Arizona republican., 1897-12-12
RUssIA's SIGNIFICANT ACTION.

The announcement that Russia has formally adopted the gold standard by the issue of an imperial ukase or dering the coinage and issue of five rouble gold pieces, and by another ukase ranteeing the exchangea- bility of state credit notes for gold coin tEby the whole property of the state," is the most significant event of recent years in the financial world.
 By this formal action the Musco- vite empire completes a transition which for years it has been most skilfully preparing to accomplish. The Russian minister of finance has been quietly accommodating an immense gold reserve during several years past, and now, having carefully p-e- pared the Russian people for the change, by a wise course of legisla- tive measures leading up to it, and having an abundant surplus of gold on which to base the nations credit, the final step has been taken making the great empire a gold standard ma t1on. The work really has been gO- ing on for years quietly, and with out disquieting the finances of the country Or exciting special attention in the money centers of Europe, and the final step was merely a formal notice to the empire and to the world that Russia is prepared to maintain the same standard of finance as the other great nations of the world.
 Thus while. the theory of the double standard has provoked such discus sion and figured so prominently in the fate of political panties in other nations, the Russian government has deliberately and consistently pur- sued it's course towards a gold stan dard, driven, towards such a goal by the necessity of conforming its finan- cial system to the standard of Eng land. Germany France and the United States, if it would continue to hold rank among the leading com mercial and political powers of the world.
 The Russian empire has but re- gently emerged from semi -barbar- ous condition which a thousand years of absolutism had impressed upon it. But these closing years of the Nine teenth century have brought a won derful change upon the Muscovites. Once the land of densest ignorance, superstition and Asiatic darkness. Russia is at last waking to the influ- ence of western civilization. Like a giant who has just learned his strength, the Russian empire is be- ginning to play a leading part in the worlds history. What the Twentieth century may have in store for the great powers of Europe it would be presumptuous to foreteW., But it re- quires little prophetic power to pre- dict that Russia will play far more important part in the affairs of the world during the coming century than she has ever been able or dis posed to play in the past The em- pire of the czar is beginning to under stand that it has great future before it, and is preparing to realize its evil dent destiny.
 To meet it's ambitions it must stand on financial equality with it's rivals, and so, regardless of the speculation and strife which have been stirring the western nations concerning inter national bAmetallism, it has steadily advanced toward monometallism. The attainment of this object by Russia will take the world of finance farther away from international bimetal,ism than it has ever been before.