| Show THE industrial USE OF GOLD by theo af F baenen Wa enen E al of deriver denver in american metal mining alining it is an interesting problem as to what becomes of the world s annual output of gold and one not easy to solve As to the american product about one sixth is used in the arts which include jewelry ornaments plate manufactures dentistry gilding and photography to the balance either is as coin or bars to secure the circulation of r gold certificates certificate becomes bonev money the actual 0 gold coinage of the united states mints has averaged per annum for the last decade and amounted in 1898 to i nearly ae arly but some of this is re coined en english 0 lish sovereigns the output from south africa australia canada ballada and british india amounting in 1899 to being 11 practically under anglo saxon saxo control goes goes about the same way that is one sixth in the arts and the balance directly or indirectly into in money ney hardly any of the mexican and south Ameri american ean output drifts to the mints of the countries in which it is produced while nearly all of that produced in europe which includes the heavy russian output becomes coin there is a steady and rather increasing flow of 11 gold rold from froin europe to india amounting last year to almost nearly all of which disappears in private lioard hoard all the Eui european nations as well Ms as japan coin much more gold tl old than their mines produce and aid of course must draw their stock from the pro producing ducin but non coining regions canada anle mexico bic 0 south america india china and corea during the last ten years vears about worth of new gold coins exclusive of have been struck at the various mints of 11 the world principally those of the un united cited states france russia germany australia austria japan and great britain age by bv which is meant the i melting and and stamping by any mint of foreign coins is becoming less each year on account of the in increasing use of gold bars to settle balances between commercial centers london still remains the commercial gold center odthe the world although t the united states exercises a very strong and steadily growing influence on the moy movement ement of the metal As long as england maintains her commercial supremacy inacy and the production of american gold mines is less than that of the combined gold fields from which london can draw the new world must be content either to do business under the monetary regulations and customs laid down by EnI england and or else adopt a system of its own and adhere to it rigidly until if growing commercial strength permits its imposition upon the rest of the world there is nothing in the bistor history y of nations ancient or modern 1 to i indicate that their advance is either hastened or retarded by the material of the money unit adopted for but an insignificant t traction fraction of intern international balances are arc settled in bullion or coin the real settlements are made through the transfer of ownership of raw or manufactured materials or of evi dences of indebtedness and those communities which naturally have or produce a surplus of material are the wealth sooner or later the former will foroe forge into a leading position and take rank according to their actual potentiality the moncy money question therefore is not so much one of the metal of which money can be or is to be made as it is a solution of the problem as to which nation is to occupy the leading commercial position and then which metal or material is the most convenient for that nation to use in the manufacture of the money money unit which it can compel the other nations to adopt as the universal standard 9 at the present moment the world is witnessing the st struggle ruie ru ie for supremacy between the earlish english lish po pound und and the american dollar lt it cannot be doubted that if england lost control tomorrow of the african australian canadian and indian gold but still through thorough her surplus of manufactures and accumulated capital could name the price of standard commodities and compel the nations of the world to come to her for the majority of things they had to buy she could maintain un pound as the monetary unit of commerce even if she had nothing r to make it of but paper or tin for the individual or nation that has something Z to sell which other individuals or nations are coin compelled belled to buy can insist upon settlement on their own terms and conversely the instant a nation loses control of the markets of the world by reason of the decline of the production of a surplus of raw material or the decadence of her manufacturing 11 industry which means the relegation aaion of her laboring Z power to a secondary position or loss of her accumulated capital that moment she must accept the monetary or exchanging r 1 I unit of her successful competitor as the standard of values it is becoming 11 evident that before many years commercial supremacy will pass from the hands of the dutch the spaniard the venetians Venit ians the romans the greeks the egyptians and the Phoenecia ns and cr crossing the atlantic at one great leap will come to the united states the th inherent natural resources sou rees of this nation ana ana the remarkable grow growth th of its population reserve capital and commerce are such that the ultimate result cann cannot ot be doubted the question therefore is of what shall america make the money standard when its turn comes to control the world s trade Natural naturally lv that metal or material will be adopted the bulk of the production of which can be most cheaply obtained or most certain certainly lv controlled until the time comes when civilization devises an improvement I 1 upon coin as the outward and visible sign of what is called bonev money or the ex exchange change unit the question of the most advisable metal or combination of metals to be adopted is one to be governed by the inherent metallic resources of the nation itself that for the time being holds the position of the worlds world s banker under such a view ot of air affairs airs americans will natu naturally rally be interested in a comparison of th the e 11 gold producing ability of the new and the old world it stood as follows for the year vear 1899 new world united states canada Mexico Central and south america old world all of the balance of the gold I 1 producing regions total unless the production of the western hemisphere can be very heavily increased in the next decade which will surel r witness the transfer of the commercial cc center anter across the atlantic it would not seem as if gold was the most advisable substance for a unit of exchange change cl iange 11 for the cost price of it is likely to be permanently under the control of the citizens citi xeni of the eastern hemisphere |
