The times., 1899-10-31
A NotnhIc GoId Argnment.

I
Notable Gold Argument.
According to data collected by DR..
Adolph Soetbeer and the Director of the
United States Mint, the total production
of gold from 1893 to 1899 has been 50. 9.S33,-
059 600. OF this vast sum. it is stated that
more than one-half has been produced
since 1860, and more than one-fourth since
1885. The output for the current year, al
/ lowing for suspension OF work in the
/ Transvaal during the closing quarter, is
estimated at 1925 COO, 900. As production,
including the Rand district, amounted in
1898 to $2S7. .42S 500, the official forecast is
] probably excessive.
I The statement covering the above re-
suits, which has been issued by the Treas
ury Bureau OF Statistics, is peculiarly in
terestng at this time, as undoubtedly it is
the intention of the Administration to use
its figures as an argument in favor of the
formal establishment of gold as the single
money standard of the United States by
Congressional legislation next winter. 1t
/ viii be asserted by the monometallists, who
will represent the Hanna political and the
syndicates. that the record, which shows
doubling Of the worlds stock of gold in
thirty-nine years, is sufficient to prove that
we must have enough of the yellow metal
/ for all purposes at the present time.
/ If all people knew and realized what
/ limited number do, it would be a sufficient
4 answer TO such a claim to say that if it
] Df +ha
world would not now be striving for a final
/ fixing Of the monometallic standard by law,
/ but would be struggling for the demoneti-
I zation Of gold, a measure they proposed in
4 1859, when the enormous production of
! California and Australia for a series OF
/ years appeared to them 10 threaten pie
/ thora OF gold in comparison with silver
| People who deal in money always want the
/ metallic standard something the supply Of
/ which shall always be far short of the le-
| gitimate demand. As long as we find the
| Rothschilds and their kind shouting ana
/ working for gold, we may be absolutely
sure that it is in no danger Of becoming
plentiful enough TO menace their control OF
+ labor, enterprise and the price of every
necessary Of life.
As at this time we are without access to
data explanatory of the Soetbeer and mint
figures. We can only caution readers that
+ If taken at their ostensible face value they
are certain 10 be misleading. No one can
! say with any approximation to accuracy
how much Of the nearly ten billion dollars
/ in value of gold said TO have been pro-
duced since 1893 is now in existence and
available for use. Some idea may be gath
cred from estimates made by various
economists five years ago on the status Of
the subject at that time, but we have not
the figures presently at hand, Vast amounts
Of treasure in money, ingots, and jewelry
/ have gone to the bottom of the sea in the
I ages covered by the statement Earth
/ Quakes and the miser's instinct have buried
/ other great quantities. During the present
century a not inconsiderable gold value has
found its way to the grave as a result OF
modern dentistry. Enormous sums have
annually gone into the concealed hordes of
Asiatic and other Eastern princes and po-
tentates, and thus have passed out of use
full existence as far as The uses OF civilized
communities are concerned, and an impor-
tant part Of the yearly production has reg
ularly been absorbed by the arts. How
much is to some extent a matter Of CON
lecture, but on the authority of leading
economists, eight or nine years ago, it
might have been then in the neighborhood
Of $780, 600 annually Assuming that
basis as probably near the truth, the deduc-
ton from the gross sum Of present yearly
production for use in the arts ought to be
( greater, since there is greater prosperity
and larger aggregate investments in ar
tIcles OF luxury.
It viii be seen that nothing like a
volume Of the metal equal TO its total pro-
duction within historical time, is available
for use as money. To say that we should
cut II in half, while couceding that half
Of the whole has been contributed by
nature 10 the mass since 1860, would doubt
less be far too conservative. Having cut
down the total one-Lalf-or more or less
as the taste or knowledge Of the calculator
may dictate-there is stIl q factor not at
all negligible which must be taken into
account before we can begin TO figure how
much gold is or is likely to be included in
the money volume available for use as
currency. From whatever whole we may
have conceived after estimating destruc-
lion. loss. burial. disappearance in partibus
fnddellum absorption in the arts, and
so on. we must substract the public and
private boards Of the Governments and
rulers of the European States, great and
small A huge quantity Of gold lies dead
! ia The world I'm tbe military chests of
Russia. Germany Austria, and other ma
tions. It is the policy cf monarchs and
smaller fry in these troublous days. to
maintain a substantial private gold reserve,
and their example is followed by mobiles
and even private persons in the less stable
countries.
All these allowances must lie provided
eor !n any auempt 10 arrive at an intelIi-