Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-10-01
TUESDA Y; MORNING, N F

years was, in gold $417.S39 933 400 If
the people were feced as much on
other articlesA-aid ..the tariff on eothefs
is heavierS4then entire sum of which
threeo years- amounted TO no. lessI than
$672.000, 900, or, enough 4 to buy and
own all the capital stock of the four
great trunk lines Of railroad from the At
iintic to the Mississippi and to enable you
to draw and possess the dividends every
year for your own benefit, or sum equal
to one-fourth of the public debit In COM
parison with this question, your question
ofpaying off five-twenties in .greenbacks,
is mere bagatelle. q g, ,Y,.,-,.s.,r ,4,,-,. ..i
Turn to the other branch of the revenue
and you will perceive precisely the same
results. Step by step, unfalteringly, un
deviatingly the taxes ouiimports have been
gradually, raised, until they are .nominally
fifty per cent, aud really three hundred
Step by step and with the same selfish mo-
tive the internal taxes have been alterna-
lively raised and lowered. Now, prices can
only be effected through two agencies cne
is taxation, the other is currency. I have
Shown you how the taxation device at ev-
cry step has sweated prodigious results
into the pockets of the :harpies that are
preying upon US before effected by legisla7
ton. ---- - : : '-'--- ',''s-i
There is another and equally potent,
means by which the earnings ofSthe in-
dustrial classes may; be preyed upon, withr
out their knowledge and converted to the
use. and benefit Of the indolent and the
rich. This is by affecting the prices of
merchandise through change In the cur
rency.l When your rulers left the Consti7
tuition and made legal tender of paper,
they left the currency OF God and De-
mocraey-gold. You are the sufferers.
Let me Illustrate Recollect always. that
the value of all things depends upon their
relative supply and demand. For Instance,
if there are twice as many sums of ten
cents seeking to be sold tor coffee as there
are pounds of coffee seekingto be sold for
sums of ten cents, then the price of cot
fee would be twenty cents per pound. If
on the contrary there are twice as many
pounds of coffee seeking to, be sold for
sums of ten cents, as there were sums of
ten cents seeking to be sold for coffee, then
the price of coffee would be five cents
per pound.s This stwhat we, may call the
natural price. or the relation between sup7
i ply and demand.
WHAT IS CURRENCY?
By currency, I do not mean merely the
amount of money there is in the country,
but the amount of credit of all 9kinds, to-
gether with the amount of money which
exists in the country. That all kinds of
/ credit are currency, and that they all act
To initiate or depress prices is now go weh
settled that need scarcely refer to- Tooke,
Fullerton. John Stuart Mill, Henry Faw-
cett and Henry Dunning Mcleod, that
band OF keen economists whose influench
is every day being exerted so potently in
behalf of the lahoring classes in Great
Britain. say that all kinds of credit wheth-
er bank notes or prfUdte promiSSO1y notes. or
mere book accounts, act (thouSh not with
equal force), upon prices. ForueXample
There were afoat in this scountry on the 1st
I August last 1925. .245, 277 of greenbacks and
a. foe. sa-t1H nrl luy lac
1895 013 543 OF National AMI State bank
tnotes-making $62L25S $40 active eircula-
tion. Tnen there were S5SS, 100 703 of pri-
vate promissory notes and open credits on
CALL as shown <by the discounts at the
banks. This makes $1.209 359 523. add 10
this about S400 600 600 more for open cred
its between. private, parties, and we have
altogether $1.6090 600 600 of currency, in
this country, all acting more or less on
prices. Now the object, and the use, of all
lcurrency, is to effect exchanges. You want
to exchange your labor for a barrel of flour.
You receive credit, that is to say, currency.
for your labor, and you pay credit, that is
to say, currency. for the barpel of flour
So with the merchant, He &ants to ex-
change his dry goods for a house In the
country. He sells his dry goods for credit,
Ethat is to say, currency, and with th t
credit, or, if you will. currency, purchases
his mansion. You will therefore perceive
lcurrency locked up. Every man who has
currency, whether in the shape of bank
notes or in the shape OF unwritten credit,
wants to use it and to exchange it for some
thing that he desires to enjoy. Therefore
the whole amount of currency existing i'm
the country is practically always seeking
to be exchanged for other things, which
other thugs are intended to be consumed
and used up and enjoyed. But as fast as
these things are used up, other and new
ones of the same kind are being pIoduc, d
and the, owners of these new things, de-
string to exchange them for other kinds oi
things, are always in want of currency.
because currency serves the purpose of a
= medium of, exchange. 1t is made by law a
legal tender for all services and commodi-
ties. You see, therefore. that there is re-
r lation between the whole amount of cur
I rency and the whole amount of commodi-
ties and services seeking to be sold. Now
: the nature of this relation depends upon
]. demand and supply. IF there are but few
. things to be sold and great deal o.
{ lcurrency existing, then the price o.
/ those things in currency will be very
3 high. If, on the contrary, there are Z
[ great many things to be sold and very
5 little currency existing, then the prict
: of those things in currency will be very
low, as we find it in countries where credit
3 is nknown and money very scarce. Many
g of YOU must remember that in lS37-mart
now /, am speaking of gold-paying times
ii altogethpr-in the early part OF 1887, be-
5 fore the great crash CAM, the prices %
r things were very high. Real estate wa
high, labor was high, provisions were high
: and all things that men needed were high
II Now, what was the reason of this p The
reason is as simple as daylight. -Tnere wa
a great deal of currency in the. country
, there were over $50 900 900 of gold and
? silver currency, and $40 1S5, 800 OF banl
note currency, and $525. 10 702 Of prom s.
: sorv mite currency. together with .lsomt
S500600.0O0, of book accounts that mad
|. the Initiation. Altogether the currency o
2 that year amounted to some 81 ,225. 100000
2 with a population in the country Of seven
t teen millions. .,.4 ., d. f.. ...
a Now, turn your eyes to the year 1S4a
? What was the state OF the country then
| Why. there were but sos 563 GUS. of banl
, note currency and $254 544 937 of promis
q sorry note currency. AS for private credi
< currency, $I5O,O000O0 would cover tn
e whole amount. Now. let us gronp thes
o sums together. In lS43 there Were sam
j $50. 900 QUO in specie a1oat in this country
e Add to this sos 563 60S bank notes ant
s S254.544 937 of bankhiscOunts aud $l5l.
}, 600 600 book accounts, and we have 1923.
: 100000 as the total. currency of lS43. Tn
!. population was then about 10 900 900. '''
?E WHAT were the prices of things in 1S43
The d yelling house that brought $500 !
u year in 81, now rented for $3.50 year, tn
Y man who had struck tor dollar and a hal
e day for his labor in 81, was now bette
f.? off with seventy-five cents, because tha
8 70 cents purchased more things for his MS
!, than the dollar and a half did in 1881
; Flour was worth $l2 90 per barrel, fell t
Il lS4.5O; prime beef FROM 1915 per barre
e fell to So 90; mess pork from $24.50 to $S 0(
It sugar from cents to 4 and so on. Yo
d therefore see, my friends, that it was til
= currency in this instance which made al
It the differences, for the taxes in '37 and tn
II taxes in '43 did not materially differ.
n Now, let us come back to things as the