Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1898-08-04
GOLD STANDARD IN RUSSIA.
1t by the Agricultural Congress
Which Recently Met ut Orel.

| oo4o AZ tO-ddy OcAuS pEOOuGcuA1 the
| greatest quantities in the history OF
the world. The rate of production was
never SO great before, and it is steadi-
| ly growing Within ten years the aver
| age annual production of gold has
| more than doubled, and the produc-
tion of gold this year promises to be
quite double the production of gold in
the heyday of the California and Aus
| tralian gold discoveries of half a Gen.
fury ago. The average production of
| gold in the five years 1860 was S134,
os3,0O0; this year it is quite certain
that the production of gold will reach
S275, 0OO, 900 worth.
OF this immense sum almost half will
| come from two fields, both unknown
| few years ago, the fields of South
Africa turning out gold at the rate of
! S75,000,000 a year and the fields of
western Australia producing about
| two-thirds as much. And of the gold
from these two fields nearly all finds
| its way to the London markets. But
| the demand for gold is such that it is
| picked up at a premium-that is, at a
| price in advance over the Bank of Eng
| land price, as soon as it is put upon
/ the market.
The Bank of England is required by
law to purchase all gold that may be
| offered and on account of the British
mint at the fixed rate of II shillings 9
| pence a standard British ounce. 1t is
| through the bank, and through the
| bank alone, that gold reaches the Brit
| ish mint for coinage, for though the
| coinage value of an ounce of gold,
British standard, or % carats fine, is
| - shil1ings 10A pence, and the coinage
| is nominally open free to all, it pays
| men with gold to sell much better to
accept the bank price and get pay
ment at once than to await the delays
of coinage at the mint before getting
payment. The bank can well afford to
buy for issuing, as it is supposed, notes
| on the gold bought, and before coinage
| it does not have to await the delays of
| coinage before getting payment for
| the gold it deposits at the minis, and
SO avoids losses of interest consequent
on the delays of coinage and such as
the individual cannot avoid.
But it happens at present that,
though much new gold is flowing into
London, no man is selling it to the
bank, for so anxious are some govern
| ments to get it that better price can
be obtained. And one of these govern
ments is the Russian. a second is the
japanese, both of which are striving
strenuously to establish the gold
standard, to- make money dearer and
prices lower in their realms, to the in
finite detriment of their people. The
demand of these governments, and es-
pecially Russia, is such that all new
gold coming on the London markets is
promptly snatched up at price as
high as "a shillings IL pence an ounce,
or two pence above the bank price.
Russia" we read in recent number
of one of the leading financial journals
of New York. Bradstreet's. sis still
steadily carrying out the preliminaries
necessary to the completion of its
plans for a restoration of the currency
20 gold basis, in which the accumu!a-
tion of farther heavy gold reserve is
a very necessary feature" And this
on top of the fact that the imperial
bank of Russia already holds Tor held
May 30) gold reserve of S567 200, 900.
We would further remark that it is
quite incorrect to speak of Russia COIN
pleting its plans ''for restoration of
the currency to a gold basis" 1t can
not be restoration. for the currency
was never on gold basis, but before
suspension of specie payments. back in
the Crimean war, on a silver basis.
And to this old basis the Russian gov
AL
back, but resolved to establish gold
basis. to resume specie payments,wh
she did resume, in gold. And so last
year when she did resume the paper
credit roubles that were originally sill
yer notes worth about four francs be-
came payable in gold. But instead of
paying them at the rate of four francs
in gold she pays them at the rate of
% francs, she putting one-third less
gold in her gold coins than she former
y did. So when she resumed a year
ago, though she resumed in a metal ap-
preciated over 100 per cent. over silver,
she established her new gold unit on
a basis appreciated but so per cent.
Though she resumed payments on a
metal appreciated 100 per cent. she re-
debts by but so per cent.
We had supposed that the new gold
standard, unjust and oppressive as it
is. had been accepted in Russia as an
established fact; that those who had
opposed it's establishment had with
drawn their opposition in despair. But
in this we were mistaken. The terri
BILE ruin caused in Russia by the estab-
1ishment of this new standard does not
permit those in Russia who have the
welfare of their country at heart to
withdraw opposition. OF this N. Bout
my. of Odessa, Russia, apprises us. The
agricultural congress of the nine gov
ernments of Russia, body of influence
and power, met in Orel on May 25 and
&C. 1t took pronounced ground against
the new standard; demanded that it be
abandoned before Russia is ruined. OF
the proceedings of this congress VI. |
Boutmy sends us the following report: |
At the session of May 25 and 20 NJ. |
Georges Boutmy, vigorously seconded |
by VI. 4. Stachowitch, marechal de |
roblesse; A. Polinow, economist; p. |
Oil, statistician: S. Scharapow, editor |
of the Rousski Troud, took up in de- |
tail and debated the monetary ques-
ton. The falsity of the arguments in
defense of gold monometalhsm was
the theory of cverpro-1
Cuction refuted, the undeserved gains |
of creditors and the gross losses of
producers resulting from the rise in
rold were nut in evidence