The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-01-10
A STUDY IN GOLD.

A STUDY IN GOLD.
We are told that American trade is TIL
umphant-that it is spreading over the
earth like the reaching tendrfls of trop-
ical tree. We are also told that the pro-
duction of the precious metals In the
United States was never so large and
that it averages more than S130,e0),0,0 per
year. We are told that the balance Of
trade in our favor is upwards of $780, 900 900
per year. under Mckinley and the Repub
lican era of prosperity. We shall see
what we shall see when the next annual
report of the treasury department on the
commerce and navigation of the United
States is published. But. no matter what
the total balance in our favor may prove
to be on the whole foreign business done,
it is safe to say there will still be some
gold leaks some holes in the dam, that
will need to be stopped up We have been
shipping to Europe for the past fifty
years cotton to the annual value of from
$100 100000 to $3vv O00,0O0 ard still been I'M
ped to Europe breadstuffs to the annual
value of more than S2eO 100000 aud still
been unable to stop the gold leak. For
twenty years our shipments of mineral oils
have gone on increasing, growing in val
ue from 500 100000 to as high as $4,000 coo
annually, and still the gold leak has kept
on. We have produced as high as $780,
10000 per year in gold and silver, and still
been dependent On the money markets Of
London and Berlin for our circulating
medium, though less so now than ever
before. Where do the leaks come In:
In brave fashion we have been wont to
say that it was due to the extravagant
travelling habits of our people, who, we
brag, spend over a hundred millions a
year in Europe. With somewhat less
bravado, but some pride of resource, we
have dealt out another bagatelle Of $780,
Geo coo to $500, coo In dividends to Euro
pean bond and stockholders. But. since
English and German investors went so
heavily into South African gold mines,
there has been some curtailment Of the
last-named brag, for investors In both
those countries sold heavily of American
securities while the South African ex-
element WAS on. The slump in 'Amerl-
cans" was tremendous at the time, but
/ was. perhaps, profitable in the long run
to our people. There remain other heavy
and hidden drains, or the gigantic bal
ance Sheet in our favor for the past two
years would have put US beyond the most
far-reaching influence Of the London mar
ket, and it has been made patent within
the past thirty days that we are not yet
out of that tract of timber Where are
the drains?
When the next treasury report comes
out. perhaps we will be able to locate
them beyond doubt. For the present, let
us look at a fve-year period, inclusive of
Republican prosperity, 50 called. and
Democratic poverty, so condemned, for
what we can discover. Take the five-year
period of 1915, and go by the tables
In those five years the balance Of trade
in our favor, in all merchandise ship
ments and receipts to and from foreign
countries, was the handsome total of $751;
C7S,572. In the five years including 20 81,
the gold and silver production of the
country was s42S, 122 o0O. market values.
Put the two together, thus:
Exchange or trade balance in
London Observation-Disclosures. .S5S4, 6I5,5iG
Production of gold and silver. 423, 122.0 900
making a handsome business balance in
our favor Of over a billion dollars, assun-
ing that our total production of precious
metals might have gore into the channels
of currency But we know that there
was no such balance to be put to use in
trade in this country, and that there must
have been some hidden leaks, unless Eu-
ropean travel and European dividends
absorbed the whole of the billion. dollars.
/ which they might have done. Our mer
chandise trade with the nations of the
world for the five years named was as
| follows: