The Washington times., 1915-11-04
WORLDS TREASURE /.
Deposited IN INDIA
For Twenty-Five Centuries She
Has Gathered Gold and ST.
yer From All Nations.

The average person In thinking OF In
living in a state OF Arabian Nights mag
nificence. laden with jewels. and also
Of a land OF famines. crowded with
poor people living In the greatest sim
plicity. not to say poverty and distress.
1t is a country Of Arabian Night wonder
tales OF treasures OF gold and silver.
and the tales are all true. as well as
those OF famines. for India Ia the great
absorber of the precious metal of the
world, and 1t is boarded by rich and
poor alike.
From the latest commerce reports
comes a vast amount OF interesting In
formation concerning this absorption OF
treasure by this great country. India
is what two different writer's have called
respectively the great sink OF precious
the world" For twenty-five centuries
there has been q constant flow OF gold
and silver into India from the Western
nations. II has been one OF the un-
changing economic conditions Of the
world. and one which rulers OF different
lands. depleted for It. have tried in vair
to stop.
The concrete wealth OF India nas
reached enormous proportions. and has
amounted to fabulous sums. having the
HOst pO0SIoihtieb.
Bury Their Treasure.
Tho savings Of the people IN gold and
silver are put into beautiful Articles o,
adornment with which they refuse 10
part. The poorest Of them bury In the
ground savings in gold and silver and
even in time OF famine have refused tC
part with them.
India's hunger for gold has at times
been useful In eQualizing matters In
parts Of the world where she has alb.
sorbed surplus gold. She took the sur
plus from the gold mines worked by the
California. In the days OF the forty
miners. and the contemporaneous de-
velopments elsewhere. The absorption
OF gold by India and the Far East Al
that time saved Europe from a com
mercial revolution. a writer in 1855 de-
clared.
Complaints Of India's appetite 10,
gold began In the time of the Cartha
genians, who, In the, fourth century B
c., disposed OF gold they procured from
spain to that country. Piiiiy teiis o.
unavallinE protests made in the frs
year OF the Christian era Of exporta
tions OF the precious metal from thu
Roman empire. nearly Sl5ooD.o 900 Of 1
being sent annually to India. Queer
Eliza beth, in 1000. tried in vain to coun
teract the flow Of gold from her coun
try to India.
Basis For Credit.
Small inroads into this enormou
hoard OF treasure have been made un
| willingly in times Of famine. but a.
| long ago as 1864 a writer estimated tina
| the precious metals locked up In India
| In trinkets alone. amounted to 1900.
| 100000. Gold has been used through tn
IL ks, VNA
have used gems and paintings and OBJ
| tects OF art for the gorgeous ornamen
| tation OF public buildings and palaces
| Gold IL locked UP In the treasure
chambers OF the princes. 1t Is used al
basis OF credit for merchants ant
secreted It In hooks and crannies: a
| we'll as in the earth. have sometimes
died OF starvation rather tn par
with It.
One Of the most important mahara ja
OF India has cannon Of solid gold tina
chairs. tlbles and bed as well a
water jugs. Of silver and gold. 1t !
said that London bullion dealers hav
exquisi ely polished bars Of gold to sup
ply the wants of Indian princes. Al
classes in India are affected by thi
their savings In gold to anything else
Coins are converted into necklaces
bracelets. and anklets.
| Immense fortunes In India are II
Jewels. but there is no authoritativ
method OF computation OF the exten
| Gazetteer Of India described fifty year
ago a shawl of 'pearls. with an ara
besuue border of diamonds. rubies. sap
hires. and emeralds. valued at s, ,OOO. OK
There are tales Of carpets Of pearls an
great diamonds which have becom
world famous.
Statistics Interesting.
Estimates and statistics which sho'
| in detail how this vast amount Of treas
ure has reached India are interestins
BY the authentic records kept by tn
British government since 1895 It
shown that 81. 800. 100000 more OF gol
has gone into India than has come Out
In less than century $1,000, 10000 O
| the two precious metals has been ab
sorbed. and these figures show only
continuation OF movement going o
since the days of the Phoenicians. 1t
confidently stated that since the dis
covery Of America by Columbus, Indi
has absorbed one-fourth Of the wor:d
silver production. Clarmont Daniel.
on the statements OF the monctar
writer. A. Del Mar. estimates that I
the 300 wears between the middle Of tn
sixteenth and the middle Of the nine
teenth centuries the gold and silver In
ported by india from the West amour,
ed 70 81. 900 0OO. 900.
The annual imports OF trea sure in Ii
dia have been rapidly increas sing durir
the last twenty years. In the offici
year l9l2-l3 the net imports OF gold ar
silver coin and bullion were 1856, ,629, ,2S
In 1913-H they were Sl1S. .03S, ,4O7. In Jun
1911. 1t was reported before the Ea
Indian Association In London that I,
net imports OF gold alone In India sim
1870 were about 81 200 0oO. .oOQ or one-ten
CT the worlds production during tn
period. In the recent annual report
the Director Of the United States Mi
the worlds total gold production In Il
eleven years from 1900 to 1910. inclusiv
is given as $4.O37. .62l. 900. OF this Ind
absorbed s433 800, 900. For the fiscal ye
ended March 81, 1911. India took on
fourth OF the worlds net production
gold. making allowance for the amou
consumed In industrial arts. During Il
following twelve months more tn,
ve-seventeenths of the entire pr
duction of South African gold went
india, and John Grant Dater. the fina
"ial writer, predicts that through indu
trial development and expansion Ind
may yet absorb the entire Transva