The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-10-07
1-so,-rH POLAR GOLD.


tory. The newsboys cried "Extrai" as
they had done a Thousand times for muir
ders. battles, fires, and Wall Street
panics. but nobody was excited. In fact,
the reports at first seemed so eXagger-
ated and improbable that hardly any
BODY believed a word of them. Who
could have been expected to credit a
despatch forwarded by cable from New
Zealand, and signed by an unknown
name which contained such statement
as this?
"A seam Of gold which can be cut with
a knife has been found within ten miles
of the South Pole"
The discovery of the pole itself had been
announced three years before and several
scientific parties were known to be ex-
ploring the remarkable continent that
surrounds it. But while the had sent
home many highly interesting reports,
there had been nothing to suggest the pos
sibility of such an amazing discovery as
that which was now announced. Accord
ingly, most sensible people looked upon
the New Zealand despatch as hoax.
But within a week, and from different
source flashed another despatch which
more than confirmed the first. 1t declared
that gold existed near the south pole in
practically unlimited quantity. Some
biologists said this accounted for the
greater depth of the Antarctic Ocean. 1t
had always been noticed that the Southern
Hemisphere appeared to be a little over
weighted.
People now began to prick up their ears
and many letters Of enquiry appeared in
the newspapers concerning the wonderful
tidings from the south. Some asked for
information about the shortest route to
the new gold fields.
In q little while several additional re-
ports came, some via New Zealand, others
via South America, and all confirming in
every respect what had been sent before.
Then a New York newspaper sent swift
steamer 20 the Antarctic, and when this
enterprising journal published four-pase
cable describing the discoveries in detail,
all doubt vanished and the rush began.
Seine tine l may undertake a descrip-
ton Of the wild scenes that occurred
when, at last. the inhabitants of the
Northern Hemisphere were convinced that
boundless stores of gold existed in the I'M
claimed and uninhabited wastes surround
ing the South Pole. But at present have
something more wonderful TO relate.
Let me briefly depict the situation.
For many years silver had been absent
from the coinage of the world. Its increas-
ing abundance rendered it unsuitable for
money, especially when contrasted with
gold. The silver craze" which had ragged
in the closing decade of the nineteenth
century was already a forgotten incident
of financial history. The gold standard
had become universal, and business all
over the earth had adjusted itself 20 that
condition The wheels of industry ran
smoothly. and there seemed TO be no pos
sibility OF any disturbance or interruption.
The common monetary system prevailing
in every land fostered trade and faeili-
tated the exchange of products. Travellers
never had TO bother their heads about the
currency Of money; any coin that passed
in New York would pass for its face value
in London, Paris. Berlin, Rome. Madrid,
St Petersburg, Constantinople, Cairo,
Khartoum. Jerusalem, Pekin, or Yeddo. 1t
was indeed the Golden Age" and the
world had never been SO free from fin
ancial storms.
Upon this peaceful scene the South
Polar gold discoveries burst like an IN
heralded tempest.
/ happened TO be in the company of a
famous bank president when the con-
firmation OF those discoveries suddenly
filed the streets with yelling newsboys
Get NE one of those 'extras!'" he
said, and an office boy ran cut to obey
him As he perused the sheet his face
darkeGed.
I'm afraid it's too true he said, at
length Yes. there seems to be no get
ting around it. Gold is going to be as
plentiful as iron. If there were not such
q flood OF il. we might manage. hut when
they begin to make trouser buttons out
Of the same metal that is now locked
and guarded in steel vaults, where VIII
be our standard OF worth? My dear fell
low" he continued, impulsively laying
his hand on my arm. II would as willing
~ face the end Of the world as this that !
comingi"
You think it so bad, them" I asked. I
But most people will not agree with |
YOU They viii regard it as very good 4
news"
How ran 1t be good?' he burst out.
What have we got to take the place of
gold? Can we go back to the age II bar
ter? Can We substitute cattle pens and /
wheat bins for the strong boxes of the |
treasury? Can commerce exist with no
common measure Of exehauge?"
1T does indeed look serious" l as
scented.
Serious. l tell you, it is the dsl.ge,''
Thereat he clapped on his hat and |
hurried across the street to the Office Of /
another celebrated banker
His prcmonitions of disaster turned I
out TO be but too we'll grounded The
deposits of gold at the South Pole were F..
richer than the widest reports had rep
resented them. The shipments of the /
precious metal to America and Europe /
soon became enormous-so enormous that I
the metal was no longer precious. The 4
price OF gold dropped like falling stone, |
with accelerated velocity and within a
year every money centre in the world
had been swept by panic. Gold was
more common than iron. Every Govern
ment was compelled to dcmonetize It, for
when once gold had fallen into contempt
IL was less valuable in the eyes of the
public than stamped paper. For once the
world had thoroughly learned the lesson /
that too much of good thing is worse I
than none Of it.
Then somebody found q new use for
gold by inventing process by which Il
could be hardened and tempered assum-
ing a wonderful toughness and elasticity
without losing its corrosive prop
erty, and in this form it rapidly took the
place OF steel.
In the mean time every effort was made
to bolster up credit. Endless were the
attempts to find q substitute for gold.
The chemists sought II in their labora-
tories. and the mineralogists in the
mountains and deserts. Platinum might
have served, but it. too. had become
drug in the market through the discovery
Of immense deposits. Out Of the twenty
odd elements, which had been rarer and
more valuable than gold. such as uran-
ium, gallium, etc, not one wGs found to
answer the purpose. In short, il was
evident that since both gold and silver
had become too abundant to serve any
longer for money standard, the planet
held no metal suitable to take their
place.
The entire monetary system of the world
must be readjusted, but in the readjust-
ment II was certain TO fail to pieces. In
fact il lad already fallen to pieeps. the