New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-11-10

America is taking from Europe what
Europe took from her. However the
cold that Spain got from America was
no. a blessing but . ruin to u. IL
nor.lvzed the creative spirit OF the
Standards. who thought that they ala
not need TO work and create anything
"a. for the easily obtained gold, tney
could purchase everything they needed
But tho easily got gold vanished from
Sn.In lust as fast as 1t had come
Though the Spaniards had been high
lv civilized nation, they fell behind the
rest OF Europe. -,
Tn. question is, will the loads OF
eold that we are getting from Europe
sffsct our national organism IN ths
same way as IL affected that OF SPAN
in tho sixteenth century?
The answer to that is That the
American racial character OF to-day
differs fundamentally from that OF a
Spaniard's in the sixteenth century; ana
the fact that the gold has ceased TO play
under present conditions Of industrial
ism the part that 1t played under inc
feudsl conditions. While spaniara
WAS and is still q dresmer, poet ana
fanatic, an American is = man OF action
a realist and very broadmindsd. Money
10 an American is not a subjective but
an objective thing. He likes to make
money. but more in the sport than re-
ligious spirit An American spends MS
money Just as effectively as he gets
II, as q medium Of gambling. Riches
or poverty to an American means an
entirely different thing from Whist they
mean 70 a European. In the former
case they are phenomena that belong
with a sport; In the latter they have
a metaphysical meaning. The Amerl.
can multimilionsire works just as hard
as an American pauper. Riches do not
affect American active spirit In any
psralysing sense, but stimulate 1t.
Gold has nowadays microscope
part Of that significance in the worlds
industrial affairs that il had in the six
teenth century. Though We do not rea-
lie Il, yet the fact Is that our modern
financial system Is based more on paper
than on gold, Take for instance Ger
many. It 10 isolated from the outside
world, yet It keeps on issuing paper
money, and that plays the same role
as gold. The whole world has no gold
to pay the debts that the European
nations have made during the war.
Should there happen a financial panic
after this war, you could not find one
tenth enough gold to pay the issued
bonds, paper money and other seeuri-
ties. We have come away from the
gold basis and are living on the paper
basis. We hardly sec cash, not to
speak Of gold coins. In few more dec
AIDES we will come to an era where
the equivalent Of our labor or energy
is entirely unrelated to gold and prob
ably will be nothing but a bank &C
count without cash. Considering the
monetary question from . deeper phil
osophic point of view, We find that the
money presents nothing but symbol
of our labor, anyhow.
The present war Is instrumental In
forcing the economic organism Of the
world into new channels, with new
labor symbols. Nobody can ever pay
the national debts of Europe, if these
were to be measured in gold values. 1t
will have to be done By paper that has
a more flexible quality. This leads hu-
manity to moro abstract devices. II
will be immsterial whether We hold
European paper or European gold. Prac-
tically we will hold only the SYM
bols, but not the things themselves
1t is only in holding the symbols of
such primitive countries like Russia
that the equivalents have a more solid
foundation.
We come thus to the conclusion that
the excess of gold that We may get
from Europe will have little bearing
upon our character and economic or
ganism. The American business man
will go TO Russia not with the idea OF
conquering Russia, but with the idea
of making more money out Of Russian
trade and having a wider field Of &C
tivity. Besides this there is toucn of
adventure, . touch of power and ro-
nance In the venture. Neither the
Russian nor other European gold that
comes to this country will ruin America
as a nation, because the Americans
transform it into concrete products of
their industrial energy and bring it
back TO these countries as a more alive
thing. The American influence upon
Europe will mean only stimulation of
the old body and strengthening the en-
terprising and adventurous spirit Of
the country itself.
IVAN NARDONY,
Secretary Russian American Asiatic
Corporation.
New York, Nov. 7, 1916.