The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1900-01-19
The Currency Question.
MONEY IN CIRCULATION.
uow the Treasury Department Piles
In statistics to Make an Enor-
NOUS showing.

NOUS snoWin0s
In order 10 build up a large per
rapita in circulation the treasury de-
partment continues to count all the
gold ever coined as being still in busl-
ness.
The last statement gives the total
circulation of all kinds at $l,963,1lo,-
las. of which s634,650.7 1873 is gold. This
includes all the gold from the begin
ming Of the government which mas
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. inns Gauss
alone, in such length of time, wouid
account for the disappearance OF
many millions of dollars which should
not do dummy duty in 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 rom
n prominent Georgia dentist, In wh'ch
he drew attention to the enormous
CONSUMPTION of gold coin by dentists
for the purposes of their trade. The
L.
within one year melt up 20 five-dollar
gold pieces for findings is not TO be
found. The fact is that the poorest
dentists use that much, and that one
with any pretensions To business uses
that much in month, rather than IN
a wear. Taking the rate or $lo0 TO
each dentist for the year, with 3o,oUo
at work. accounts for the retirement
of $4,000, 900. or s30,00o,0oo in ten
. wears. 1t is not exaggeration to say
that within the past 80 years since
1870 500, 100000 of gold coin has
zone the way of the dentist, TO which
NAV be safely added as much more
for other art purposes.
Again. the paper money circulation
Is equally as misleading as that OF
: cold. The government still counts as
: in circulation the shinplasters OF the
Z war period which have never been
: returned. and never viii be now. The
loss which Is shown to have resulted
from the wearing out or destruction
: Of those notes applies equally wei
!, to all other paper money, but It II
q impossible to settle upon figure u
- represent it.
The showing made for silver In CIR
: culation, S542, 511,143 in the aggregate
y shows that the forced coinage or !
e under the leadership of Mr.. Blanc
= and others since 1873, has been tn
= saving feature of the situation. IL
II safe to say that of the $l,963,7l6,l4
D. of money of all kinds which has bee
e. minted or engraved. almost one
"a third of it has disappeared under Tn
circums tances stated. This woui
!" leave in circulation but tribe owe
y 81 100000 600, of which almost ont
half is silver. almost all OF VINE
N bears a mint impress since 1873. IN
as represents the contribution 10 ca
IN culation forced by democratic ag1t'
ton. and which was carried into e
ot feet by the various administration
10 nrder the lashings of the congre
III sional whip. without the Blandism
y ISIS the money circulation of to-da
81 which would be to the logical cred
ca of the republican party, would
81 about 100000 600. Truly magni
II cent showing upon which TO ask u
lai country to go upon a gold basis.
ne Even now. while congress is discu
Ivy sing The feasibility of adopting q
I'm gold standard. under advice Of NJ
M Mckinley, who voted ten years ago I
OF paving the creditors of the COVER
he nent in silver. the business men
New York are clamoring for financl
ne relief and are looking to the sec'
'ir- tary of the treasury TO dump mo
ms rold in their midst by the REDEEM
icy ton at a high premium of bonds II
iey vet due. While the secretary
OF thus be engaged in the benevole
as work of relieving stringency in o
an city, the money with which he is
po- do IL is being gathered in every OIL
ret city by bank and telegraph STAN
:. invading every circle with the reven
ohe collector.
ess Congress may pass what resoluti6
TO II likes. bat the people who have
Tor nav their taxes in ordcr TO relieve
Il little group of business men viii
\. accept the settlement. but will k
up the fight until our financial syst
is placed upon a natural basis as
ing better than one which is pro
ca. artiicial.-Atlanta Constitution.
Al