The Sunday Oregonian., August 15, 1915, SECTION SIX, Page 4, Image 68

THE SUNDAY OREGOXIATC, PORTLAND. AUGUST 15, 1915.
Uncle
United States Is Richer in This "Tissue of War" Than Any Other Nation
When Foreign Crisis Threatens Great Quantities Are Hoarded in Mints
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CSn,ef TrOr?-
BT KCNE BACKS.
IT IS satisfactory know that in
raapcet. at all crenu. th Vnlttd
StatM la better prepared tor war
thaa any other country on the (ace of
the earth. It possesses more rold.
When an la said and done, the yet
low metal la the real money, surer
fluctuates In value to such an extent
that our Treasury. In Its annual re
ports, states the number of ounces It
kas In stock, but refrains from ex
pressing the matter In terms of dol
lars. Paper "promises to pay" are wel
come In anybody's pocketbook. and
will buy pretty nearly anything-, from
woman's smiles to hla-h-exploelTe pro
jectiles. But sold Is "the stuff."
Uncle Sub la richer In sold today
than be erer was before. Slrtln In
Ills oountlifx-room at the Treasury at
TVaahlnrton. he can reckon bis riches.
In cold doubte-eaglea, eagles and half
esles. at the gigantic sum of I1.043.
S14.SIL Think of It more than a bil
lion dollar In the primary standard
f Talue.
But this Is only coin. In addition, be
kas now en hand no lefts than
JJ.1 worth of gold bullion, stored
Sn the mints and assay offices In the
form of bricks or "ingots." The total
geld In his coffers, therefore. Is fl,.
The country that cornea next to the
Valted fitatea In the amount of gold
It possesses Is Russia. For many years
past the treasury of the Cxar haa been
hoarding the precious staff. In antici
pation of lust such a conflict a strife
that was bound to come sooner or
later as Is now la progress. Today
this huge store of gold, amounting, to
something like l0.000.000. la a bul
wark to her military power.
Germany comes next to Russia In the
also of ber stock of gold, a large part
of which Is known to have been stored,
for war purposes.' beneath a tower In
the fortress of Spandan. Largely, the
contenta of this "war chest" Is sup
posed to hare been derived from the
Indemnity of $200,000,000 which France
paid to Prussia In 1371.
. It Is onaerstood that the Imperial
German government, at the beginning
of the present war. had on hand about
I7SO.000.000 In gold coin and bullion
the portion of It contained In the mys
terious subterranean chamber at Span
dau being rendered more secure, ac
cording to report, by the flooding of
the vaults with water, which could be
drawn off only by a secret means,
known exclusively to the Emperor and
three or four other trusted Individ
uals. From facts of this sort one obtains
notion of the extraordinary Impor
tance attached by the European pow.
. " ..JCV;. j
fc f- e i
since the war began. Ko amount of
patriotism (and the Germana are full
of it) can hold up bond quotations.
Austrian government bonds are lower
by something like S3 cents on the dol
lar. Gold, on the other hand, maintains
Its value unaltered. Other values may
hand In
storage.
Washington,
an immense
In permanent Cisco has $208,000,000 in gold bullion many carloads of coined gold and bul
bulk of silver and $11,560,000 in gold coin. Hon were shipped from the Golden
coin, chiefly In dollar pieces, which in In New York City, the country's uate to JJenver, in response to an
the Eastern states are rarely seen in principal commercial center, a great emergency order from Washington,
circulation. It has more than 100,000,- quantity of gold is always kept. There Imagine the Japanese, as a result of a
000 of these dollars in a single vault Is now $140,000,000 6f gold coin in the raid, grabbing $300,000,000 or so of our
in" the basement of the great building sub-treasury on Manhattan Island, and gold! It would have gone a long way
rs to their gold stocks, with refer- change, but merely In relation to this t the corner of Fifteenth street and in the assay office of the metropolis toward financing
But the stock ol (chief of all the Government s assay united states.
a war with the
nee to the usefulness of the metal
'or war purposes. Doubtless one of
the reasons why Germany is reluctant
to face war with the United States
Js that her government realises the
potential Influence of our gold upon
$er military prospects; In case we en
tered the conflict.
