The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-11-25
BUSY MINIS.
Gold Coinage of the World For
the Year 1897
Exceeds Amy Previous Year in
Worlds History.
NEARLYHALF BILLION
AlmOstS3OO,OOO,OOO of Which
Was New Money.
Director of the U. s. Mint Ar
CUES for Gold Standard.

washington Nov. 25.-In his annual
report, Mr.. George +. Roberts, director
of the mint, says;
The most important events of the
fiscal year in the world of government
finance have been the contamination OF
the long planned resumption OF specie
payments by Russia in gold, the re-
organization of the monetary system OF
Japan with gold as the standard, anu
the refusal of the government OF 1nola
to cooperate with the governments OF
the United States and France an an
effort to establish bimetalIIsm Dy 1h1ei-
national agreement.
The gold coinage of the world IN 1885,
was the largest recorded, amounting in
value to s437, us, 342, against $195, 81
in 1896. OF the former sum $146, 622, 1874
was recoinage and approximately $751;
O97.148, a net addition to the stock Oh
gold coins. The principal coinage was
by the United States, Great Britain
Russia. Germany, Austria-Hungary,
France and Japan. The extrao 9 dLlL ~
coinAge of the year is accounted Tor by
the preparations of Russia, Austria
Hungary and Japan for their TnohetaIy
reforms In the case of Russia, parllc-
11larIv gold which has been accuInu-
LATINO for wears much of it in bars, was
passed through the minis to prepare II
for circulation. The complexion OF rus
sia's plans for monetary reform anu the
Onening to the uses of commerce OF neI
great cold reserve, systematically gain
cred wear by year until 1t IS the gfeat--
est single horde of treasure the WoTio
ever saw, is in itself most notap1e
The DEVELOPMENT of Russia, her posi-
ton as an exporter of breadstuILs, heI
policy of developing home MANUFACTURE
will all tend to protect her STOCK Oh
gold and make use for more, but heT
own gold production is increasing, ana
unless she is about to enter a peIloo
of unprecedented activity ana deVeIop-
ment. seems likely to supply her neeos
Throughout the world, among all peo-
niles who are sufficiently civilized ana
aInbitioI1s to have international inter
course there is manifest desire 70
and stable relations with the money OIL
the peoples with whom they trade.
The exporter desires that the money
with which he buys at home ana the
,,,o,1a11 with which he sells abroad shall
have a common unit of value. Inc man
1facturer who is competing IN 1orelgn
markets desires that the money with
which he buys raw materials ana lapoT
at home and the money in which ne
must quote prices abroad small nave
relation to each other upon Wnlch ne
NAV RELY and calculate. II the none
tarv systems of these countries have no
common unfit each nation IN lgnof-
ance or misleading independence pre-
fers ian independent system OF It's own
each other and the profits of the inter
national transactions we are consider
ing are subject to these VARIATIONS
such variations are therefore a barrier
to trade between the countries. 1t was
to escape from such fluctuations OF the
Russian currency which in 1892 reached
6 per cent and in 1891 % per cent, that
the Russian government has fixed its
paper money at the gold standard. For
the same reason Austria-Hungary and
japan have lately done likewise. For
the same reason India closed it's mint IS
to the unrestricted coinage of silver and
has been struggling since to hold its
rupee at the fixed value of 16 pence. It
is for this reason that even Peru, with
its comparatively small foreign trade,
has closed it's minis to the unlimited
coinage of silver.
It is for this reason that the govern
rnent of France, while friendly to an
international agreement upon the BIZ
metallic money standard, will not enter
tain any proposition that involves
possible separat ton of her own currency
from the standard used by the other
important commercial nations of the
world The enterprising peoples of the
world are not voluntarily assuming or