The Van Buren press., 1895-08-17
The Insulleiency sf Geld.
From the Batesville Guard.

The Insa0eioncy of 6oIe.
From the Batesville Guard.
The director Of the mint, himself an
advocate Of the gold standard, estimates
the production OF gold In the world from
140S to 1898 at g, 500, 1O7 900, and the
population Of the world at l ,204, 100 900.
Thus, II all the gold produced within
the Last 400 years were still In use .:
money, We should have per capita Of
only D. q Of gold. But not the half Of
the worlds gold product Il used a.
money. The director Of the mint him.
self, whose figures we have quoted.
estimates that A per cent. Of the gold
product IL consumed In the industrial
arts. DR.. Soetbier, the eminent
German advocate Of the gold standard,
places the amount Of gold thus consumed
at SO per cent. Of the entire product.
while Mr.. Gi6en, the English mono
metallist author, declares that two
thirds Of the product IL diverted to non
monetary uses. II we place the amount
thus used at the very conservative
estimate Of so per cent. and allow
nothing for loss from abrasion and other
sources, which must be quite large, we
find that the worlds per capita Of gold
Ia but e3.82. II we accept the state
ment Of the Secretary Of the Treasury,
that there Is gold to the amount Of
e4S5, 776, $40 In circulation, and concede
for the sake Of the argument that the
gold is really In circulation and not
locked MP In the vaults of the banks and
trust companies and being carefully
boarded by many smaller holders, a. It
really IL, we have per capita Of only
about 81 In this favored country Of vast
wealth and magnificent resources.
But when we come to the real fact that
there IL not exceeding $500, 900, 600 Of
gold In actual circulation In this
country. the per capita Is reduced to the
insignificant sum Of only %.
The world supply Of gold is not in
creasing, by any means, at . rate
calculated to encourage the belief that
It will ever furnish safe basis for the
transaction Of the worlds business.
The average annual product for the last
five years has been only elS5, 800 800.
and since so per cent. Of this is diverted
to non monetary uses, the annual
increase Of the worlds supply of gold
amounts to the utterly insignificant sum
Of y fraction more than five cents per
head. This does not begin to keep pace
with the increase In business and
population. In fact, the oficial reports
Of the government show that there has
been not only no increase whatever In
the amount Of gold In the United States,
both boarded and In circulation, but
that during the last twelve months there
has been an actual decrease in the
supply. According to the report Of the
director Of the mint, July 1, 1894, there
was e562, 672 ,O82 In gold In the United
States. According to the report Of the
Secretary Of the Treasury, July I. 1895,
one year later, there was but e579. ~, :
971 Of gold in the country. 80 that,
notwithstanding an output Of e185. 900, :.
600 Of gold in the world during that
year, ~ 900. 900 Of which was produced
here at home; and, notwithstanding
further. that the bond syndicate
imported 81, 900, 900 Of foreign gold
during the year, there was actually less
gold, by p. .O00, liz, In the country July
l, 1895, than on July 1, 1894. The
drain ON the country's supply Of gold
was greater. by %, 900, 900, than the
annual product, and the basis Of our
currency has been contracted to that
extent.
In 1904 and 1907 government bonds to
the amount of 500, 000, 900 fall due.
Under the policy now being pursued, in
actual violation Of law, these bonds are
payable in gold; yet there is not now In
the country, by more than 500, , 900, 900,
gold sufficient to pay these bonds, II the
government had every dollar Of 1t In It's
possession. And how much, or rather
how little, will the government have
then, II the cOuntry's supply continues
to diminish ~ It is doing nowf Yet,
this debt Of the United States, as large
~ 1t II, Is mere bagatelle compared to
the aggregated debt Of the world, which
reliable statics place at the enormous
sum Of forty billions of dollars.
It's perfectly evident that the world 9
supply Of gold Is not alone sufficient for
transacting the worlds business and
paying the worlds debts. Since gold
alone il the money Of final account, It
alone must serve to measure values.
Credit money, like paper, and
subsidiary coin, like silver, may serve
satisfactorily ~ medium Of exchange,
20 long rs the public has faith that they
may easily be redeemed In gold but
values can be measured only In money
Of final account. It is inevitable, there.
fore, with the world scant supply Of
gold serving this important purpose,
that values must not only remain low,
but must 60 lower still, as the great
volume of business Of the world grows
faster than the increase in the supply Of
gold. It is further inevitable that
public confidence in the ability Of the
country to redeem it's volume Of credit
money and subsidiary coin In gold, now
so easily shaken, win gradually become
more easily shaken, until panics shall
be set on hair trigger and the business
depression, from which the country has
80 long suffered. will become its normal
condition. The value Of gold, measured
by Its purchasing power, will continue
to appreciate 80 that its holders will
constantly grow richer without effort
and the struggle for its possession by
those reqiring it for the payment Of
debts will constantly become fiercer.
II Is the purpose of the bimetallists to
enlarge the volume of money of final
account by making silver the equal Of
gold for such purposes and giving it free
coinage. An enlarged measure Of
values would increase prices and profits
in every branch of trade, would stimu.
late enterprise, give free rein to
industrial development, and put an end
TO that era Of business depression which
begun with the establishment Of the
gold standard and bring to the country
resnrn Of those prosperous times which
It enjoyed under the system Of
bimetsllism,