Griggs courier., 1897-12-17
THE WORLDS IoTAr CASA
Eesether IN = Lanp HeaiA Make .
MaAA0th PIE. 80

makes only eight dollars for each one
of the billion and a half inhabitants;
but, as many. OF, the Inhabitants have
no money at all, there is a large propor-
ton to be divided among those who are
fortunate enough to get it, though there
is NO uniformity in the distribution.
In eascertaining these figures of the
total money wealth there is little du-
plication. for nearly a third of the $3,-
500, ,O0O, 900 of paper money in the world
is secured by gold and silver. which is
included in the cum total given. To
be exact, there are $1,000, 900 900 of pa-
per money ''uncovered'-thatis is. the au-
thorities issuing it have not the gold
and silver to redeem it. This sum rests
simply on credit and not on security of
intrinsic value.
The same thing is true in regard to
much of the silver coinage, to the exc
tent of about one-half of its face value.
Take last year for illustration. The
coming value of the silver produced
was $215,272, 200, while the commercial
value was only sos. .406, 500. This is i
difference of S1O5, ,s35, 900.
The total. sum of the worlds money
is made up of 81 800, ,OOO,0 in gold, S4,-
27O, ,OO0, 900 in silver, and $4,000, ,OOO, 900
of paper. OF this the government and
people of the United States own-to
give the best exact obtainable figures
$500, ,27o,542 in gold, s637.50e,7s1 in sil-
Yer, and $1,120, 100000 of paper. This
paper consists of gold certificates, sil-
yer certificates, United States notes,
treasury notes, national bank notes, and
currency certificates.
This volume is continually changing
and gradually increasing. During the
last fiscal year the mints Of the United
| States coined in gold ST. GAG, 705, and in
silver s24,327,7s6. The same sort of
thing is going on in all civilized coun-
tries. and so the annual gold product
of the world-which in 1896 was S204,-
800, ,6OO-is being consumed; but it must
be remembered that little more than
one-half of it goes into the arts. And
the artisans do not always use bullion,
but take the coin, which is of no more
value; SO likely the wedding ring you
buy to-day was a five-dollar gold piece
yesterday. In this manner the gold cir
| culation is being decreased. while the
work at the mints is making up the loss,
and usually little more.
OF the total amount of gold and sill
yer produced the United States does a
fair proportion. According to the last
! report, which is for the year 1896, it
produced $53,0ss,OOO in gold and $751;
/ So,
But the idea conveyed by figures alone
is at best incomplete. Figures in the
millions are confusing; figures in the
billions mean almost nothing to the
mind. Comparison can give better the
true significance of the amounts quoted
above.
| Take, forinstance, Cleopatra's Needle,
) that famous shaft once wonder Of
Egypt, now set up in Central park, New
1 York. The obelisk is 81 feet high. If
the gold and silver of the world be
placed on scale they will weigh about
267, ,246. .1s4 pounds, the gold being 16,-
069,714 pounds this weight, and if these
are combined with the paper money We
will have bulk with cubic contents Of
43s,3s1 feet.
But their amounts will be better un-
derstood if divided. If the paper money
were pressed firmly into bale "a feet
long its other two dimensions would be
30 feet, and it would not be an incon-
spicuous figure if stood on end beside
the obelisk. If before baling these bills
they were Joined end to end they would
form band that would reach four
times around the earth at its equator.
If the gold were cast into a single
pyramid and set near the monolith it
would tower far above its great base,
for if from ground to apex it was 3sa
feet, it could have that same measure
ment along each of its base lines.
Apyramid of the silver would be much
larger than this, though the face value
of the coin represented in each is near
ly alike. If you wish to get an idea of
the proportion lay $40 gold piece be-
side pile Of 20 silver dollars. The apex
Of the pyramid of silver might tower
us feet and its four base lines could
each measure the same distance.-Chi-
cago Times-Herald.
Killed by His Collar.