Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1898-06-09
The Monetary Problem.
EeseeeeeeEseeee&eGse&es ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
IS INVISIBLE IF HERE.
The Imaginary Gold in the Country
Secretary Cages Estimate OF the
Yellow Coin An Circulation.

The secretary of the treasury, in an
swer to a resolution of the senate,
stated, on the 18th of April, 1898, the
basis of his estimates of the amount Oh
gold in circulation. In his monthly
statement, May 1, 1898, he stated that
there was in circulation on that date
$617, 03s,51O in gold coin. The first
item upon which the estimate is made il
the calculation of DR.. Linderman, on
June 80, 1872, which put the amount OF
gold in the country on that date al
$12S, 1889, S64.49, since which time the an
nual coinage and the amount of do
nestle coin sent back to this country.
are added. The loss by recoinage, the
amount exported and the estimated
amount used in the arts are deducted.
No allowance is made for the amount OF
gold taken out of the country by private
persons which does not pass through
the custom house, but the secretary as
sumes that private parties bring back
as much American coin as they carry
away with them. We had supposed that
the hundred thousand European eX-
cursionists who spend their summers
in Europe seeing sights or counting
aristocratic society would be somewhat
relieved of their coin and would not
have as much to bring back as they took
away. This absurdity of estimating the
amount of gold on the assumption that
the people of the United States bring as
much American coin back to this coun-
try as they take away with them illus.
trates the method of juggling with
figures by which the treasury depart
ment tries to make it appear that there
is too much money in circulation in the
country.
The allowance made by the secretary
for coin used in the industrial arts il
very unsatisfactory. No statistics are
kept. There may have been some cor.
respondence with a few silversmiths
and private smelters and refiners, but
the treasury department has not
enough information upon that subject
to make a reasonable guess.
The secretary assumes that the total
loss of our paper currency in circulation
since 1861 is only S13,O45,3 300. He states
the total amount of paper which has
been issued outside of national bank
HUGS dG SI,ooOsOG O,IOOs anu tue
of national bank notes at only $2,064,-
O79, 225, and yet he estimates the loss of
bank notes at Sc, ISL, 800, and the loss on
all other paper circulation to be only
Sc, $4,000. The secretary says this is
the estimate of the actuary of the treas
ury department. We recommend to
that functionary a review of his figures,
for they appear to be part of the treas
ury Juggling to make it appear that the
people have too much money. We be-
liieve that the actual loss OF paper in
circulation in the last 35 years will be
nearer 500 ,OOO, 10000 than $13 ,OOO, 900. We
may be mistaken, but we are as likely
to be right in our guesses as the treas
ury department which makes official
guesses with such fiippancy. If there
are $6OO,OOO,OOO of gold coin in circula.
ton and less than $500, 900, 900 of silver
certificates in circulation, how does ii
happen that the people never see the
gold coin that circulates among them.
but that nearly all the money they have
consists of the despised silver certifi-
Gates? If there are 5000, 600, 900 of gold
coin in circulation. why is it invisible
to the naked eye?-Silver Knight
Watchman