatment in places
where the resulting product may or
may not be reported. Thus the returns
of various countries need to be tested
and retested by trained statisticians,
SO that the eventual showing of the
worlds output cannot be made known
with confidence until about - months
after the end of the calendar year.
| The reports of the United States Mint
are now accepted by the experts and
by the governments OF all countries as
being the nearest approach to accuracy
that the subject matter admits Of The
collection of these statistics is continu-
Gus, and the mint is, therefore, able to
make reconnaissance at almost any
time. 1t is such reconnaissance, ap-
= To-. n g
merce" has obtained.
The showing is quite as remarkable
as that of the previous year. The
summing up of 1894 showed a produce
tion in round figures of $780, 900, 900, an
increase of S23, 00o, 600 over 1893. This
yield was about $50, 600, 600 greater
than the product of any year when the
placer mines of California and Austria
liza were at their maximum. The indi-
cations now point to yield of 5000, e
000,00 for the calendar year 1896,
another increase of $50, 600, 600, and an
increase of S43, 600 600 in the annual
output in two years, and of S54, 600, 600
in three years. As the annual supply
of gold is not used up in the year, but
is added to the pre.eXisting sum, it
follows that the worlds stock has been
/
the enormous sum of S537, 600, 600 And
this unprecedented output has taken
place at time when the public ear
was filled with the most dismal predic-
lions of "gold famine by the silver
ties Of this country and of Europe.
These prophets of evil have now
changed their tune slightly They no
longer complain of shortage of the
. | httf nov hn
duced is mostly absorbed in the arts,
and that consequently the gold famine
is just as real and Just as severe as
though the production were stationary
or declining. The consumption of gold
in the arts is undoubtedly increasing
generally, although there was a marked
diminution of such use in the year
1894, owing to the hard times. The
use of gold for purposes of adornment,
which is almost its only use except as
money, rises and falls according to the
prosperity of the nations. 1t is an
article Of luxury. These uses in the
United States, according to the calcu-
lations of the mint, were about Sl9,
600, 600 in 1893, but fell to Sl3, 500, DOC
in 1891 Very likely the consumption
of the present year will equal or ex-
coed that of 1893. On the other hand,
the product of the gold mines of the
United States, according to the esti.
mate of 1895, will be SAG. 600, 600,
against $50, 800, 600 in 1884. The South
African product is estimated at tht
same figure as that of the United States,
SAG, 600 600: that of Australia at s43,
600, 600, and that of Russia at 800. 600
GOO. These four countries produced
three fourths of the worlds annual
yield.
, Whatever we may conceive TO be the
, annual consumption of gold in the arts,
the wall of the silyeritcs is foolish and
futile, for the reason that the gult
would not be so used unless it could bC
spared The fact that it is so used i,
the best evidence that il is not wanted
. for commercial purposes. If it wer,
, needed az a medium of exchange, i
, would not be put into the form o
I jewelry or watches. Conversely, when
= ever II is wanted as a medium of ex
change it will come back to the melting
pot Ii is as easy TO melt gold ring
, and bracelets as gold coins, although
q in the ease of the former tho labor q
making them is wasted when they ar
4 melted 1t would perhaps be neare
+ the truth TO say that this labor wa
: wasted when the rings and bracelet
n were made. At all events the enormou
i store of gold which exists in thes
I forms is always available in an emer
u. gency, but evidently the emergency
= far off, and is recedng instead Of an
/. preaching year by year.