The New York Times/1901/08/01/America's Gold Fund Largest in the World
AMERICA'S GOLD FUND LARGEST IN THE WORLD
The Treasury Vaults Contained $504,354,297 Yesterday.
France Comes Next with $478,258,230, Russia Third—Bank of England Holds Only $183,330,681.
Special to The New York Times.
WASHINGTON, July 31.—At the opening of business at the United States Treasury this morning it had in possession the largest fund of gold held by any nation in the world and the greatest ever possessed by this Government. At 9 o'clock the fund amounted to $504,354,297. This in involves an increase during the past month of nearly $10,000,000 and an increase of $(illegible text)4,422,422 over the figures, of the corresponding date of last year.
The fund now held by the United States Treasury consists of the following items: Amount held against gold certificates, $292,535,689; reserve, $150,000,000 and moneys in the general fund of the Treasury, $61,818,508. The amount of gold reserve required by statute to be held from time to time is $150,000,000, so that, the present fund, in its entirety, is largely in excess of the figure obliged to be maintained under the law.
It is said at the Treasury Department that this amount has never been surpassed except once. The Russian Government once claimed to be in possession of a gold fund amounting to $598,700,000, which is the highest amount of reserve on record. On July 25 last reports were received at the department here of the amounts held by foreign nations. They were as follows: Bank of England, $183,330,681; Bank of Germany, $158,383,484, the Imperial Bank of Russia, $345,408,144; Bank of Austria Hungary, $190,314,126, and Bank of France $478,258,230
These banks hold the same relative positions to their respective Governments as the Treasury does to the United States Government, so that the funds indicated are Governmental and not private. The amount niw held by France in its bank is the largest in the history of that nation, so that along with the United States it is now enjoying an unusually large redundance of Government reserve.
For a long time prior to Mr. McKinley's first inauguration the Treasury had a hard time in even maintaining the required one-hundred-and-fifty-million-dollar fund, and during Mr. Cleveland's last Administration it was found necessary to solicit bond loans in order to keep the fund above the danger mark and maintain the formal stability of gold certificates for the Government.
One of the most remarkable features of the fund now held by the Treasury is the fact that a very large proportion of the amount is of home production. Of the $504,354,297 now held, very little is credited to the importation account, the bulk of it coming from the Alaska and Cripple Creek mining regions. During the fiscal year ended June 4 last the net Importations of gold amounted to only $13,128,000.
Of this quantity of metal a large percentage came from Australia. The gold that is placed in the Treasury through home productlon is covered by the issuance of gold certificates, every dollar's worth of which stand's guaranteed by its equal in coin held in the vaults or the Treasury. From time to time exportations of coin and bullion are made by business men to Europe and other points. Thus, for instance, during the month of June last the sum $5,000,000 was sent abroad, while the importations amounted to only $3,260,000.
In speaking of the immense fund of the Government, United States Treasurer Roberts said this afternoon:
"The dimensions of this fund indicate a great area of prosperity now prevailing throughout the United States. It can always be regarded as an accurate barometer of industrial and commercial conditions, and the fact that it is now in excess of anything we have ever held indicates that the volume of our business has assumed corresponding proportions. It furnishes a clinching argument against the free silver theory also, and shows that our currency system is running on rock ballast. No stronger argument against the futility of a change in our currency system could be furnished."