The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-02-08
THE INCREASE OF GOLD.

The worlds production of gold in
1895 amounted to $2O3, 900, 900; and some
of the eastern papers. among them the
Washington Post, are talking about
the prospective glut of gold;'' and
are asking how much longer it will be
safe to keep the minis open for its
free coinage. It is marvellous this in
creased production OF gold of late
years. As recently pointed out by
Harpers Weekly, the total production
of two hundred and three million dol
lars in gold for 1895 represents a. pro-
duction half again as great as that of
four years ago, and twice as great as
the average yield for the twenty years
between 1870 and 1890, Last years
yield is larger by half than in the
years when California and Australia
enriched the world with their golden
streams The increase in the world S
product of gold for 1895 over the
worlds output for 1894 is upward Of
twenty-one millions of dollars; the in
crease over the output of 1893 nearly
forty-six millions of dollars; over that
of 1892, ffty-six millions; over that of
1891, more than sixty-two millions;
over 1890, cighty-four millions 1t is
scarce to be wondered at that those
who are interested in keeping the
volume of money small that it may be
dear should view with uneasy feeling
this marvellous increase in the output
Of gold, and speculate as to how long
gold can be admitted to free coinage.
Nor can the scarce money people
take much comfort from any hope
based upon the prospect of the gradual
exhaustion Of the worlds mines Talk
about the exhaustion of the worlds
gold mines ten years ago might have
passed current, for all the mines of
the world were producing less than one
hundred million dollars per annum;
and the richest fields seemed approach
ing exhaustion. But today not only
have richer and more extensive fields
been discovered but cheapened pro-
cesses Of working the ore and other de-
posts in which gold is found adds to
the constantly increasing output, until
no one may safely predict what the out
come will be, except that it is safe to
say that the people who believe that
prosperity depends upon a scarcity Of
money will have some ground for COM
planning about a "glut of gold" The
visible supply Of gold is enormous.
The testimony of the experts as to the
new gold fields of South Africa is to
the effect that there is in sight above
thirty-fve hundred millions of dol
lars, or an amount equal in value to
one half of the worlds total
output since the discovery Of America!
The Popular Science Monthly recently
estimated that if restrictions were re-
moved on hydraulic mining, California,
now looked upon as an exhausted gold
field, would produce five hundred mil
lions of gold. Our own immense Mercur
field, the extent of which is by no
means realized, and the Cripple Creek
district of Colorado promise to rival
South Africa in extent and output; and
doubtless Australia and Russia have
fields as extensive as our own.
After considering this enormous in
crease in the output of gold in late
years, and the prospect of a still greater
output of the yellow metal for the
years to come, a Washington paper
asks:
Does not gold threaten to become the
and deprecated medium?
Should not the anti-gold bugs with NAL
ice aforethought assent to the issu-
ance Of bonds payable both principal
and interest in gold, if by so doing they
will in a few years compel the Shy
locks to accept the cheaper money?
Will not we the people then have to
combine against the arrogant, blood
sucking silver bugs?
Those questions of course are not
they are intended for sarcasm,
though as a matter of fact it is sar-
casm of a very inferior order, and set
ting the intended sarcasm aside we
may seriously say that the people
too-much-money are liable to
have their theory upset even if BIZ
metallism is not adopted in the United
States, by the increased production of
gold in the world There never was
a bigger piece of humbug than the idea
of there being too much money. There
may be too many promises to pay
money and NOT enough money to re-