The Indianapolis journal., 1902-08-31
In UNCLE SANS TREASURY
TREMENDOUS PILE OF GOLD COIN
AND BULLION STORED THERE.
An UnthinkabIy Vast Sum of Money
More than Was Ever Owned by
Any Nation.
Washington Star.


up into money in the entire world.
To quote the official figures correctly,
there is now in the United States dncluding
treasury coin and bullion) one thousand
two hundred millions of gold money. where
as the worlds entire stock of gold money
is worth less than five thousand millions
(S4,9O6 10000, according to the latest fig
ures) New York fnanciers believe Uncle
Sans figures as to his gold money are
shy, and that in truth the amount of gold
money in the country is close to S1,25OOo0
D0-a billion and a quarter-while all the
rest of the world possesses less than sS,-
100000. This is a larger sum Of coined
gold than has ever been possessed by
single nation in the history of the world.
Next to the United States, according TO
the latest reports, comes France, with $SlO,-
100000, followed by the British Empire, with
s76s, 700, 900; Russia, with s7243O0,0OO, and
Germany, with s721, 300, 600. So far coined
gold is concerned, it will be observed, the
United States is in a class by itself.
The British Empire is second in the sec
ond class, but Great Britain proper is last,
it's store Of coined gold amounting only to
s511 ,000 All other peoples are so far be-
hind in the race as not to be eligible even
for the second class. Austria Hungary
leads the third class, with about $3.50, 100000
but even at that the great empire is very
poor in gold money, relatively as well as
actually, for her gold supply amounts to
less than $3.50 per capita for her population
Of 100000 souls. Uncle Sans children
have nearly s16 in gold apiece, which is
less than the citizens of the French repub-
lie, for each of whom there is a little more
than s21 Of gold coin head. Germany
comes third in the per capita computation,
the figures being s12s1. Great Britain's be-
ing sl234. and that OF Russia, with her
enormous population of 12S, O0,NO, only
1854. The per capita figure for the entire
British Empire is shade under 500, that
for India's enormous horde Of 297 100000 be-
ing only Is cents. Here, as in most other
things, the British Empire exhibits the
most astonishing extremes, for there are
parts thereof where the per capita of coined
gold is in great excess; in Australasia, Tor
instance, there is s24.26 in coined money for
every man, woman and child. At one time
the South African Republic led TINS, with
per capita figures of s26.3 but now Austria
lasia is the highest. Canada's per capita
is a few cents in excess of S3.
But these per capita figures or coined
gold should not be taken as indicative
either of a country's actual wealth or the
per capita of money in circulation. Inc
total amount Of money of all sorts In the
United States is rising of $500 100000 or
more than SIS for every cluzen OF Oncle
Sam, about double the per caipta OF gold
In Australia, where the gold per capita
is highest, there is little money circulation
at all except that made from the precious
yellow metal; in India the great prepon-
derance is in silver, and this is true In even
greater degree in China.
STAGGERING FIGURES.
prehend the meaning of figures as stupen-
dous as those which are needed to express
the present wealth of this country in coined
gold. 1t would take laborer earning a
dollar day 49, $50 years to earn billion
and a quarter of dollars, but at that he
would have to have the longevity of more
than 1900 Methuselahs. If the money had
to be earned by days work it would be bet
ter to put 1866 laborers at it for a single
year.
Reduced TO avordupois, the 1,250,00O 900
of gold dollars now in this country would
represent 100000 pounds, or $500 short tons
Of 1000 pounds each. Packed away as as
Uncle Sam packs away his gold in the
treasury at Washington and in the various
subtreasuries, ii would fill $500 strong
boxes each twenty-one by eighteen by
twenty-foor inches in size, inside measure
ment, and containing six cubic feet Piled
up, the gold coin thus accumulated would
make a heap containing 1900 cubic feet; a
bar of gold containing 81 ,25O,OOO,OW worth of
precious metal would be five feet square
and 300 feet long; erected into an auriferous
monument 1t would be highly imposing
sight, and would make no mean showing
beside the Washington monument itself.
albeit of about 200 feet less altitude than
that patriotic structure.
At two tons to the million, Ii would take
$500 teams, or 5000 horses, to haul this un-
thinkable mass of coined treasure over the
average roads of the country. Fixing fifty
pounds as the proper load for the average
man to carry any distance, 1t would re-
quire an army of 100000 to pack the stuff.
In ranks of twelve moving in fairly open
order this army of gold bearers would
about the length Of Broadway on the Island
of Manhattan.
There is little danger that the yellow
specie OF the great Republic Will be looted
and carried away 'by hand"
WHAT OUR GOLD WOULD BUY.
One thousand two hundred and fifty mil
lions OF dollars would buy an enormous
amount of merchandise, and would pay the
expenses of no end of wars or merry MAX
ing. few weeks ago, before it could be
foreseen that the coronation of King Ed
ward VII would be postponed by royal ILL
ness, 1t was estimated that the total cost
Of the ceremonies to government and
English people would be not far from
Uncle Sans stock of coined gold would
foot the bill for 179 coronations and leave
some millions over.
A billion and a quarter dollars would
build eighty Brooklyn bridges. 1t would
build, equip and put in commission more
than 400 great battleships. 1t would prob
ably suffice to buy the whole British navy,
providing that aggregation of marine fight
ing machines could be purchased at any
thing like a fair valuation. AT q million
dollars a day. the approximate cost of the
civil war, the coined gold now in the coun-
try would wage a war for more than three
years and four months.
Comparison of the quantity of coined
gold in the country with the value of some
OF the cOuntry's staple products is some
what startling. For instance, in round
numbers the output of coal. both soft and
hard, in 1901. was 1922 000. 600. of pig iron
more than $3.50 OO0, 600, of silver more than
$3.50 600. of corn, wheat and oats nearly
$209 000. 600, of butter and cheese more than
1884 600 600. Yet the billion and a quarter
of coined gold now in the United States
would buy all these products and leave
a trining matter of $27.S ,S57 as nest egg
100000 or so. 1t would build $500 miles of
railroad at $4,000 a mile, nearly a third
of all the railroad mileage now in the
United States.
But II is when the purchasing power of a
thousand and a quarter millions of gold
/ dollars as applied to pie is considered that
/ the ordinary mind may come nearest 10
/ graphing with the real meaning of such a
\ vast sum. Good, fair pies can be bought
/ for 10 cents apiece, and thus the coined gold
| now in the country would buy twelve bill
/ lions and five hundred millions of pies The
square surface covered by pies varies, but
] fifty square inches for each would not be
far ont Of the way. allowing for the waste