The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-08-26
DIR STOCK oFMoNEy INCREASED

The people of this country have been lea
TO believe that the gold standard means
scarce money. while free coinage OF Sill
yer means an abundance OF money. They
were told I'm 1896 by the advocates Of free
coinage that II the gold standard should
triumph there would follow contraction
Of the currency by which the rich wouid
become richer and the poor would De
come poorer. Well. the gold STANDARD
did triumph and now let us see about
the result.
The New York Ffnancier calls atten-
ton to these significant figures. For the
wear ending July, 1895. we have imported
not as a loan, but as wealth earned
about yOO. 600 900 in gold. in the same time
there has been produced from American
mines s6OOOO.OOO additional. In 1897 the
,mports Of gold were S5S0oo,OOO and the
domestic production was nearly as much
as that of 1895. 1t will be seen, therefore
that I'm two years time we have added
about s275.OcO.0OO to our stock of gold'
available for money. This gold has not
all been coined, but according to the
Treasury statement on July LIST. the gold
in circulation was s66i 100000 against Sio9'-
905.Os4 on July /. 1896. The total gold
money in the country July /, 1896, was
1896. 597. s6l as compared with 500 5A'l64
on July l, 1895, an increase Of about $780,
1000 within the period named.
And the Financier adds
To put the matter ia another way, the
country has added more money to ITS
stock since 1896 than would have been
possible under free coinage, using every
ounce of silver produced in the united
States. Perhaps under d free coinage law
the enormous reserve stocks now carried
I'm other forms than bullion, would have
ben forwarded TO the minis, as would
the stocks now held in foreign countries.
but the fact that the gold money IS
being increased by an amount greater
than the total gold and silver production
of this country is one that is not generally
appreciated The significance OF thls
great addition 10 our money stock lies IN
the stability and permanence Of the in
crease. Under free coinage there IS scarce
" any doubt that the greater part OF our
supply of gold would have disappeared as
money. Just as IL has done In Mexico.
one OF the unaswerabe propositions adj
vanced by Secretary Carlisle in the cam
paign of 1896 was that there was not
free silver country in the world whore
gold and silver circulated side by side,
and the United States would have proved
no exception to this rule. The result Of
a disappearance Of half a billion Of our
gold money can be imagined easier than
described. and the condition in which
business would have found Itself after a
free silver victory. need not be enlarged
upon.
But that is not all. We have before
us the Monthly summary Of Finance and
Commerce Of the United States for June.
1895. and We ind therein these most in
teresting figures. The total money in cir
culation ir June. 1895 was $l5oa 725 9oo.
Estimating on a population Of 0ooo,
this was per capita circulation Of s2l.15
In June. 1895, the amount OF money in
circulation was Sls43 1919 Estimating
on a population Of 74.522OOO. we have
per capita circulation OF s2474 And so.
according TO the Treasurer OF the United
States. instead OF contracting the cur
rency under the gold standard. IL has in
creased in two years $685. 7l0.5l9. Yet with
these figures staring them in the face.
the advocates of free coinage. some OF
them at least, are still declaring that this
country is suffering from doarth Of
money and that prosperity cannot re-
turn until the amount of money in the
country is increased by opening the minis
20 the free coinage OF silver.
II may also be noted in this connection
that the free coiners claim that every
dollar in the country to-day is really
equal 20 two dollars. on that basis the
reader will multiply the above figures bv
two.
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