The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1872-06-22
BY D. H. MASON.
= (coNcLUDRD.)

OrkhllHASlOIl, our pTcoout paper AMOAACy -
decidedly the best we have ever had for the
whole country. It's advantages are numer-
GUS. 1t passes at the same value in all
parts of the Union as readily III Maine N
in Texas in Florida rs readily a. In Ore
gon. General uniformity in the appearance
of notes of the same denomination, fAmi-
harizes those persons accustomed to handle
them with their marked particuliaritiea,
making counterfeiting more hazardous and
less successful, on account of its greater
liability to swift detection. There Is q sig-
mhcant freedom of banks in one place from
injurious influences resulting from COM
mercial perturbations in another place.
The failure Of bank in New York City,
once the almost certain precursor OF mo
Notary panic in every quarter OF the land,
now -scarcely causes a ripple of excitement
in distant localities. Under the once pre-
valent specie basis, now sought to he res
toned, an event like the Chicago confagra-
ton would have precipitated the banks OF
the whole Country into a suspension Of
coin payments. Popular confidence in the
security of the circulating note Of the banks
Is so perfectly established, that the notes
Of a broken bank circulate from hand to
hand, performing the work of exchanging
commodities and services, with all The Ser
viceableness of the notes of banks iDunim-
peached standing. For the first time in
our history, the notes of a broken bank
have commanded premium in the open
market. The numerous Bdilk-NOte Report
egs and Detectors, one Of which used to lie
regularly at the elbow Of every man doing
y considerable business, are no longer of
use, and have disappeared from existence.
Another peculiarly of our present currency
is, that the export of coin in considerable
quantities cannot operate to contract ito
volume, and thus produce monetary
strlngency-a result common under a sys-
tenn OF specie payments, because the banks,
which are the great repositories of the pre-
cious metals, as the first to feel the demand
for these metals for foreign export and
when they find their specie, the very life
blood of their existence running from them,
they are compelled, in self-defense, to with
draw from circulation paper issues to seve-
raj times the amount of the specie that has
been taken from their vaults, which they
accomplish by requiring prompt payments
of dues from part of their debtors, and by
diminishing the extent of their further dis
counts. Paper money subject TO such CON-
plications is practically exportable, since
the export of any important portion Of the
basis on which it rests, il necessarily fol-
lowed by the reduction of its volume but
our present currency is free from every
such contingency. We know it il orthodox
to represent the purchasing power of our
paper dollars as contracting and expanding
with the rise and fall of the price of gold in
Wall Street but We regard this ASSUMPTION,
in the extent claimed, as a monstrous he
resy. A close scrutiny Of prices current
for years will utterly refute the idea that
the gold premium has regulated prices.
The various premiums, particularly in their
extremes, almost always represent purely
artificial quotations, and hence do not stand
for legitimate and substantial values. The
prices of the markets do not, and did not,
rise and fall to correspond with the upward
and downward movements of gold. The
error lies in supposing, that, because gold,
while performing the functions of q circu-
lating medium, is the standard to which
all other standards are referred, it main
tains the same relation and position when
1t becomes demonetized, and is transformed
into commodity. Then it aecurately
measures the purchasing power Of currency
as regards itself, just as wheat does 40 re-
CARDS currency and exerts reflex infiu-
ence upon the prices Of others 1ndibles,
just as wheat does, the price OfgOld chang
ing, both in the speculative and in the le-
gitimate markets, just as the price of wheat
does, with varying circumstances. The
real trouble is that gold is only partially
demonetized, since it exercises its Office a.
currency in the payment of duties ON inn
ports, and in the discharge of the public
debt, with the interest thereon. At these
re-entering points, it becomes a potential
factor of disturbance, and there the huc-
tuating premium on gold touches prices
with a commanding influence, indirect,
however, never direct, in its operations.
In this way, the whole circle of prices may
in time be affected but not regulated, by
the price of gold. The fact is, mere gamb-
ling in gold in Wall street has never deter
mined the commercial values of the country
any more than it did on the notorious
& Black Friday" in September, 1859, when
the price of gold was pushed up to 1921 In
the course of few hours. 1t was q little
hurricane while it lasted, carrying disnay
and destruction within limited courses.
But it is preposterous TO suppose, IS some
virtually do, that the bulls and bears of
New York City hold in their hands the
destiny of prices-that, a. the gold pre-
MUM advances or recedes under the UNI
scrupulous manipulation of parcel of self
aggrandizing spectators, the yard-stick, 90
to speak, grows longer or shorter, the
bushel-measure larger or smaller, and the
pound-weight heavier or lighter or, to
drop eli methaphOrical illustration, the
same paper money buys more or less yards,
bushels, and pounds OF commodities. II
coin should be pushed in price mp 10 100
tomorrow, remain at its elimination for
q week, and then decline to its present rate,
we doubt whether the masses of the people
would experience any change in the pur-
chasing power of currency 1t il not the
difference artifcially created between gold
and paper that affects the general scale Of
prices, but that normal and natural differ
ence which arises from the whole body Of
surrounding circumstances. Unless attend
ed with some permanency, 20 a to give
time for prices to adjust themselves to the
new standard of appreciation or depreciA-
ton, the rise or fall Of the gold premium
exercises a very trihing influence on phi
ces in general Furthermore, let Il Be- dis
tinctly understood, that whatever disturb-
ances may have proceeded from that source,
operating TO elevate or dePress the prices Of
commodities, are wholly due 10 the fact that
coin has been only partially dsmonetized,
causing the circulating note, which In the
superior instrument Of exchange, 10 be de-
GRADED at cartain Dryintn If esonkafA inko