The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-04-08
Paper Money Burden on Farmers and
LabOrerS.
from a Speech of Congressman w. W. Phelps
New Jersey,1

from a Speech Of Congressman W. W. Phelps of
New Jersey.]
The worst evils of an unsound currency fall
upon the poor. The harm of wrong legislation
in finance in taxation, falls and rests at last
upon them. As direct consequence of depre-
ciated money, prices fuctuate, so the man who
buys cannot tell for what he will sell, or what
his money will be worth when he gets bis pay.
Against this uncertainty the rich man can in
sure himself by adding percentage to his price.
The poor man who buys buys to consume. not to
sell again, and pays this percentage out of his
poverty. The rich man ADDS to the price of his
commodities the premium OF gold at each rise,
and by continual exchange adjusts or shifts the
loss. The poor man has but one thing to ex-
chauge-his labor-and does not know the hour
ly, daily or weekly rise of gold; and does he, he
cannot daily, hourly, weekly or even monthly
add it to his wages. He cannot readily make
it is the only contract he can ever make So
the premium on gold reaches his wages last of
all. Certainly, them any irredeemable curreI-
cy is not for the poor man. If it is for the ben
eft of any, it is for the rich man and the spec
perate the speculator, the more easily he avoids
the losses; the more certainly he profits by the
fluctuations Increase the number and variety
of transactions, ard you increase the opportun-
ties to adjust or shift the burdens of fuctu-
ating currency. The poor nan, who has
nothing to sell but his labor, and who has ev-
erythIng to buy-lodging, food, clothing-finds
his labor receiving only the premium on gold.
This is bad for him at one end, and it is equally
bad at the other; for, for his support, he pays,
in each ease. something beyond the premium.
And this brings us to the general principle,
that the premium on gold does not accurately
measure the advance OF prices, except in those
articles that we export In all other articles,
prices rise beyond the gold premium, and this rise
is due to the percentage added to each exchange,
to insure the seller against subsequent deprecia
ton of the money in which he shall be paid.
Naturally the increase IN price will be least in
those commodities which pass directly from pro-
ducer to customer, and greatest in those which
are subject to most frequent transfers When
Mr.. Lowe buys his tea in China, be pays for it
in gold. The Chinese as yet are not intelligent
enough to accept the best currency the world
ever saw When the tea is in his warehouse
freight duties and exchange all paid-he fix;
es the price. He adds to cost the usual percen-
tage of profit and the premium on gold; but he
does not stop here. He sells on time and before
the time expires gold may rise or 8 per cent.
He does not think it will rise so much; but it may,
and as he sees no propriety in running any risk,
he adds per cent.and the jobber gets Mr.. loves
tea in Chicago at a cost of three per cent above
the premium on gold, and when my friend from
Kansas stopped over, last November and bought
bis family chests to send to WyanGotfe, the
Chicago merchant said: This Nj. G. will not
remit before the 9th of next month: by that
time some more of the $44 600 will be out
and the premium on gold, instead of being 6, as
to guard against loss" So when this tea
reaches the little .grangers at Wyandotte,
though gold is up only 10 per cent, tea is up Is
per cent; 3 per cent added by the New York i'm
porter and 5 per cent added by the Chicago job
Der. So in any article, especially manufactured
articles, where the materials have passed
through many hands, we shall have the price
naturally raised far above the gold premium
And this is why the farmer, suffers more
from a deprecated currency than any one else,
except the poor man who has only his own la
Dor to SELL Why? Because the western far
mer gets for his produce only the price of the
foreign market. They raise and sell cotton,
pork, beef, corn wheat, cheese. The price of
these in New York is always the price in Liver
pool, less the price of transportation. 1t must
De So Ii the price in Liverpool were more we
should export or raise the home price. If the
price In Liverpool were less we should cease to
carry 1T there and the surplus accommodating in
New York would force the New York price
down to the Liverpool level. This is the theory
and this is the fact, that Liverpool fixes the
price of our farm products. "But," say the
friends of an Irredeemable currency, "the farm
er gets the price in gold and he gets the benefit
of the premium; how then is be hurt?' He is
hurt because the depreciation of our currency
does not measure the increase in the price of
the commodities he buys. Say gold is no; say
ten marks the depreciation of our dollar, and
the farmer gets gold dollar and changes it in.
to Sl.l0, will his 81. 10 buy what it used? No:
rent, cioonng Iood, t0olS horSes, tea, Coffee all
have advanced beyond the gold premium, and |
we have seen the reason. Each dealer added a |
percentage to guard against the loss of an nm
certain currency.
And what is the result to the farmer? Ha
gets for his produce, in paper money, what he
got before the war, plus the premium on GOLD.
but everything he buys he buys At an advance
greater than the premium. Wheat in Cbica1o
before the war was ST. 10 per bushel good az,
yar Scents per pound. Now, in the same mark
It, wheat brings 81 % and the same sugar II 10