The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-09
MONEY STANDARDS.
Valuable Data Collected by the State
Department.


WASHINGTON, March S.-The state
department has just completed an eX-
tensive work initiated by Secretary OIL
ney, Of collecting and publishing in
DOCK form complete set of REPORTS
by United States ambassadors abroad.
exhibiting in concise form the financial
systems of all of the countries of the
civilized world, with full explanatory
notes by the officials of the effects of
the dlIerent kinds Of money used as
standards of value upon the agricult-
ural and industrial population of the re-
spectlve nations. One volume of this
work already has been published and
the second volume is just coming from
the hands of the printer, completing
the work The reports have been col
lected and carefully digeSted by Fred
erlck Emory, chief of the bureau of
statistics of the state department.
which is hereafter to be known as the
bureau of foreign commerce."
Nineteen nations are treated in this
last volume, and from a summary of
the condition of these countries. pre-
pared by Mr. Emory, the following
facts are extracted:
Argentine Republic uses inconverti-
bic paper as a standard of value.
though the mints are open to gold. In
the last ten years. prices have ad-
Vanced as measured in this standard
and wages as well.
The British Australasian colonies
with a gold standard, show a mixed
result. Prices of agricultural products
advanced in the decade in New Zea-
land, While they declined in Victoria;
wages declined in the first case and
remained stationary or high in the
latter
In Bolivia, where a single silver
standard is, though there was no data
on the effect on wages, it appeared that
food supplies, except for imported ar
house rents, drugs and hardware, were
high.
From Brazil, with a nominal gold
standard, but no actual coinage, data
is wanting.
Cape Colony has the single gold STAN
dard, though without mintage There
the wages have increased Is per cent
in the decade, and there has been an
increase in the cost of living, with
heavy fluctuations in the export COM
modfties.
In China, without any legal standard.
silver weighed for large transactions
and copper for small sales, are used in
business. There has been an increase
in the silver price of imports: no diff
ference in the price of Chinese prod
ucts, and wages show no change,
though new avenues for employment
have been opened up in manufactur-
ing.
Denmark, with the single gold stand
ard, shows an increase Of 10 per cent
in wages since 1884.
India. with g. silver standard, though
with minis closed except to the gov
eminent shows an increase of the
prices of some articles and a decline
in others. Wages show the same va
ration The increase in prices is in
raw exports, and in imports, except
tea, and the decrease in tea and sugar
Japan, with silver standard, shows
a general advance in prices and in
wages, as well. There was a decline
in prices between 1884 and 1887 attrib-
uted to the curtailment of paper mon
ey and general advance from the
latter date up tC 1895. The increase is
said to be due to a scarcity in the crop
Persia has a silver standard, and in
that country wages and prices both
advanced in the past ten years. The
currency is, however, greatly depre-
ciated, and the country is much poorer
than it was twenty-five years ago.
Peru uses silver only, and prices in
creased as measured in that standard
while Portugal, with a gold standard.
showed a rs per cent increase in prices
attributable to the fact that actual
money in use is paper.
salvador Is now using silver, but
steps have been taken to substitute
gold. Meanwhile prices were advanced
in marked degree, owing, it is said.
to deprecated currency. The only la
Dor in Salvador Is employed on farms.
and wages in that case were advanced
slightly.
Gold is the standard in Sierra Leone,
and prices generally declined, owing,
1t is said, to over-trading and the fall
ing off in exports to Europe.
In the South African republic. with
gold standard. high prices obtained
for domestic products. Imported arti-
cles are said to be reasonable" and
wages are high in the skilled trades
mining and building
Spain uses a double standard. gold
and silver; prices have generally ad
vanced, and only expert labor has ad-
vanced in wages. The high prices are
attributed to the fact that Spain Is
constantly importing a large quantity
of the necessaT1es of life, and because
of the premium she must pay on them:
prices Of living are IL to 20 per cent
higher than If the currency were at
par.