Synthetic Gold

All business today involves credit, and all credit involves the metal gold. The yellow metal has been chosen over an experience of centuries as the best known substance out of which to coin money, for many rea- sons. Among these is the fact that gold is scarce, and a supposedly elementary substance.

Much water, however, has gone over the dam since the Metchnikoff table of elementary substances was formulated as the axiomatic basis of modern chemistry. Under certain rays, supposedly elemental substances have broken down into two or more other elements. Now comes the story that Professor Miethe of the Berlin Technical High School has succeeded in obtaining gold artificially by breaking down mercury into other substances.

Professor Miethe is no quack or sensationalist, but a well-known and conservative scientist. He manufactured his gold only in infinitesimal quantities by passing an electric current through a mercury lamp for periods up to 200 hours. He estimated that at this rate the manufactured gold would cost $2,164,000 a pound, against its currency rate of $331 a pound. Unless Professor Miethe's method of gold production is improved upon, it is apparent that his discovery will have no commercial value or significance.

There has been much conjecture in Germany, however, on just this point of cheapening Miethe's process. Over ten years ago an engineer named Lohmann built an electrical smelting furnace which succeeded in dissolving iron, aluminum, sodium and other metals into new and dif- ferent substances, as well as making diamonds out of wolframite. The latest model of Lohmann's furnace can create a heat of 4,000 degrees centigrade. German scientists are debating what will happen when Miethe's experiment is tried in Lohmann's furnace.

It is obvious to economists and bankers that should a commercially feasible method of manufacturing gold be worked out, it would have far-reaching results. Probably a huge period of inflation would fol- low. Bonds would on paper remain still, but actually depreciate in value measured in commodities. Stocks would soar unless their dividend rates were fixed. All commodity prices would rise. Another basis for money all over the world would have to be discovered, legislated upon, adopted. America, the richest nation in the world, would find herself loaded with tons of yellow metal useful only to fill teeth or roof houses.