Iron County register., 1898-08-25
The Currency Question.
pLUTocRATIc FALsIFIERs
Misleading Reports Concerning Our
Exports and Imports of GOid-Try-
ing to Delude the People.

| Misleading Reports Concerning Our
Exports and Imports of Gold-Try-
ing to De1ude the People.
The New York stock reports furnish
illustrations OF the methods by which
advantage is taken of every possible
opportunity to deceive and mislead the
public in regard to the exports and inn
ports of merchandise and money met
ais. The following statement is one of
multitude of similar statements
that have lately appeared in the Indi-
annapolis papers and elsewhere west,
and that have their origin in New
York city:
The country's net gold imports for the
fiscal year will exceed $100, ,000, 900, which
has never before been approached except
has been at the same time largely in
creased output of gold by the home mines,
the product for the present year being es-
timated at $50, 600, 600. The idea that the
government requirements for carrying on
the war would result in any Strfngency In
money rates has been entirely discarded
by financial authorities. With the heavy
expansion Of the gold currency and a con-
tinuing favorable trade balance, which is
added to by the falling off in foreign travel,
l. is natural that an era of higher prices and
industrial and speculative activity should
develop.
When the latest reports of the treas
ury department for the years 1867,
and particularly for the first four
months of 1898, are examined it is diff
fcult to avoid the conclusion that the
purpose of such statements as that
given above is dishonest. 1t is almost
Sro1,0cSihlo 10 ho1iona rot xuho
made this statement had not examined
the reports sufficiently to know that
1t was false Interpretation of them.
During the year 1867 we exported
in excess of all our importations, in
Merchandise 1851 81, 5S9
Total .......................... $74O.1l0, $50
During the same two years our en-
tire receipt of gold in excess of our ex-
portation was 6,218, $50.
This leaves balance of $694 ,492 900
of exports over our imports for the
two years, and for which the reports
show nothing whatever received in
exchange.
During the first four months of the
year 1898 we have exported in excess
of all our importations, in:
Merchandise .$194, ,0SO 674
Silver Observation-Disclosures. 67,02S, ,275
Total excess of exports. $261, ,053, $40
During the same four months we re-
ceived more gold than we exported to
an amount of $75,944,273. This shows,
during the four months, balance of
exports over all imports, counting
merchandise, silver and gold together,
of $1s5, 5,109, ,5T6.
1t is true that we received during the
two years an excess of gold amounting
to SAG 6,21s, 500; but to get this we sent
out of the country of our merchandise
and our money metals together $740,-
710, 800.
1t is true that during the first four
months of the year 1898 we have re-
ceived s75,944,273 more gold than we
eXported; but to get it, we, during the
same time, sent out of the country of
our merchandise and our silver $261,-
o53,S49.
Is this a condition over which we
can rejoice? Possibly we ought to be
glad that ii is no worse. The year
1888 is hesonly year since 1873 that
we nave SulSIcQ d 1OSS.
Since the wRr .~e ssnt out of the coun-
try more gold than we received by al
most $6Oo,O00, 900. In the year 1881, re-
ferred to in the report, the net loss
of money metals and merchandise was
about $15o,0OO,OOO. What kind of an
idea have the writer's of such reports,
If honest, of the favorable trade bal
ance" to which they so frequently re-
fer? Is it Favorable trade balance"
when we are annually shipping out of
the country such large quantities of
merchandise and money metals for
which we receive nothing whatever in
return? Do business men usually re-
gard it as an evidence of prosperity,
when they find on balancing their
books that for series of years they
have each year paid out more than
they have received? Would busi-
ness men be very likely to rejoice over
the success of his business, when, at
the end of four months, he took an
invoice and counted his money. if he
found he had parted with money and
merchandise to an amount of $261 ,053,-
$40 and only had SIS, ,944,273 to show for
it? Would he be likely to be any bet
ter satisfied with the showing because
the money he had on hand was in
gold? And yet this is the statement of
our foreign trade account, as shown
by the reports of the treasury de-
partment for the years 1867, and for
the first four months of 1898. It is
not favorable trade balance" It is
most unfavorable. A large exporta-
tion of our merchandise is not of much
value if we have nothing to show for
it but interest coupons. It is idle;
1t is worse than idle; it is dishonest to
attempt by such use of the reports
of the treasury department to make
the people of this country believe that
such excess of exports over imports in
dicates osperity-Flavius j. Van
Vorhis, in National Bimetallfst.
Intrinsic Value.
The value of money is, to use the
language of the great Nestor of money
science in the United States, John I.
Homes of Neyada-I am not quoting him