Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-05-03
TREASURY GOLD FUND
LARGER THAN THAT OF ANY COUN-
TRY on EARTH.
Lesson for Advocates of Free silver
Proves Country is Unusually
Prosperous.

Officials of the Treasury Department are
much gratified over the unprecedentedly
magnificent showing which has been made
by the gold fund of the department dur
ing the past few weeks. There has been
such a steady climb in the sum total of
this fund that officials of the department
congratulate themselves upon holding the
largest gold reserve that any nation on
earth can now boast of.
In speaking of the subject today United
States Treasurer Roberts said to Star
reporter:
THE gold fund in the treasury now
amounts to sol .46>. This is made up
as follows: Reserve fund, slJ0Ho0. 900; held
against gold certificates, $2Ss Al $50 and
the general fund, So. n27lIo. This total in
cludes both coin and bullion and the aver
age fund held during the past month has
been the highest in the history of the gov
ernment.
Highest Figure Ever Reached.
THE highest figure ever attained by the
fund was reached on April n Of this year.
when the total reached the SOP, 49, 40
mark. The diminution since then has been
d little less than a million of dollars, and,
of course there is virtually no significance
in the drop. When it is considered that
six or seven years ago this fund amounted
to Il sum less than 5l0OHUuoD the exact
amount now held can be better appreciate
ell. When the fund was cbbing at that
time it was found necessary by the ma
tional administration to issue bonds to
stay the inroadS which were being made
upon it. due to demands for gold from the
money CcnterS. and it was not without in
v0lvfng the government in considerable
debt that the fund was maintained at the
lowest figure permissible
There is not country ON the face of
the earth which holds much gold in it's
treasury as the United States now has in
its Golfers. Russia. England. France and
other great money powers of Europe have
from time to time held amounts of COM
mensurate value in their treasures. but at
the present time we have any and all of
them beaten by "a large margin.
Lesson for Free SiIvcrites.
'What is to be deduced from these
markabla figures? In tho first place they
stcw that the revenues of the government
are being paid largely in gold and what is
Of much greater importance that that
metal is becoming more ard more the cur
rency of the nation as the amount in
creaSss ard is made part OF the assets of
the government. Here is a lesson to the
free silver advocates. The cry has all
along been that there was not enough gold
in the world to Justify the nations in
adopting the gold standard The figures
certainly justify the gold standard law
and prove that there is 4 sufficiency of the
Nt-i'" litldl " tbIHpi! with All the ue-
mands of national and International bust
ness. The figures likewise show that this
country holds by far the largest gold fund
in the world while at the same time i'm
porting Il good proportion of the metal
frcm abroad. 1t is true that the bulk of
the gold comes from the Cripple Creek re-
glOn. the klOndike and Alaska generally.
but at the same time Australia contributes
her share to our treasury. The figures
show that during the year ending June 20
1900. S4,I9,3n6 in gold was imported from
Australia, while during the eight months
ending February Is 1?p1. the sum of SIT
49, 'i'i came into the country from that
source. Thus it is shown that the fund is
not made up exclusively of our own prod
uct. but that goOdly share has come from
abroad.
Unusual Prosperity.
The most fOrcefui lesson which is taught
by the reserve, however, is the fact that
the country is enjoying an unusually
marked degree of prosperity. The gold
fund has come to be regarded as the baro-
meter of national business conditions
When it Gibbs business generally is found
to be III bad shape. and when it is on the
flood 1t is found that the business inter-
eStS of the country arc lit good shape Such
Is the reading at the present time The
more gold the more prosperity and in view
of the fact that the fund has reached its
highest point it is pretty safe to assume
that the business conditions now prevailing
occupy an unparalleled pOSit ion in the in
duStrIal history of the country. At present
there Is nothing to indicate that there will
be dIminUtiOn in this fund. From pres
ent Indications, indeed it is likely to main
tain its high figure for anindetinite period"