The Winslow mail., 1900-02-22
MONEY IN CIRCULATION.
How the Treasury Department Plies
Up Statistics to Make an Enor-
nous Showing.

canita in circulation the treasury de-
partment continues to count all the
gold ever coined as being still in bust
ness.
The last statement gives the total
circulation of all kinds at 1858, 716,-
148. of which S634,65O,733 is gold. This
includes all the gold from the begin
ming of the government which has
been sent out. No account is taken
of abrasion, of losses in fire or other
wise, or of gold hidden away and
never to be recovered. This cause
alone, in such length of time, would
account for the disappearance of
MANY millions of dollars which should
not do dummy duty in a treasury
statement. But even this does not
represent the total diversion from cir
culation of the precious metal. But
the other day we printed letter from
prominent Georgia dentist, III which
he drew attention to the enormous
consumption of gold coin by dentists
for the purposes of their trade. The
dentist, for instance, who does not
within one year melt up 20 of to hr
tOnDq Ipt !1Il 2 Esf Ass5s:f 5ss5s:f
dentists use that much, and that one
with anv pretensions to business uses
that much in month, rather than IN
year. Taking the rate OF S1OO to
each dentist for the year, with $4,000
at work. accounts for the retirement
in tPU
years. 1t is not exaggeration to say
that within the past 30 years since
1870 500, 900, 900 of gold coin has
gone the way of the Dentist to which
may be safely added as much more
for other art purposes.
Again, the paper money circulation
is equally as misleading as that of
gold. The government still counts as
in circulation the shinplasters of the
war period which have never been
returned, and never will be now. The
loss which is shown to have resulted
from the wearing out or destruction
of those notes applies equally well
to all other paper money, but it is
impossible to settle upon figure to
represent it.
The showing made for silver in cir
culation, $542, 81, ,143 in the aggregate.
shows that the forced coinage of it
under the leadership of Mr.. Bland
and Others since 1878, has been the
saving feature of the situation. 1t is
safe to say that of the $1,963, ,716,148
of money of all kinds which has been
minted or engraved, almost one
third of it has disappeared under the
circumstances stated. This would
leave in circulation but a trifle over
100000, of which almost one
half is silver, almost all of which
bears mint impress since 1878. This
represents the contribution to cir
culation forced by democratic agita-
ton, and which was carried into eff
feet by the various administrations
under the lashings of the congress
sional whip. Without the Blandism Of
1878 the money circulation of to-day.
of the republican party, would be
about $7O0, 900. Truly a magnifi-
cent showing upon which to ask the
country to go upon a gold basis.
Even now, while congress is discus
sing the feasibility of adopting the
gold standard, under advice of Mr..
Mckinley, who voted ten years ago fol-
paying the creditors of the govern
ment in silver, the business men OF
New York are clamoring for financial
relief, and are looking to the secre-
tary of the treasury to dump more
gold in their midst by the redemp-
ton at high premium of bonds not
yet due. While the secretary will
thus be engaged in the benevolent
work of relieving stringency in one
city, the money with which he is tc
do it is being gathered in every other
city by bank and telegraph stamps
invading every circle with the revenue
collector.
Congress may pass what resolutions
it likes, but the people who have to
pay their taxes in order to relieve one
little group Of business men will not
accept the settlement, but will keep
up the fight until our financial system
is placed upon natural basis as be-
ing better than one which is proved
artificial.-Atlanta Constitution.