The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1875-08-16

POLIST reach every Aolne auu A"Vo III
fears.
ELK RIVER.
The Financial Question Very Ably Consid-
ered-A Letter to John Sherman Review
ing His Campaign Speech in Ohio.
For the AntiNonopolist.
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 4, 1875.
Dear Sir: Having carefully read your
remarks on currency, in your speech OF last |
as reported in the New York !
Herald of Tuesday, yesterday, take the |
liberty Of addressing few dissenting re
marks to you, believing that you will give |
them all the credit they may in your honest |
opinion deserve
You say, "Even now in the United States
where we have legal tender paper curren
cy its depreciation is daily measured by the
standard of gold" In this ! think you
are in great error, which is the result
of your views frequently expressed, that
the gold premium which varies from day 10
day, from hour to hour, and from minute to
minute, is the expression of the depreci-
alton OF our legal tender currency. An I'M
BIASED observation OF the facts in the case
may disabuse your mind of this fallacious
view, and consequently change your judg
ment in regard to the depreciation OF our
legal tender paper currency being daily
measured by the standard Of gold. The
daily and hourly quotations of the price Of
gold show uniformly the relative supply and
demand OF gold for the special purposes for
which 1t is required, viz: for the payment
Of duties to our government, and for tAe
transmission of gold to foreign countries.
Whenever the amount of gold on hanc Is
small as compared with the demand for il,
the price rises and whenever the supply in,
creases more than the demand, the price
falls, exactly as is the case with all 9th er
commodities. 1t is certainly very great
stretch of our Imagination, if we see in the
| constantly changing rise and fall of the
price OF gold an ever varying value of our
legal tender curl ency, and all the deduc
lions we make from such fanciful imagin-
| alton must be equally fallacious. Although
| gold is the best standard measure of all val
ues, it practically serves as such measure
| only where it is used as a currency. Since
it is not used as a currency among us, at
present, ii is practically commodity which
serves only special purposes. Hence all
| persons, brokers, bankers, etc, J who keep
gold on hand, in order to sell it to those who
require it, charge premium on its sale.
over and above its intrinsic value, because
they cannot make profit from its use in any
other manner. If gold were exclusively
our currency, and government notes were
Only accepted to pay our taxes, these notes
would command premium, varying accord
ing to the law Of demand and supply, ex-
actly as is the case with gold at present
In Prussia the treasury notes are demanded
in a certain proportion for all payments t
be made to the government. Hence these
reasury notes frequently command pre-
mum over gold and silver, resulting exclu
sively from local disproportions of supply
and demand l have myself once paid golt
and one per cent. premium for three hun
dred dollars tf russian treasury notes
J which desired to send by mail to distan
friend in payment of debt /, would be
r great stretch of the Imagination if l ha
e judged that the Prussian gold currency va
r riei in value according to the varying pre-
MUM paid on treasury notes Again, | say
n that the premium on gold in our country a
c present, is only the natural profit that tn
= dealer in gold requires for keeping suppl
G OF gold on hand, to accommodate those VIII
e want it. If gold were used as a currency
e it could be used, by the dealers in money,
# shave notes, buy and sell stocks. aud
II many ways to make profit, or interest. by i
: All this being cut off. at present, the dea
i ers in gold indemnify themselves by d.
). manding premium, high or low, accordin
r to the law OF supply and demand. Go
IS coin Is at present, with us, q commodity lii
- gold plate and other articles made Of gol
N which are bought and sold, not accordir
$. to their intrinsic value. but according
70 their uses and according to the law of SUI
l. ply and demand.
he I dwell so long on this point, viz:
N viewing the gold premium in its true cha
" acser. because thereby all your statemen
a of ''our paper money" "the public credit
9. ''bobbing up and down." and ..if we a
ne not blinded by Ignorance and carelessnes
err we know that gold has not risen any mo
C. than the sun has risen "gold cannot
IN down any more than the sun goes down.
lie is the public credit, the promise Of t
o. United States to pay dollar in cola. tn
&c rises and falls. etc, etc. fall to the groun
he You really corrobnrate this by s.yin
an The Republican party cured one defect
on our old bank currency by giving US natior
ng money of uniform value throughout t
Ial United States" Can this national non
he of uniform value throughout the Unit
ty States ..bobb up and down jus; S t
AT supply and demand of gold in Wall strt
CHI bobb up and down: 1t strikes me as C
IS umuy and an insult to our nation to spe
'r. thus OF lis paper money. Who is iuur
&c by our legal tender currency Does a
Ter American citizen suffer any wrong from
ne Does il not answer all the wants of our i
d mense internal commerce better than a
he currency we ever had7 Although / ia
Ir- always belonged to the Democratic party
If. gratefully give to the Republican party
his full credit for having given US such a CT
IN rency. Why should we disturb our no
by bssiness Throughout; the country TO graf
"a foreign capitalists and spectators, fir
an whom alone and their satellites the cry
on specie payments emanasess Do forei
Lr. countries shape their financial systems
lin please Us. or other naiionss
lid Did not England prosper more than e.
lot during the time Of the Napoleonic Va