Daily Arizona silver belt., 1907-08-01
STOCK OF GOLD
 IN UNITED STATES

iutticstilS Q O'AHHudTy OI dUlu III Iilis
 Country as Traced by Director of the
 Mint, George E. Roborts-An Amaz-
 ing Mass of Statistical Facts. By Associated Press.
 WASHINGTON, D. C., July 3l.--I The retiring director of the mint, George E. Roberts, has been for mum Der of years conducting an inquiry for the purpose of verifying the treasury estimates of the stock of gold in the United States, or of tracing errors therein, and today gave out the follow ing summary of his conclusions:
 For number of years the treasury estimates of the stock of gold in the United States have been questioned by competent students, who have believed them to be high. The amounts reported to be in the treasury and in the na- tional banks are not disputed, but the large residue assumed to be in other banks and in circulation is considered a doubtful quantity. For example, the estimate for June 30, 1906, was as fol lows:
 United States treasury ..........$ $S04 ,340, ,l35 National banks .........-.....,..... l1S,5l3,28l National banks by clearing house certificates ....-.... 69, 9,l97 900 Other banks and in circula- tinu AS0 OLA -OQ Total AZ, ,995 ,209 The report of the comptroller of the currency for 1906 shows that state and other banks not in the national sys- tenn reported to him as holding on that date total of $54 ,397 ,6s1 in unclassi- fed "cash," and $7,027,629 in "spe- cie. |" Allowing the usual percentage of this to be gold and making some fur ther allowance for private banks not responding to the comptroller 8 unoffi- eial inquiry, $l00,000,000 is considered fair estimate for the gold coin in banking institutions other than na- tional.
 The laws of the state of California require the monies of the state, county and municipal governments to be kept in the immdiate custody of the treasur- CTS, and this is held to mean that the cash must be in the vaults of their offices instead of on deposit in banks. The aggregate amount of gold coin so held in the state of California on tho Erot Man1axy .n Inlx 10lE s20, ,l5l ,409. These are the only large holdings of gold of which there is def mite knowledge.
 The total, therefore, of gold which may be said to have been in sight in this country on June 30, 1906, was $l, ,1l2,2 2,20l, 1925, leaving $360, ,793,3s4 to be considered Gin other banks and in circulation. For this last item it is evident there can be no exact figures. The sum total is arrived at by the method dseribed below, and after the analysis above given is made the re. mainder is assigned to the unknown holdings.
 | ' The treasury estimate dates from June 30, 1873, when Dr. Henry R. Lin derman, director of the mint, estimated the total stock of the country at $l3J,- | 100000. The conditions then were fa- vorable to q close estimate. The coun- try was on a paper basis, and the stock of gold comparatively small. Dr. Lin derman in framing his estimate, said that he had taken the amounts in the treasury and national banks and added an allowance of $20,O00,000 for the amount in circulation on the Pacific coast and $10,OO0,O0O for the holdings of the public in other parts of the country.
 Since 1873 the coinage of the hints and the imports of of United States coin have been regularly added and the ex- ports of United States coin and an al- lOwance for the amount consumed in- dustrially have been regularly deducted By this method the estimate had been built up from year to year to the table used.
 Il The possible sources of error, as these estimates are carried along, are three, to wit:
 lst. Errors in custom house returns of coin imports and exports.
 2d. Errors in estimating the indus trial consumption.
 Sd. The unrecorded movement of coin in and out of the country in the immediate possession of travellers. It is evident that if errors under these heads should be cumulative they would become important in long term of years, even though inconsiderable in any single year. Whatever errors oc- cured would affect the amount assigned to "other banks and in circulation, the sums in the treasury and national banks being definite and official. Among the most intelligent and well informed of the critics has been Mau. rice l.. Muhleman, for many years an official of the treasury department. He has several times reviewed the esti mates and given cogent reasons for believing them too high. The director of the mint has been satisfied for sev' eral years that errors had crept into the estimates, but has preferred not to an