Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-19
specie of the great republic will be loot.f
and carried away by hand"
What Our Gold Would BUY.

"A@t Vux 0ol0 Woulo BUY.
One thousand two hundred and nfty mil.
lions Of collars would buy an, enormous
amount of merchandise. and would pay tho
expenses OF no end OF wars or merry-mak-
Ing. few weeks ago, before It could be-
foreseen that the coronation Of King Ed
ward VII would be postponed by a royal III
ness, 1t was estimated that the total cost
OF the ceremonies TO government and En-
giish people would be not far from $1,000
e g.. Al that price Tor such publications Uncle
sam stock of coined gold would foot the
millions over
A billion and quarter dollars would build
eighty Brooklyn bridges. II would build
equip and put in commission more than 400
great battle ships. IL would probably suf-
nee to buy the whole British navy, provid-
Ing that aggregation Of marine fighting ma
chimes could be purchased at ANYTHING like
fair valuation. At a million dollars a dav.
the approximate cost OF the civil war the
coined gold now In the country would wage
war for more than three years and four
months.
Comparison OF the quantity Of coined god
IN the country with the value of some Of
me conntrys staple products is somewhat
starting For instance. in round numbers
the output of coal, both soft and hard in
l9ol was three hundred and twenty-two
milllons, OF pigiron more than two hundred
ana nfty millions. OF silver more than thir-
ty-six millions, Of crude petroleum more
IMAM seVenty-five millions. of corn wheat
and oats nearly two hundred and nine mill
Mons OF butter and cheese more than three
hundred and eighty-four millions Yet the
Dillon and quarter of coined gold now in
the United States would buy all these pro-
ducts and leave trifiing matter of So7 NJ
90 as nest egg around which 10 accumu-
late another twelve hundred millions or so.
II would build 625oo miles Of railroad at
S-o,"" mile, nearly a third of all tha
railroad mileage now in the United States.
Thousands Of Acres of Pie.
But IT is when the purchasing power OF a
thousand and quarter millions of .o,d
collars as applied to pie is considered that
the ordinary mind may come nearest to
graphing with the real meaning of such a
vast sum. Good fair pies can be bought
Tor 10 cents apiece. and thus the coined gold
now In the country would buy twelve bill
lions and five hundred millions of pies. Tho
square surface covered by pies varies, but
fifty square inches for each would not Ice
FAR out of the way, allowing for the waste
room that would have to be allowed for
supposing the pies are round. On this basis
the gold coin in circulation in Uncle Sans
dominions would buy pies enough to cover
at least 1900 acres Of land How many
pie bakers 1t would take to bake thhs enar-
NOUS aggregation of toothsomeness in one
day is matter for conjecture only.
Yet all this gold could be packed into A.
very small space, relatively speaking Made
into pile forty feet square. # would he
only little more than nine feet high, and
full cargo for any one OF several of the
great ocean liners now blowing :he Atlantic
ocean, though 1t would build hundreds OF
them.
Food for Serious Thought.
All in all. good Americans may well be
proud of the magnificent showing our god
coin enables us to make before the world,
yet there is another and more serious
aspect of the situation to be considered
an aspect. by the way. that thoughtful men
are examining with much gravity VIII
the presence of so much gold IN the country
produce the apparently logical result OF
permanently holding up the price OF all
things eatable by reason of its own COM
parative cheapness? Some economic phil
osophers declare that It will beyond the
shadow of a doubt. In time they say there
Will also be general uplifting of the scale
of wages, but not until 1t is settled whether
the present plenitude of the yellow metal is
permanent OF not Naturally. in the mean
time the man who works will have increas-
ed problems to meet.
On the other hand plenitude OF gold VIII
mean lively circulation, and that will mean
continuance of the present good times
for a considerable period to come And il
the prophets speak wisely, the present un-
exampled quantity of coined gold in this
country is only forerunner of the future.
Unless all signs fail. say they. the day is
not far distant when We shall have two
thousand millions instead o. a thousand
and quarter millions Of gold coin in our
land.