GOLD AND DEBT; 521 AN AMERICAN HAND-BOOK OF FINANCE, WITH OVER EIGHTY TABLES AND DIAGRAMS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE FOLLOWING SUBJECTS: THE DOLLAR AND OTHER UNITS; PAPER MONEY IN THE UNITED STATES AND EUROPE; SUSPENSIONS OF SPECIE PAY- MENTS; THE ERA OF GOLD; VALUES OF THE THE RISE AND FALL OF PRICES; ALSO, A DIGEST OF THE MONETARY LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES. BY W. L. FAWCETT. CHICAGO: S. C. GRIGGS AND COMPANY. 1877. 19 Je 24 mess 332 F283g REMOTE STORAGE PREFACE. THE HE author's first object in this book was the compilation, in a compact form, convenient for reference, of trustworthy statements and figures regarding the great factors in the financial problems of the day, and to which reference is continually made in financial discussions, viz.: the increase and decrease of the volume of paper money at various periods in the United States and in Europe during the last fifty years; the production of gold and silver, and the consumption of these metals in the arts since the beginning of the era of gold in 1849; the additions to the world's stock of gold and silver used as money, and the amounts now in use in all countries; and the increase of debts and traffic in this age of steam; also, in the compilation of monetary laws of the United States, to set forth in the language of the laws themselves the nature of the contract between the government as a borrower and the note and bond holders as creditors. Whatever of a theoretic nature there is in the following pages has not been prompted by any preconceived notions, nor written in advocacy of any 400310 |