The Louisiana populist., 1895-11-01
THE MONEY METALS.
GOLDBUOS KNOCKED OUT BY
THE COLD FACTS.
Their Scheme Not Only Unprscticable,
but Foolish. Cruel and wicked-Thsre
10 Only Four Thousand Millions of Gold
Coin In tho Worldl

The value OF the precious metals is
Influenced more by the accumulations
on hand than by their annual product
1t may be assumed, and the assump-
tion is sufficiently accurate for our
purposes, that there is four thousand
millions OF gold coin in the world.
Ii, after making good wear and loss,
and supplying the arts. there could
be added to these accumulatiuus one
hundred millions OF gold coin and one
hundred millions OF silver coin. the
increase in the supply on hand doing
money duty would be 2! per cent,
which is larger percentage of in
crease than it seems possible to OBJ
tain. But such an increase would
not keep pace with the increase Of
population and business.
We are told, however, that the in
crease in gold production is such as to
compensate for the demoEetization of
silver and provide for an increase
equal to the increasing demands
growing out Of the growth of popula-
tion and business. 1t must be born
in mind that the supply of silver
money stops with the gold standard,
and that new gold must be found to
supply the four thousand millions OF
silver coin. At one hundred millions
q year this would take just forty
years. At the end of forty years. if
the supply of gold could be kept up
SO as to make an annual increase of
one hundred millions year of gold
coin in addition to supplying the arts
and repairing wear and loss, we
would have the same amount
OF gold money that we would
now have of coin by the use
of both gold and silver. During the
whole period OF forty years there
would be less money than there is at
the present time; but at the end of
forty years we would have as much of
the one metal as We now have OF the
two metals, gold and silver. But iu
forty years the population aud busi-
ness, ii not restrained by a money
famine, would be double what it is to-
day. With double the demand for
money and without any increase in the
supply. prices forty years hence would
necessarily be so per cent lower than
they are to-day. But this favorable
showing OF the future production of
gold is not warranted by the history
OF the past or anything within reason
able probabilities in the future. 1t
has taken four thousand years to &C.
cumulate the stock Of gold in hand.
1t is hardly possible to accumulate as
much gold in the next forty years as
has been accumulated during all the
ages.
The great placers are substantially
The vein mines OF Col
oradO and South Africa are wonder
fully productive, but they are vein
mines, and with modern appliances
must be exhausted within q very few
years. The life of mine, whether
Of gold or silver. is limited to eight or
ten years. After that, gleanings may
90 on almost indefinitely; but the
great mass OF the gold or silver is
now taken from vein mine in less
han decade. Figure it out as you
will, il the better and more reliable
metal. silver, is discarded and the |
egal tender money of the world is con-
ined to gold alone. contraction, fall
ng prices, and misery are the doom
'f the human race. Washingt ton
silver Knight.