The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-05-20
RUssIA's STORES OF GOLD.
A Vast Amount Held by the state and
Never Decreased


London Financial News
For long tine the city was disinelined
TO believe the stories about the vast
amounts of gold accumulated BY Russia
But since the Russian authorities one DAY
took the very sensible step OF inviting
number OF persons 70 view this gold, there
can no longer be any reasonable doubt as
20 Its existence. ard fl Is now generally
admitted 90 be as large as reported. Nor
do rie Russian authorities allow any
diminutiol Of their treasure Even II the
exigencies OF the exchange market re-
quire a remittance 10 Western Europe,
in order 10 prevent the rouble from fall
Ing below certain quotation. care is al
ways exercised that the amount so taken
IS Immediately replaced. And this is not
difficult, as Russia is one of the largest
gold producers in the world. and all gold
found within the Russian empire has TO
be sold 20 the state bank. This explains
why at the end of every year the total
stock OF gold in Russia shows an increase
compared with that OF the previous year.
The gold IS held partly by the govern
ment. partly by the state bank. and is APP
porttoned for various purposes These
dispositions. however. are not definite.
and from time 70 time certain changes
are decreed which throw, perhaps, some
light as 10 the intentions OF the Russian
government with regard 10 the ultimate
changes took place last month, by which
the so-calied conversion fund has again
been raised. AS late as December last
year this fund amounted TO 21l. 90 coo
soUble, when s. SO 900 roubles were added
to IL, so that il consisted OF 2I5. si3. oc0
rouhles in gold and LBS, 100 roubles in sill
Yer. The latest decree orders that this
silver is to be exchanged against gold,
rouble for roubie. and that a further sum
of 9s.061. 900 roubies IN gold Is to be taken
from the cash of the government depart
ments and to he added TO this CONVEX
sion fund" which thereby will be raised
10 $4,000, 900 roubles, in round figures. The
gold in the hands OF the government de-
partments, which last month was 13-
10000 roubles. Is thereby reduced to
about 105.0oo,000 roubles. The result of
this Is. therefore, a reduction of what
may be called the free gold, and fur
Their immobilization of a considerable
amount
This increase OF the conversion fund
in the short time of four months from
211 900 roubles to 375, 10000 roubles IS
so great that it almost looks as If the
Russian government were thinking of
moving faster on the road toward re-
sumption of specie payments on a gold
basis than seemed intended up TO quite
recently. AS long as the government gold
remained unattached it could be used for
being able to question the manner of its
employment; but once having declared
certain amounts 70 be for a special pur-
pose, 1t will be difficult. even in Russia,
TO alter this arrangement, and as a mat
ter of fact the Russian government has
always respected such dispositions in nor
NAL times. 1t seems. therefore not unrea-
sonable to conclude from the decree 10
which We have just drawn attention that
Russia considers the time nearly arrived
at which to tackle the difficult problem
of abolishing her paper standard. OF
course, nobody dreams that the rouble
will be raised again 70 its old value of
IS I'd. Russia will in this respect follow
in the footsteps of Austria, and fix the
gold value of the new rouble by the aver
age value of the paper rouble during the
last few years. i. e., about 25d This would
be about SIS kopecks gold for the present
paper rouble, and, worked out on this
basis, the conversion fund of Russia
sufiices already today to redeem more
than half the outstanding notes. This is
rather a strong position to start with,
much more favorable than that shown in
some other countries, and almost suffi-
Client to commence operations Immediate
~. But Russia moves slowly, and will,
no doubt, take her time; nevertheless. the
question seems advanced enough for the
city to take cogniZance of il. 1t will be
interesting TO observe how soon Russia
will come TO a final decision, and whether
she Will take It boldly and fearlessly, or
whether her gold standard will be of that
half-and-half and nominal kind, such as
We see in Austria Hungary and in India
and are only too likely to see after July I
next in Chile