Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1896-03-19
GOLD STANDARD IN RUSSIA.

AS the Philadelphia Times
says, it is interesting to observe,
at a time when a number OF agl<
tators in the United States, rep
resented by a majority of the
Senate, propose that this coun-
try should abandon the gold
standard, it's adoption is gener>
ally advocated and has been APP
parently resolved upon in Rus
STA as a step necessary to the
prosperity of that country. RUS
STA, as is known. retains nomi-
naliy the silver standard common
to Oriental nations, but 1t is
many years since specie pay
ments were suspended and the
large volume of paper money
constitutes the greatest obstacle
to commercial progress or to
sound administration. The task
of bringing the currency to a
specie basis has recently been
undertaken-the Bank of Russia,
it is said, having already accum-
ulated $500. 600, 900 in gold to
this end-and the discussion of
the subject, as it appears in
translations from Russian publi~
cations, is more intelligent than
much that we have heard nearer
home.
There are advocates of the sill
yer standard also in Russia. who
recommend that the government
shall simply coin enough silver
to replace gradually it's outstand-
ing notes, thus restoring the
Asiatic system Of an exclusive
silver currency. To this it is
pertinently answered that the
great objection to the paper cur
rency is its instability and that
the reason of this is that it bears
nc fixed relation to the accepted
monetary standard of Europe;
that it is easier, indeed to infu-
ence the value of paper money
by banking laws than to regulate
the value of silver, whose fuctu-
ations are the result Of world
wide conditions and that the
definite adoption Of a silver
standard would rather intensity
the commercial isolation from
which Russia now suffers. The
Novosti, of St. Petersburg, says
that 1.-The bitter experience of
the United States should have
rendered this evident to ALL"
The Russian writer goes on to
enforce the essential truth that
monometallism is not a theory
but a result; it has come to ex-
plain an accomplished fact, and
not to advocate something un-
tried" The great extension of
credit, the development Of bank
ing, of the means Of communica-
ton, have simply lessened the
demand for the circulating me-
dium; instruments of credit have
largely taken the place of hard
money, while at the same time
the necessity of a fixed standard
of redemption value has grown
more imperative. lin reality,
whatever the legal theory may
be. gold is already the tacitly
recognized unit in financial
relations. This is due TO our
dealings with Western Europe.
It shows that we car no longer
adhere to the Asiatic monetary
system.
Russia. it must be remembered,
stands between silver using
Asia and Western Europe with
it's gold basis, and must decide
with which of these neighbors il
is to it's interest," to ally itself.
There might be some excuse fol
the Russians, with their extern
sive .Asiatic connections, anG
their imperfectly developed sys'
tenn of communication, adherins
or reverting to the silver stand
ard: but there could be none fol
its adoption by the Unitet
States, where modern method
are in universal use and who's
industrial, commercial and fnan
cial interests are all opposed t.
the barbaric isolation of tn,
East.