How far this Influence would be
likely to extend may be Judged In a
ery simple way. by noting the price
f German government bonds, which
lias dropped in the money markets of
S,ho world about S cents on the dollar
standard. .
While the fighting nations are grow.
Ing poorer In gold we are getting stead
ily richer In that fundamental sub
stance of wealth. Their enormous de
mand for military supplies Is causing
a steady Influx of the yellow metal
into this country. The longer the war
lasts the richer In this vital respect
we shall be. If at length, unhappily,
we are drawn Into It. we shall be so
much the better equipped for the con
flict. The United States Treasury keeps on
Pennsylvania avenue. But the stock of (chief of all the Government s assay
gold stored on the premises is small offices) an amount of gold bullion One reads, in Holy Writ and else
less, at the present time, than $4,000,- valued at $90,600,000. where, of the great stores of gold ac
000. Eight other sub-treasuries hold a cumulated by Solomon, by King Croe
.' The gold Is not needed in Washing- total of $278,000,000 in gold coin: of sus of Lydia, and by other monarchs
ton; It Is more advantageously kept at which huge quantity Chicago has $76.- of old. But the quantities of the'yel
the various mints (the bullion for 000.000, and San Francisco $89,000,000. low metal possible to be got together
coinage), the sub-treasuries in nine It will be noticed that, taking mint in ancient times must have been rela
other cities, and the assay offices, and sub-treasury together, ' the accu- tlvely small however large they may
Thus, at the present time, the largest mulatton of the precious metal in San have seemed to be when compared with
stock of the metal Is in the mint at Francisco reDresents in itself a total those of then-historic record. In the
Denver, which has on hand $383,700,000 nothing short of gigantic No wonder, year 1815. only a century ago. the total was
gold-production in early days were
primitive, behlg restricted to the wash
ing of alluvial gravels.
The vast augmentation of production
is attributable chiefly to improved proc
esses. In California alone more gold
was produced last year by dredin3
meaning - thereby the utilization of
scows tarrying endless chains of digging-buckets,
supplemented by wash
ing contrivances than the entire
world yielded 100 years ago. The total
gold output of California in the cal
endar year 1914 was over 1,000,000
"fine ounces," valued at $21,447,800.
The next most productive State was
The total gold production of the
United States in 1914 was 4,490,336 fine
ounces, valued at $92,823,500. It was
the largest quantity of the yellow
metal that this country has ever con
tributed to the output of the world, be
ing a gain of $3,939,100 over the record
for the year Immediately previous,
1913.
One of the most astonishing things
in modern history is the growth of the
world's gold production. In 1S74 it was
$90,750,000. In 1S96 it passed the $200,
000,000 mark for the first time the
precise figure for that year being
$202,251,600. Only three years later it
Jumped to $306,724,100. Seven years
later, in 1906, it amounted to $402,503,
000. In 1912 it rose to $466,136,000.
These are the figures of the United
States Mint Bureau, which may, of
course, be accepted as authoritative.
Later one3 are not at present obtain
able; but it is likely that the output
for 1914 fell somewhat below that for
1912, by reason of the war.
It would thus appear that, during a
period in which the population of the
globe has increased less than threefold,
,the world's annual output of gold has
been multiplied by 46! It is not sur
prising that this glut of a metal which
is the universal standard of value,
should have made the individual dollar
worth less, thereby raising the cost of
the necessaries of life and all other
commodities.
One ton of pure gold (2000 pounds)
is worth a little more than $583,000.
Thus It would seem that the total
stock of the metal now held by the
Government of the United States would
weigh about 2355 tons. To carry it
would employ an army of 94,200 men
(supposing that they could bear a
burden of 50 pounds apiece) who in
single file, with enough room for
walking comfortably, would make a
continuous procession extending from
New York to Boston.
