Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1896-10-24
PROSPERITY UNDER
GOLD STANDARD.
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.


an interesting article written by Mr..
Charles A. Conant the Washington CORE
spondent Of the New York Journal of Com
meree showing how greatly the world has
benefited by the gold standard. The arti-
Gle was recently printed In number OF
leading newspapers, notably the New York
Herald, Louisville Courier-Journal,S Spring
field Republican. Boston Herald and St.
Louis Globe Democrat. Mr.. Conant is the
author of recent work, entitled Mod
ern Banks of ISSUE which has received
the commentator of the 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 q conspiracy
against the human race and, again, that
the gold standard while it 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 the existence of the
gold standard has not prevented civillza-
ton and labor from taking strides in
wealth and comfort never taken under any
other standard in any other age of the
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
1878 to 1896 than during any other period
of equal length. The year 1873 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 the
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 ney
er in the history of the world have the &C
culnulations 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-
clusively TO the suspension of free coinage
and the adoption of the gold standard.
But the opposite of Bryan's proposition is
conclusively 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 1878 to 1896.
A German student of finance has COM
piled general table showing the number
of depositors and the volume of deposits in
the savings banks in nearly every leading
commercial country in 1875 and at re-
cent date In Prussia the number of de-
postors has increased from 1920, 101 in
1876 to 5,772, 500 in 1891, while the de-
posts have grown from 1894, csc, 600 to
$780, 62S, 900 In Great Britain the de-
posits have increased from 1921 ,53S, 900 in
1875 to $593, 334, 600 in 1893. In Italy the
depositors have increased from 169,e57 IL
1875 to 3,299,915 in 1894 while the
amounts of the deposits have grown from
$100 1873, 900 to S40S, SS4, 900. In France
there were 2.365, 567 depositors, with de-
posits amounting to $125, 664 900 in 1873
In 1894 the number of depositors had
grown to 6,314, 1915, with deposits Of $685.,
464 600 In Belgium the increase was
from 100, 312 depositors, with deposits of
SO, 472, 600 in 1875 to 500, 074 depositors,
with deposits of SO, 254, 900 in 1891 In
France alone the facts show that deposits
of about 500, 900, 900 in 1872, just before
''the crime of 49, have swelled during
90 years under the gold standard to $780,,
900, 600, while the population has shown
no material change.
Prosperity In America.
In Belgium the people have increased
their deposits in the savings banks forty
fold since 1870, when they We're enjoying
all the benefits of minis open TO silver, not
only in Belgium, but in France, Switzer-
land and Italy.
In our own country under the operation
of the standard established in 1873 the peo-
pie have doubled their savings banks de-
-.