The Alaska daily empire., 1919-05-23

NO one expects the general level of wages to ever recede to the pre- war level, and as a necessary corol- lary to this fact all things which are in whole, or in part, the products ing, will remain somewhat higher than the pre-war level, and as the margin of pre-war profit per ton on the low grade gold ores was very small, indeed, this added cost to mining. freight, and treatment, would be amply sufficient to forever close down all our low-grade gold mines
 Old Standard Defunct.
 But even granting that all pre- war conditions for mining would again prevail and the pre-war rate of gold production be resumed, that puny pre-war rate of gold produc- tion would be utterly and helplessly inadequate to ever re-establish the old gold standard now defunct.
 This new mountain-weighto of war obligations requires an annual rate of gold production at least twice as great as the pre-war rate to even sustain a gold standard adjusted at s3333 1-3 per fine ounce.
 By the time demobilization is com plete more than 1000, 100000 of war obligations will have been sud denly issued by the belligerent na- tions on account of the war.
 There is only about $9,0o0,OOO.- 900 of gold in sight in this world and only very small portion of this $9,OOO,00O,000 is available to bel ligerent governments to pay interest on their war obligations; while an nual interest on $2O0, ,000, ,000, 900 at 5 per cent is $1O,OOO, 100000.
 Manifestly none of the belliger- ent governments has sufficient, nor anywhere near sufficient, gold avail able to even pay interest on it's war obligations, to say nothing of prin- cipal sums.
 The United States, which is best supplied, has somewhat in excess of s2.5OO, 100000 gold of which $1,- 333, 3,0O0, 900 is in the Federal reserve gold settlement fund and $822,000,- 900 is the basis for outstanding gold certificates.
 The people of our country are now transacting business on a shin plaster" fiat money" "depreciated currency" basis-depreciated about 50 per cent.
 Gold Increase in Value
 Gold has greatly increased in val ue during the last four years owing to it's startling scarcity in view of the worlds sudden and vastly in creased necessities. Sir Lionel Phil lips, an English gentleman and gold mine owner, recently pointed out in very able speech that "the stan dard price of fine gold is rather less than 3s. per ounce, while gold per mitted for trade purposes has risen to about 115s. per ounce. The chairman of a great bank put the price still higher at 120s. per ounce" Our $20 gold pieces are. of course, readily selling at the same rate as English gold, and are being bought up by Canadians, Mexicans, Chinese, Japanese, and generally in England and other foreign coun- tries. Shrewd spectators clearly see that if the standard price of gold is adjusted by law at $33.33 1-3 per 1 fine ounce, or higher. they will be large winners in buying it at $30 or less; and that if the standard is not so adjusted but left as 1t is, at $20.67 per ounce, then the open market price of gold will very soon go much above $33.33 1-3 per ounce and their winnings will be still greater.
 As long as gold remains at a pre- mium any gold paid out by the U. s. treasury will not be returned to it. This fact automatically estops the lU. s. Treasurer from paying interest