The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1896-09-29
HAS GOLD "APpREoIArEp 2

HAS GOLD APPRECIATED ?"
The ad yocatos N the free coinage Of silver
say that it has. Like the man who thinks
his own train in4 motion because the one
alongside is movhs in an opposite direction,
the silver men ighst that instead Of all other
prices tinclud6g that of silver) having
fallen the prize Of gold has really risen, and
the price Of everything else has stood still.
They assert that there has been steady
change in the ratio Of a dollar in gold to
given quantity in grain, cotton, clothing,
food and silver, and argue that since one
dollar in gold will buy more Of all commodi-
ties ia the markets of the world to-day than
it dlh in 1873 gold has advanced in value,
while the value Of other articles has stood
still Hence their constant assertion that
gold has appreciated
Let US see. To appreciate means to increase
in value. Anything which increases in value,
does so either because it has grown relatively
scarce. or because each individual needs more
of it for his daily use. Now has this hap
pened about gold ? Fifty years ago the world
had billion people in round numbers; now
it has billion and half The population
has increased fifty per cent. in fifty years.
Has the gold of the world increased Mt the
same rate as the population If so, have we
any right to assume that gold has appreciated?
If it appears that it has increased more
rapidly than the population, would it not
rather deprecatc than appreciate?
Let us examine the figures, from the best
authorities of the world, Soetbeer, Mulhall,
Preston and Others Nluhall indicates that
a Al H. I i
uucoined fifty years ago amounted to less
than 81 800 600 Taking his figures for
1890 and adding the production since that
date, the gold in the world to-day, coined and
uuconed, is shown to be overs 600 100000. q.
Thus it will be seen that the world apparently
has about three times rs much gold to-day as
it had fifty years ago.
If there had been no increase in population
in the meantime there would thus be three
times AS much gold for each person now as
there was a half century ago. But the popu-
lation has increased 80 per cent, there is
vi, apparently twice as much gold in the world
foreach individual as there was at that time.
But this is not all Fifty years ago only
33 per cent. of the gold Of the world was
coined into money Now GO per cent. Of it is
coined So it appears that, whilo the pei
capita Of gold has been doubled, the proper
ton of that gold which is turned into cor
has also doubled. This means that there il
four times as much gold coin for each in
.dyidual in the world today as there WA
fifty years ago.
OF the total money of the world fifty year
ago only 20 per cent. was gold Now nearly
| 35 per cent. Of the money Of the world i
gold Had the demand for money increase,
more rapidly than the gold increased ther
would have been a greater proportionab
growth of the other kinds Of money, citho
silver or paper or both, for both are plentiful
and are constantly used for currency every
where But their proportion has decreases
while the proportion Of gold has increased,
But say the friends of silver, "thc mcr
fact that gold money has increased does no
prove that il is sufficient to meet the want
,of business, because since the crime of lh7
I'm this country and similar crimes about th
same date in other countries, the quantity
silver money has decreased
Let us see about that Preston, the Direct,
of the United States Mint estimates that IL
worlds silver money in 1873 was 81 sl7 OOJ
OOO He estimates the worlds silver none
to-day 10 be Si,07O, 500 600, of which amour
8.4lO, 700 600 is full legal tender. Thus Il
silver money of the world has apparent
more than doubled since 1873 This sho'
the utter fallacy Of the argument of Il
\ silver people that silver money has been /
dtIced siuce 1873. II is interesting in til
connection also 10 note that the paper mon,
of the w@rld has trebed in tho past hl
century, having been in ls4s, according
Mulhall, sh3OO, 600 900, and in $780, So, s7
600, OOO
There is still another light in which d
currency question should be considered
the value of house appreciates" the Ie
increases proportionately. If It depreciat
in valrNC the rent falls. This rule appl
ooualIv N the NC - - ~- lsually term
;ptereyt INVEST CENTRE sldetermino /
~s@ual OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES whether