Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1900-08-09
THE GOLD STANDARD.
ALL COUNTRIES ARE RAPIDLY
ADOPTING IT.
Russia, Japan and India, with Their
Population of 465, 100000 People,
Have Fallen Into Line Since the
Campaign of 1896.


The currency question was so thor
oughly discussed in 1896, and the asser-
tons of the adherents Of silver as
standard money metal have been so
| thoroughly disproven by the events
since that date, that a detailed discus
sion of the question seems now unnec-
essay. 1t is not improper, however, to
call attention to some great facts which
account in some degree, at least, for the
course of the great nations in one by
! one abandoning the double. f1uctuating
standard and adopting the single and
now almost universal standard-gold.
The general movement among nations
for tue adoption Of the single gold stand
ard began about 1870 except in the case
| Of England, which took this action In
1916, and since that time all the natlons
OF tile world, excepting Mexico, China,
| Korea, Siam, Persia, and some or the
| smaller republics of Central and South
America, have adopted the single gold
| standard. Recent statements Indicate
that China is pushing for the introduc-
| ton of the gold standard in her Gus
| toms service This, if accomplished,
will doubtless be the initial step toward
sinilar action with reference to the
currency of that country. Consular
statements recently published indicate
that Siam is preparing to adopt the SIN
| gle gold standard. Even in the short
four years since the campaign of 1896
the gold standard has been adopted in
| JaYan, with population of 100000
| Russia, with a population of 12o,OOO,-
0Oc.. India. with population Of 30O,O OO,-
O0u. and several of the Central and
Solsh American republics.
In the three hundred and ffty-seven
| yeays prior to 1850 the gold production
| of the world averaged less than $1O,-
| 100000 per annum; in the fifty years
since 1850 the gold production of the
woyld has averaged $135, 100000 per an
mum, and in the year 1899 was $3l5,O0O,-
600. In the four closing years of the
ninsteenth century the gold production
villa be greater than that of the entire
l
year 1899 the gold production was as
great as that of the first th'rty-three
years of the century.
| This enormous increase in the pro-
ductton of gold as compared With that
of p:evious centuries began with the
| discovery of gold in California in 1S47,
followed by similar discoveries in Aus
tralia in 1853, then by later discoveries
| In Colorado few years later, then by
| the enormous discoveries in So2ath At
| RIGA. which have proved the greatest
| gold producing mines ever known, and
| within the past three years the great
| discoveries in Alaska. All these have
beep supplemented, and their results
| multiplied meantime, by the develop
| meg of new means OF extraction,
| threugh which mines formerly ahan-
| d0nsd as worthless again became val
uab.s. These discoveries and develop
| merits account for the fact that the
gold production Of the world in the last
| fifty years has been more than twice as
| great as that Of the preceding three
| hundred and fifty years.
| An consequence, the gold in exist
| ence to-day, accepting the statistics Of
such eminent statisticians as Tooke
Newmarch and Munhall and adding to
| these the later statements of the Direc-
| tor of the Mint, is more than three
| times as great as in 1850. During that
time the population has increased 90
per cent, being, according to equally
1 r41 4
1850 and 1,5OO,00O,OOO at the present
| time. This would give twice as much
| gold for each person to-day as in 1850.
In addition to this, however, Mulhall
| shows that two-thirds of the gold Of
| the world to-day is coined and used as
money, while in 1850 only one-third Of
the gold was coined. This again dou-
| ing, therefore, more than four times as
| much gold currency for each individual
| in the world to-day as in 1850.
| OF the worlds silver, according to the
same authority (MulhalD, 40 per cent
was coined in 1850 and SO per cent. in
1890.
Gold, unlike most commodities pro-
| queen, is IOT Inc lHOSL part retained
permanently-no eaten, or worn out,
/ or destroyed each years addition
| from the mines thus increases the
worlds permanent stock of the money
metal, excepting the small proportion
| which is used in the arts, which aver
ages, perhaps, Is to 20 per cent. of the
| worlds product. Keeping this in mind,
III. no 1.n% G H.
last half-century Of gold production in
the total amount mined is more than
twice as great as that in three hundred
and fifty years preceding, has enor-
moualy increased the worlds perma-
nent stock of this accepted money
metal, and seems Of itself to offer an
| important if not a complete. explana-
fior, IF fhn fact that duriuC holf