The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-22
ACCUMULATION OF |. GOLD DURING 1916 WILL BE ENORMOUS Equivalent of Three Cords of Gold Stored in One
 New York Bank MILLIONS COMING
 ACROSS THE OCEAN Even With This State of Affairs America Is Absorbing a Ire
 medous Volume of Her
 Own Securities
By HOLLAND

By HOLLAND
 New York, December 21.-(Special) There is stored in one place in New York 1 gold valued at little over s1oo, 900 GOO, and yet so compact that if measured by cord measurement it would be found to oc- cupy a space substantially similar to the space occupied by three cords of wood l In other places in New York-the clear ing house vaults, for instance, and other vaults-gold whose aggregate value is millions of dollars is stored. Substan- l tial additions to these stores will be made every week, very likely, throughout the year 1916. No one seems to be willing to predict what the accumulation of gold in | bank vaults, clearing house vaults and the assay office will be in the year 1916, but some of the guesses put the figure as high as $1 100000 900. Until Europe, and especially England, began about 12 months ago to export gold to the United States i the authorities were accustomed to figure chiefly upon the output from our mines as the means of adding yearly to our stock of gold. This output has ranked for some years between 100000 and $s5,0OO- GOO.
 1 The relation of gold to these latter-day conditions in the United States, and also l to our maintained prestige as the worlds money center and an exporter of money capital in large amounts to other na- tions, constitute one of the most impor- tant chapters, at least from the point or view of men of finance, in the history or the European war, as that will be told after the war is ended.
 1 The other day one of those who are fla miliar with conditions in Austria spoke in terms of pity of France, deploring her 1 financial condition. This man is pro- l fessed admirer of the United States and
 very anxious that friendly relations be | maintained between this country and Aus
 tria He believes that we are we'll with in our rights, legally and morally, in sell ing supplies, whether they be munitions l of war or other commodities, to whoso- | ever offers to buy and is capable of pay | ing for them. Therefore, there could have been no false sentiment when he spoke of "poor France." intimating that that republic had reached the end of it's l financial resources But that remark was ] made before authoritative reports came from France which showed that the peo- ple had taken from their hoards of gold much of it hoarded at the time of the Balkan war two or three years ago-an amount of gold which made it possible for the Bank of France to report an &C., 4 cumulation of $1,oo0, ,oOo,o0o. or about 5,ooo,- i 00o,000 francs.
 I So also, Russia is reported to be accum- ulating gold and England has not de- pleted her gold supply, although possibly 8 considerable part of her new gold IS stored safely in other places than London South Africa, for instance. If, by and by, gold and financial strength are to be the decisive factors in securing peace, then the best authorities think that the allies particularly England, are better
 situated so far as this resource is con-
 cerned than are Germany and Austria.
 The impression in the financial district
 is that really Austro-Hungary is in
 sounder financial condition than Ger
 many And if Austria were to stand alone that empire might be in a better
 position than is possible if it be true that
 the great Bank of Germany has really taken control of the finances of Austria, , and has enumerated in it's report of the
 gold it holds substantially all of the gold in possession of the Bank of Austre-H Hun-
 gary.
 FOUR HUNDRED MILLIONS MORE
 Some of those competent to speak and who are influential in the financial dis
 trict are of the opinion that there may
 
 the United States from England in 1916. Sir George Paish, among the foremost of the financial authorities of Great Britain, r is reported to be of the opinion that as , much as that may come from England to the United States in part payment of purchases made in 1916. England, how ever. appears to be increasing her gold supplies. it being reported that the Bank of England increased its gold by a little over double the amount the bank held a
 year and @ half ago. This has been done, : toe, ill spite of the fact that England has been sending a steady and stupendous stream of gold to the United States dur ing the last 12 months.
 WHAT IT MEANS
 l The opinion commonly accepted in the 7 financial district as reasonable is that 3 the Europ an war will not be terminated 5 in the year 1916. In that year, we shall
 have presumably a net trade balance in
 favor of the United States of not less
 than $2.6o0,000,0 Many thinks the fig
 ures will reach as high as S3,000, ,000, ,0o0
 These commodities must be paid for , Pl ohably no small part of them will be liquidated by the use of American securi-
 ties heretofore held abroad. But gold in large amounts will also be utilized
 When, therefore, good understanding Is
 obtained of the manner in which our fed
 eral reserve system can mobilize and util.
 ize credit, this capacity, taken in connec-
 lion with the stupendous imports of gold
 is regarded as inevitably pointing not only l to vast increase in domestic business : in the United States, but also to a very large export cc American capital to other nations Cur own people will probably l have absorbed much the greater part o1 I American securities which have beer held abroad. No nation since interna tional trade was carried on upon a large U scale and bills of exchange were invented and afterward chiefly used in interna tional transactions has had such a record as the United States-in the opinion o . those who are competent to give gool