These figures are cited for the pur-
Colorado, which contributed $19,881,100 pose of giving a vivid and graspahie
worth of gold In 1914. Alaska came notion of the enormous bulk of the
next with $15,850,000. Next in order gold owned by Uncle Sam. His stock
k.vHii with 11 nns snn. Tttnn rr the metal represents aDoui one-
ln gold coin and nearly $60,000,000 In then, that on a recent occasion, when world's output of gold amounted
gold bullion. The mint at San Fran- war with Japan seemed to threaten, only about $10.000,000. Methods
South
Utah,
Dakota, with
with $3,180,200.
$A310,000.
and fifth of all that exists, in the shape of
coin and bullion, in the world.
GERMANY'S POSTAL TASK
AT THE outbreak of the present
war. as well as the one 4i years
ago. when the German army was
mobilised, the reserves of the whole of
the Imperial postal service were called
out.
One man hardly get an Idea of the
enormous task the postofflces bare to
do. unless be has looked Into the huge
sorting rooms of the establishments of
the Imperial post. Simultaneously with
the mobilisation post-collertlng places
wet organued: all the thousands of
letters and parcels posted at the dif
ferent postofflces In Germany are di
rected to the post-collecting places.
Her they are sorted and packed up in
bags: subsequently they are dlspstched
to postofflces near the front. The lat
ter are called "guiding points." On the
military roads the letters and parcels
are tranfserred by the organs of the
postal service to the postofflces to
which they are add reused.
Every post-collect Ing place haa a
limited territory In which the post Is
collected for It. For instance, all the
letters posted at the postofflces. lying
in the area of the postal districts of
Berlin. Potsdam. Frankfort-on-Maln.
IJegnlta and Stettin, are collected In
Berlin.-
At the first sorting, which Is organ
ised at the post-collecting pieces, the
officials are guided by the arm of serv
ice to which the addressees belong. For
. tastsnce. all the letters addressed to
soldiers belonging to the cavalry are
put together, and those addressed to
oldlers of the infantry likewise ar-.
ranged.
At the second sorting, which takes
place at the "guiding" points, the dif
ferent regiments are singled oat. dra
goons. Uhlans. Hussars, riflemen, etc
The train troops are also divided Into
pioneers, telegraph and machine-gun
detachments. When all the letters and
parcels are sorted according to this
general plan, then a more csreful sort
ing takes place. L e.. the letters des
tined for officers, doctors, etc. are sep
arated from those addressed to com
mon aoidiera, !At tiey axe tied lato
bundles containing 1000 pieces each,
and then continue their Journev. pro
vided they are correctly addressed.
Letters with doubtful addresses, or
where the destination Is perhaps not
clearly stated, are refused and returned
to the postofflce from whence they
started; from there they are redirected
to the sender. The same Is done with
badly or Improperly packed parcels.
A short time ago the post-collecting
place In Berlin established a etatls
tlclan for the purpose of counting the
letters and parcels delivered at this
post-collecting place, and conveyed
from there to the theater of war. The
results were a follows: On an ordinary
day as many as $(1,700 letters and par
cels paased through the offices; they
were packed In 00 bags of consider
able slse and dispatched to the "guid
ing" points near the frontier.
On the whole, one may be Justified
In saying that the authorities in charge
have acted according. to the principle
of the famous Postmaster-General.
Herr von Stephen, the founder of the
present postal organization of Ger
many, whose motto was: Treat every
letter, destined for the theater of war,
as a child entrusted Into your care.
The present postal service for the
field la organised according to the reg
ulations for the administration of the
postal service for the field of the year
1907. In accordance with theao regula
tions the following postofflces have to
be erected: A postofflce for the Im
perial headquarters, a post expedition
for the commanders in general of the
army, an expedition for every general
command and finally an expedition for
every division of infantry, cavalry and
the reaervea. The staff for this or
ganisation Is mobilised at the same
time as the army.
VOLCANO BELIEVED SAFE
LANSING VERSED IN LAW
ROBERT LANSING. Acting "Becre
tary of State with the retire
ment of Mr. Bryan, Is one of the most
distinguished International lawyers In
the country.
