The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1896-10-16
A Benefit to the Human
Race, Not "a Conspir-
acy Against It."
Mr.. BRYAN REFUTED.
Marvellous Advance In Wealth
and Comfort of the Peo-
pie In Gold Stand
ard Countries.

The following is careful summary Of
an interesting article written by Mr..
Charles A. Conant the Washington corre-
spondent of the New York Journal of Com
merce, showing how greatly the world has
benefited by the gold standard. Tho arti-
Gle was recently printed In number of
leading newspapers, notably the New York
Herald Louisville Courier-J journal, Spring
field Republican, Boston Herald and St.
Louis Globe Democrat. Mr.. Conant IL the
author of o recent work, entitled mod
ern Banks of ISSUE" which has received
the commentator of tho leading bankers
of America. He is an authority on eco.
nomic subjects, and it is this circumstance
that lends an additional value to his con-
illusions.
One of Bryan s most emphatic assertions
is that "the gold standard is a conspiracy
against the human race, " and, again, that
the gold standard, while 1t has raised the
purchasing power Of the dollar, "also
makes it more difficult to obtain possession
of the dollar" Both these self confident
declarations are far from the truth, and it
only requires an examination of facts, not
theories, to establish their falseness This
can readily be DONE as Mr.. Conant has
done, by showing that tho existence of the
gold standard has not prevented civiliza-
ton and labor from taking strides in
wealth and comfort never taken under any
other standard in any other ago of tho
world.
Increase of Savings Deposits.
In fact, the recent economic history Of
gold standard countries shows more won
derful advance in the wealth and comfort
of the masses during the 23 years from
1873 to 1896 than during any other period
of equal length The year 1878 was the
year of the adoption of the gold standard
in Germany, the suspension of free coinage
in France, Belgium, Italy and the other
countries of the Latin union, and the
abandonment Of the silver dollar by tho
United States.
The figures of the number of depositors
in the savings banks and of the aggregate
of their deposits alike go to show that new
er in the history of the world have the ac-
cumulations of labor been SO rapid and SO
large No economist of character would
stake his reputation upon the assertion
that this wonderful advance was due ex-
clusiyely to the suspension of free coinage
and tho adoption of the gold standard.
But the opposite of Bryans proposition is
conclusivcly demonstrated by the figures of
the savings deposits in every important
gold standard country. They have increased
many fold and doubled over and over again
during the brief years from 1873 to 1896.
A German student of finance has conf
piled general table showing the number
of dcpositors and the volume of deposits in
the savings banks in nearly every leading
commercial country in 1875 and at a re-
cent date. In Prussia the number of de-
positors has increased from 2,20D, l0l in
1875 to SRA 500 in 1891, while the de-
posits have grown from 1864, G56, 900 to
$SlO,62S, 600 In Great Britain the de-
posts have increased from 1891, 53S, 900 in
1875 to $593, 1884 900 in 1893. In Italy the
depositors have Increased from 769, 257 in
1875 to 3,299,916 in 1894, while the
amounts of tho deposits have grown from
500, 1893, 900 to $40S, 1854, 600. In Franco
there were 1886, 567 depositors, with de-
posits amounting to $125, 664 600 in 1875.
In 1894 the number of depositors had
grown to 6,3l4, 3i5, with deposits of $685.
AGA, 600. In Belgium the increase was
from 1861 dcpositors, with deposits of
$40, 472, 900 in 1875 to 800, 074 depositors,
with deposits of $40, 254, 900 IN 1891 In
France alone the facts show that deposits
of about 500, 000,O 900 in 1879, just before
"the crime of 49," have swelled during
80 years under the gold standard to $780,
000 000 while the population has shown
no material change.