The age-herald., 1899-01-07
WORLDS OUTPUT OF
 GOLD AND SILVER

Correspondence of the St Louis Republic.
 Washington.-A gold production Of 1898 even larger than has been indicated by ear- Her figures is shown by the preliminary re- ports which are reaching Mint Director Roberts The total production of the world will not fall far short of $500, 600 900. and the United States will contribute S67Ooo 900 of this great amount.
 The year has witnessed great gains in all the leading gold-producing countries The production of the United States will in- crease S10000,000, that of Australia about S1O0OO,OO0, that of South Africa S22, 900 900, hat of the Klondike region So 100000, and Mexico and Russia will afford some in- crease The reports from the different parts or the United States are now being received at the mint bureau,and puts Colorado a the head of the gold-producing commonwealths. The Colorado people are claiming a produc- tion for 1888 of S27 ,GOo,0t0, as compared with si9 200 in 1897. The reports to the mint bureau are more conservative but put the total production at S24 300 ,OO0. California, where it was feared that loss would be caused by the drought, will maintain her production of 1897, which was $14,61S,SOo Considerable gains will be shown by other
 
 total of $67,OOO,O0O which is indicated by the preliminary returns.
 qhe figures from South Africa show phenomenal production of the yellow metal Nearly every month of last year showed an increase over the preceding month The official figures to the close of November showed a production valued above fourteen million pounds sterling and reports for De- .nr ,l,ari iFli k,f t. vious records. The reports from Australia are of similar character, but the increase is not quite so large a percentage of the previous product
 The estimated production of the Klondike iregon is about $l5,0JO,00O, with the prospect that a much larger amount of gold will be brought to the hints and assay offices next summer as the result of the work this win- ter.
 Official figures have not yet been received from Russia but an increase in the Lena valley as well in the Ural mountains is confidently expected
 The increase in production already defin- itely ascertained will carry the total for the year to about $290,000 GOO, and further small increases will carry it close to $30O- 100000 If $60 0,000000 is required for the arts there will remain $240, GOO, 900 to be added to the worlds supply of gold money. This amount is about per cent. of the whole
  would require only 20 years at this rate to double the existing stock and upon the basis of the available gold money in 1893, the supply then existing will De nearly doubled In ten years from the present time or within fifteen years from 1893. The pres ent supply of gold money produced annu- ally Is more than double the supply of both gold and silver available for use as money only a few years ago. The gold produce tion of 1886 was $106, 300, and the silver production at the coining value, was $120,- 626,S0O The aggregate of production of both metals less than the gold pro- duction for 1898, and with the deduction of $1000OO,00O for the arts, the amount left for monetary uses was only $126, 100000, or rot much more than half of the gold alone wh ch is now available The gold then available for monetary uses was less than O00 or considerably less than a third of the amount now covered annally into the worlds gold monetary system.
 Gold has been presented so rapidly at the hints during the past year that active work has been required to coin it into money. The treasury now holds gold bullion to the amount of $142 074, ,SS9 against coin holdings of only s139, ,654.545 The gold coinage executed during 1898 was $77 1885, 757 of which s54,912900 was in double eagles, SO,154, ,175 in half eagles, and s6O412 in quar- ter eagles. Mint Director Roberts would like to reduce the accumulation of un-
 
 which are most convenient for large trans- actions.
 Treasurer Roberts, on the other hand, de- sires to increase the supply of gold money n the pockets of the people, and favors the coinage of smaller pieces. The coinage of the smaller pieces imposes more work upon the hints to produce a given value of money and additional mint facilities are likely to be required to keep pace with the work. There has been recently great de- mand for subsid 'ary silver. which has kept the hints working on full time and divert ed them from gold coinage.
 The value of silver coined during 1898 was nearly a third the value of the gold coin age, and the number of pieces was nine times as great. The whole number of silver pieces coined was 54,75S,5e9, having a face value of $23 O34 033, of which ,735 was in standard silver dollars, $3, ,094 642 was in half dollars S3 497, ,332 in quarters and s2.015,- S24 in dimes The coinage of the dimes re- quired the greatest number of pieces, rep resenting 2O,153,242 coins, compared with 13 9s9, ,327 quarters and 2S5 halves. The coinage of standard silver dollars during December under the requirements of the new revenue law was $2. .006 260. The revenue law required the coinage of one and a half million dollars per month, but 1t was im- possible to execute the full coinage during July and August, and an increase has been made in later months. The seigniorage up- on this coinage goes into the treasury, but is included in the number of dollars coined. The entire number of dollars to be coined is about $40 000 900, which will require lit- tie less than eight years. The present value of the bullion held under the Sherman law at the cost price is now s91. 320. 434, and the price paid was about two-thirds of the coin- age value. The Sherman notes had been canceled when redeemed in silver, so that the original amount of S155, ,000, 900 has been reduced to $96 523. 2s0.
 SNUFF-DIPPING AMONG THE 400 New York Letter in Pittsburg Dispatch