He was born In Watertown. N. In
1111, and he still makes that pleasant
city his home. He was graduated from
Amherst College In the class of lt
and returned to Watertown. where he
studied law. and In 1SSS entered on Its
practice with his cousin. A year after
he was admitted to the bar he married
the only daughter of John W. Foster,
'of Washington, D. C an International
lawyer of wide practice, who became
Secretary of State under President Har
rison when Blaine resigned.
His father-in-law appointed him an
associate counsel for the United States
In the Bering Sea arbitration In 1892.
and he entered on the study of Interna
tional law. which he has continued to
the present. In 159 and 18J7 he was
counsel to the United States Bering Sea
Claims Commission, and in 101 he was
employed by Ellhu Root, then Secretary
of wax, to argue the case of the United
States before the Alaskan Boundary
Commission In London. And he served
as counsel for the United States In the
North Atlantic fisheries negotiations
and In various arbitrations at The
Hague.
Mr. Lansing has been counselor of the
State Department since the resignation
of John Bassett Moore on April 1 of
last year. Since the outbreak of the
European war he has prepared all the
diplomatic notes, or haa supplied the
data used In their preparation. The
President has looked to him as the legal
authority of the Administration on all
disputed points In international deal
ings. He Is a man of dignified and
grave demeanor, who Impresses every
one with his mastery of the subjects
with which he has to deal. In recent
weeks Mr. Bryan has not known what
decisions had been reached by the Presi
dent and Mr. Lansing until the an
nouncement was made in Cabinet meet
ing. And Mr. Lansing himself has at
tended the Important meetings of the
Cabinet and sat at the table as an equal
with. lr. Bryan. Philadelphia Record.
WASHINGTON. Aug. 14. (Special.)
Lassen volcano, California,
spent roost of its energy In vio
lent eruptions last May, according to
reports received by the Forest Service,
and it Is believed that there Is little
likelihood of further destructive out
breaks. Since the upheavals of May
20 and 21 the volcano has been under
observation of officers of the Lassen
National forest, in which the . peak
stands, and for the last month a vol
canologlst of the United States Geo
logical Survey has been making a sci
entific study of the mountain.
The investigations have confirmed
the opinion that the eruption of two
months ago, when a river of mud was
blown out of the noryi side of the cra
ter and down Hat Creek, with consid
erable damage to Government and pri
vate property, was caused by the melt
ing of the snow on the peak, the wa
ter running Into the crater and being
converted by the molten lava into
steam. Although It is possible that
the volcano is simply conserving its
energy for another outbreak, the indi
cations are, according to the Govern
ment volcanologlst on the ground, that
no further eruptions are likely to occur,
at least until next Spring, when an
other Influx of snow water may cause
a slight disturbance.
The first authentic report of the
damage done by the eruptions of last
May shows that early reports were
greatly exaggerated. ' Forest rangers
who have made a careful survey of
the neighborhood of the volcano and
have made several ascents to the rim
of the crater, report that the total ex
tent ofj Government land rendered use
less by mud and lava is somewhat less
than 4000 acres, and that of the' pri
vately owned land rendered useless
less than ' 1000 acres, comprising all
told the grazing range of about 220 cat
tle. In addition, by reason of tempo
rary Injury to other areas, range has
had to be provided for about 800 cattle
which were grazed near the mountain.
Inasmuch as some 12,000 cattle and S0.-
000 sheep are grazed on the Lassen for
est every year, this curtailment of
range, according to the Forest Service,
is almost negligible. -
The forest officers on the ground
estimate that the timber destroyed by
the eruption amounted' to about 10,
000,000 board feet Photographs taken
by one of the rangers who were de
tailed . to . make observations show
trees several feet in diameter and 150
feet tall lying on the mountainside,
where they were snapped off like
toothpicks. A boulder as big as a
freight car Is among the debris that
was carried for several miles down
the mountain by the mud flow.
Animals- at Play.
St. Nicholas.
