The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-10-22

Total 10 sight. ...... 1924 600, 600
By ~su6tracting this smount from Mr..
Smiths 1878, 900, 900 leaves 1854 900 600
to be accounted for. We have given
the amount of gold in the United States
Treasury, and the amount found in the
banks.
The remaining $454 900. 900 Mr.. Smith
would have. US believe is in the hands
of the people. This would give, if true,
about 81 per capita of our entire popu-
lation, or $35 in gold to each family.
The absurdity of Mr.. Smiths state
ment is only fully realized when re
duced to its last analysis We venture
to say that not one family in thou
sand in this country has owned $35 in
gold during the last ten years. We
will say further that not one nan in
five hundred has handled a single gold
piece during the last five years. The
reason is that there is no gold in the
country. 1t has gone out, and the bal
ance is sure to follow under our present
monetary system The following
statement, taken from the report Of
Director Kimball on the production Of
gold and silver for 1888, pages ~ and
43. He quotes from the Commercial
and Financial Chronicle of February
8, 1889, which he vouches for as beiug
correct:
"In years past we have often insisted
that there must be an error in the item.
because the most indus rious inquiry
failed to bring to light a very consider
able portion of it. At present there are
at least 1915 900 900 of the total that
cannot be accounted for. Since the
New York banks turned their gold into
the Treasury and obtained gold certifi
Gates for it the government gross hole
ings have become large. On January
l, 1888, it held gross 1924 773 667; it
had outstanding of gold certificates
issued against it $12O, s88 448. hence
its net holdings we're 1908 1885,, 2I9, as
we give them in the above table. Even
OF these certificates af pat it is impossi
bic to trace more than se~venty-six and
one fourth millions in all, and of the
gold not in the Treasury only about
one hundred millions can be found So
whichever method the investigator
adOpts-whether by counting the gross
gold in the Treasury, or by taking the
course we have pursued-the result
reached will be the same. As to the
gold in active circulation, whatever
there is Of it must be in the Pacific
States, for in the Eastern, Western and
Southern States not individual in
every hundred receives in ordinary
business trans actions a gold certificate
or a gold coin onc in twelve months.
Contrast that fact with the other, that
on the 1st of Janu Ary, 1889. there were
so, 779, 321 silver dollars in circulation in
the United States, the remainder of the
1907, OOO, 900 being in the form of silver
certificates. Of that sixty and three
quarter million silver dollars, we ven
ture to say that every inhabitant who,
during the last year has rendered a SIS
bill in payment of some small purchase
made, has nine out of ten times had
offered to him or more in change.
Such ubiquity in the case of sixty and
three quarter million of silver dollara
proves clearly enough that if there was
even a little gold coin passing from
hand to hand it would be often met
with. Still, in the following statement
locating the gold in the United States.
we have made a very liberal allowance
J for circulation, 80 that the reader may