75 PER CENT. OF WORLD’S GOLD IN U.S.A.

Evening Star, Issue 23724, 4 November 1940, Page 9

75 PER CENT. OF WORLD’S GOLD IN U.S.A.

Gold in vaults of tho United States Treasury amounts to more than £4,ooo,ooo,ooo—over 75 per cent, of all the monetary gold in-tho world._ Gold has been coming hero by warship and tramp steamer, and nearly every other carrier callable of holding the heavy metal since the European war began (states a message from Washington). In June alone £161,200,000 came in, including £50,125,000 sold by the French Government while tho Germans were marching on Paris, and carried across tho Atlantic on tho United States cruiser VincennCs.

The gold is piled up principally in the vaults of Treasury' offices and the Federal Reserve Bank in New York. Contrary to general belief, tho Fort Knox gold ' depository in Kentucky holds only £1,100,000,000 at present. The Vincennes shipment was only one of tho more dramatic phases of recent gold shipments. Tales have come from skippers of small steamers of how they smuggled gold out of Norway, Holland, and Belgium almost under the eyes of German invaders. The huge Treasury figure still docs not show all the monetary gold in the United States, for £345,000,000 belonging to foreign Governments and their central banks is deposited here in tho Federal reserve system. After accounting for this metal, tho remaining gold outside the United States is mostly in the form of jewellery or other non-inonctary forms. However, gold mines throughout the world are expected to produce about another £200,000,000 in the next year.