That the lower animals do not laugh,
that they have no sense of humor, is
hard to understand, when we think how
thoroughly they love to play. From
the highest to the humblest, they show
the keenest Joy in sport but they can
not laugh! If they could, perhaps the
power would bring with It other mental
gifts, such as to upset the whole order
of things. Be that as It may, the
watcher of wild life never gets used to
the sight of -their mirthless sport for
in all other respects their play is en
tirely human.
A great deal of human play is serious
desperately serious on the football
field and at the cardtable, especially
when a lonely player at solitaire, for
instance, is trying to "kill time."
I have watched a great ungainly hip
popotamus trying by the hour to do
the same solemn thing: cuffing a croquet-ball
back and forth from one end
of his cage to the other. His keepers
said that without the plaything the
poor caged giant would fret and worry
himself to death. It was the game of
solitaire.
Oath Worth Taking
RUST AND MILD STEEL
ALTHOUGH mild steel Bessemer
and open-hearth has - largely
taken the place of. wrought Iron,
it is so only because of cheapness
and not because of superior quality
or durability. No sooner had mild
steel been in use' a short time
than it unexpectedly developed great
susceptibility to rust ' So serious
was the trouble and so entirely in
capable of remedy that In some
minor matters wrought Iron haa "come
back" into its own again.
In roofing nails made of mild Bteel
the heads rusted so badly after com
paratively brief exposure to the
weather that the shingles came loose;
nor did galvanizing help matters very
much, for, there developed the curious
fact, .alike in nails, barbed wire and
galvanized sheets, that the mild steel
surface refused to take more than a
certain plating of the galvanizing ma
terial, no matter how long or per
sistently the attempt was made to give
a heavy coating. Evidently there was
some Inherent difference, either me
chanically or chemically, in the make
up of wrought iron and mild steel
apparently it is -somewhat of both
especially as relates to the greater
amount of carbon in wrought iron,
which gives it superior resistance to
oxidization.
: As a result, not only has wrought
iron come back into use in some smafl
measure where length of service rather
than price is desired, but there have
likewise come upon the market vari
ous composition metals, claiming to
embody the virtues of both forms of
metal.
Some have been successes, some have
not but it is too soon yet - to say
whether the new composition metals
will show the long-lived endurance and
resistance to rust that characterized
the old-fashioned wrought iron bard
ware. Meanwhile, In general mild steel
maintains Its popularity because it Is
cheap, and this is an age of oppor
tunism, .New York Times,
SUPPOSE every boy in the United
States should take Just one of the
Boy Scout oaths and never break it
wouldn't this country be a nearly per
fect Nation?
We refer to the pledge to "always
run with a clean crowd." Suppose a
boy would never associate with either
a "crowd" or an individual who was
not. clean. Suppose he kept this prac
tice up when he bocame a man, would
he be lonely?
One philosopher whom we know
quite well contends that It is quite
within Justice to Judge a man by his
occupation, if he has selected that oc
cupation of his own free will. If a
man "chooses" to do dainty fancywork
with a cambric needle for his living,
it Is all right to gauge his character
by that choice. If a man selects as a
companion a . man of low morals and
bad practices, it is all right to Judge
the man by his "predilection." If every
boy in the United States could grow
up, keeping the oath to only "run with
a clean crowd" but we are talking
hyperbole.
Suppose that. Inasmuch as every boy
in the United States Is not going to
take and keep any such oath, the
pledge be adopted by men who are at
tempting to set good examples for boys.
Suppose that societies be formed
throughout the United States to which
men and boys willing to take the oath
are admitted cfti the understanding
that they keep increasing their num
ber by inviting' into their association
others who would like to always "run
with a clean crowd."
It is a great big oath for anyone to
take if he means to keep Itand it is
a heinous thing to take an oath and
not mean to keep it Here in Miami a
society of boys and men yes, and girls
and women who are pledged to run
only with a clean crowd, might set a
"400" circle that would be vastly su
perior as a social standard to the more
usual standard of dollars and cents.
Miami ..(Fla.) Metropolis.
J