The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-12-18
THE FLOOD OF GOLD.''
1t Amounts to an Increase of Four
Per Cent Per Annum, While
Population is Increasing at
Much Greater Ratio.
A PLUTOCRATIC FALLACY EX-
EOSED.
philadelphia American.)

Recalling the oft repeated asser-
tions of the gold d-monometallists that
the stock of gold in the world was
quite adequate to the demands upon
that metal for money, the ecstasies
with which the gold papers have re-
ceiyed the roseate predictions Of Mr..
Preston, Director Of the Mint, as to
the increased production Of gold. and
the bright results they have depicted
as result Of this coming flood Of
gold, seem rather ill-timed and out of
place.
The gOld-mOnometallists told us
that the use of credit and token mon
ey have quite taken the place of gold
as medium of exchange, the only real
use for gold as money was as measure
OF value, and Mr.. Hoar and Others
passing over the recognized principle
OF economies, that the smaller the
supply Of any article, the demand re-
naming the same, the greater must
be its price, hence the smaller number
Of dollars in circulation, the greater
must be their value,-went SO far as
to say that the only use for gold being
as measure of value, it made no diff
ference whether the quantity Of gold
In circulation was great or SMALL
that few dollars would serve the
purpose Of measure Of value as we'll
as many millions. But now they well
come the increased production of
gold as a panacea for all our ills. the
existence of which they have hereto
fore denied. Many have strenuously
denied the appreciation of gold in the
face of ire futable facts, but now they
look lOngingly forward to the depreci-
alton Of the very gold, the apprecia-
tion Of which they have denied; while
( others who have admitted the appre-
ciati Of gold but declared such ap-
probation and the resulting fall of
prices to be beneficial, now point to
the increased production of gold and
the predicted depreciation of gold and
rising prices as insuring a revival Of
prosperity!
"Mr. Preston is confident" the New
York Times tells us, that gold will
deprecate rather than appreciate
in value as the result of the flood of
gold which is sweeping over the
world" AS gold depIeclates. prices
will rise and new life be instilled into
industry, and that gold will depreci-
ate to some extent with the increased
supply Mr.. Preston assures us, for
1.-THE laws of supply and demand, to a
certain degree, govern the value of
gold"
If an increased production of gold
and the annual addition to the stock
Of about S. 900, 100000 of gold in the
world in use as money Of, at the out
side, not more than $3.50, ,OOO, ,OOO.-if an
addition to the supply OF gold Of not
more than per cent is sufficient to
cause this mental to depreciate, what
must have been the effect of doubling
the demand by putting aside silver as
money metal9 If an increase in the
supply Of 4 per cent is sufficient to
cause gold to depreciate, an increased
demand of 100 per cent must cause it
to appreciate, as shown by fallen
prices.
Strenuously have gold-monometa tai
lists maintained that the value Of gold
was fixed, and not affected by in
creased supply or demand, and that
consequently the doubling of the de-
mand consequent on the demonetza-
ton of silver could not have
CduSCu SOlu W dppIcCldtc, UuU uOW
comes Mr.. Preston. telling us the
price of gold is regulated by this uni
versal law,-that gold is bound to de-
precate with the increased supply.
If gOld-monometalliSt will hence
forth keep in mind this admission on
the part of Mr.. Preston. OF the correct
ness Of the position taken by bimetal-
lists, they will be relieved of the
necessity of looking for causes of fall
ing prices in production, cheap
ening Of production, lower transporta-
tion rates. and what not.
The cause of falling prices has been
in great degree due to the apprecia-
tiOn of gold consequent on the in
creased demand, as silver has grad dual-
ly been put aside as redemption mon
ey and reduced to token coin based on
gold In the face Of his adm ssion,
Mr.. Preston and his followers can
hardly deny the force or correct
ness of this statement.
SO we have admitted that the value
of gold is controlled, at least to some
extent, by the law of supply and de-
mand. and. although ignorant editors
have long insisted that gold might be
cheap and prices low at one and the
same time, we are assured prices will
advance as gold depreciaGes, that as
the gold dollar becomes cheaper prices
will rise.
And with this rise in prices: Are
baneful results to come in it's wake?
Are the wage-earners to be impover-
ished? Is the country to retrograde?
Are we to approach the condition Of
Mexico and Guatemala as money de-
preciates? Such we have been told
must be the results of any deprecia-
tion in the purchasing power Of the
dollar. But the goldmonOmetallist is
assure us such will be the results Of
the depreciation Of gold. THAT the
country is certain to become more and
more prosperous as the amount OF
uold increases is the one fact which
viii appeal to the people" says the
New York Times AM So reicin m :
CONTINUED ON FOURTH PAGE)