The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-11-27
MORE GOLD.

Inc fundamental principle for which
Bryan and his followers contended IN III,
campaign of SO, was, that the country
was suffering from a scarcity of the cir
culating mediums, that an increase in the
currency would stimulate business and
produce better times. This principle in
itself is sound enough, and would be
readily admitted by those who fought
Bryan most bitterly They heartily
agreed with him on the fundamental
principle, but they had no faith in the
remedy he proposed, viz: the free coin
age Of silver.
To supply this demand for an increase
Of currency, various plans might have
been, and actually were, proposed, the
free coinage of silver was merely one Of
them But these plans all labored under
the common disadvantage of being ar
bitrary and artificial, and, therefore, the
people would have none of them, for they
feared that the remedy might prove
worse than the disease.
There was, however, one natural and
infallible remedy for the entire trouble.
but as it depended on source over which
nobody was supposed to have any control.
nobody suggested it, or, perhaps, even
thought of it as possible solution during
the entire campaign of 49, yet, as luck
would have it, it was from this very
1nof f1o
satisfied
The entire output of gold for the year
1896 amounted to $2O2, 100000 For 1899 it
amounted to $8o6, $780, 600, an increase of
$1O4, 259,OOo, or more than 50 per cent. Dur
ing the present year the Boer war re-
duced the production of the South Afri-
can mines from $SO,OOO,OOO to 100000 vet
the entire output of the world amounted
to $257, 100000.
For the coming year the prospects are
for another enormous increase in thu
gold output of the world, as 1t is esti-
mated that it will amount to 1865, COZ, 900
for the year, or $1,OQC,OO0 a day. The
gold fields of Cape Nome and KIondike
will yield more than ever and the mines
of the Transvaal will be in full opera
ton again, and for that reason the above
estimate does not seem at all extraya-
giant. The increase is not so much due
to new discoveries of gold mines as to
great improvements in extracting tho
metal, which has made it possible to re-
sumo at a. profit the operation of manv
abandoned mines.
1t was in this manner that the demand
for an increase in the currency was IN
expectedly met and supplied, and as long
as the demand continues to be adequate
ly supplied in this manner the silver
question will be a dead issue. 1t can
not be revived unless at some future
time the supply Of gold should again be
insufficient to meet the rapidly increas-
ing demands of commerce. Whether this
will ever happen, of course, no one can
tell beforehand
While the increase in the output OF
gold during recent years has been
enormous, there is every reason for sup
posing that it will continue to increase
at the same ratio for some time to
come. But at the same time the con-
slant increase in the commerce of the
world and in the consequent demand for
currency is equally enormous Immense
countries with countless millions of pop
ulation that were hitherto in a state of
isolated barbarism are rapidly taking
up their share in the commerce of the
world. Still at the present ratio of in
crease there is every reason to believe
that the output of gold will be sufficient
to meet all demands for an indefinite
time to come, and for that reason free
silver is not likely to play any important