The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1914-08-20
THEIR GOLD HIDDEN
People of Europe Are Hoarders
of Immense Wealth.
Uneuessable Quantity Of Coin and
Bullion Buried in the Ground-Na-
tons War Chests Estimated
to Contain 100000, 900.

European authorities figured that
when the Balkan war began and there
was dread among the common people
OF Europe that a general war might
result, nearly $350,000000 in gold was
boarded in three countries in sums
ranging from a gold piece or two up
to tens of thousands of dollars. Aus
tria-Hungary was credited with hiding
away $150,OOO000, Germany $65,O0O,-
600 and France s130,0O0,000.
This was money which had been
traced into those countries just before
the Balkan hostilities began and after
war started. In addition to this vast
sum there was an unguessable guam
tity of gold already buried in the
ground.
Russia is believed to have tens OF
thousands Of hoarders of money. 1t is
utterly impossible to guess at the
amount of gold which the people Of
Russia have put into the ground or
into the cellars of their homes. The
sign of wealth would mean the COM
Ing Of the tax collector, and among
the men who look poor are owners Of
immense weight in gold
Vast sums Of gold and silver coin
have gone into Russia, which seldom
let's go of it. The great imperial war
chest has behind it, If the signs mean
anything, other sums in little war
chests-gold which the government
might draw out If It offered lands for
sale, or bonds the people would trust,
or opportunities in commerce hereto
fore denied them.
England has its hidden boards, no
one knows how large or how many,
but there is concealed in England
nothing like the amount that is hidden
in continental Europe, where foreign
armies have only to cross a surveyed
boundary line or little creek to raid
their enemies. Turkey, whose people
have been terrorized for ages, has
more lost boards than the world will
ever know about, because there the
boarding has gone on for ages, during
which armies have swung up and
down the denuded lands, tearing down
cities and destroying everything that
could give comfort OF sustenance to
an enemy.
Spain has millions of dollars in gold,
silver, pearls and gems buried and
lost in a thousand ancient castles,
monasteries and other public build.
ings. In the heyday of her glory
Spain imported countless millions Of
gold and silver from the Americas
and faithless officials made away with
great sums in bullion, hiding 1t away
and many of them never recovered
it.
India is the bottomless pit Of the
worlds gold In one year India i'm
ported S3O0,O00,OO0, and there has
never been a time, apparently, when
India was not importing gold, silver
and precious jewels. In the temples
of India there are said to be $780,
100000 in precious metal and precious
stones.
If the boards of Europe could be
tapped-if the hidden treasures of Eu.
ropean cities should be tapped b. in
vading armies-the possibilities OF
loot in jewels and precious metals are
beyond compute. But all the loot pos
sible would not compensate for the
hundreds of thousands of ounces Of
gold which must be paid each day for
army sustenance and equipment In
olden times wars paid for themselves,
reckoning from the viewpoint of the
victors. Wars were then for loot.
The war chests of Europe are sup
posed to contain about $4,000, 100000
in gold coin and bullion. What posi-
bilities of loot this indicates is in
some measure understandable when
one considers that this means about
$4,000 tons of yellow metal-and no
mention is made of the bushels OF dia-
monds, rubies, pearls and gems also
in peril.