The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1875-04-08
TILE COST OF RAG MONEY.


When Senator Sherman at the end o.
December presented the country with
that remarkable abortive Financial bill
Of his which he styled the most precious
Christmas gift that the nation could re-
eeive, the price ofgold was varying from
lllt to lll!. Since then the price Of golc
has steadily advanced to ll6g. The av'
erage price of gold from the lst of Janu'
airy until now can fairly be taken at ia!
This fact, properly interpreted, simply
means that CONSUMERS in this country
have been obliged 20 pay per- cent more
than formerly, prime cost, for all i'm
ports from the lst of January, 1878, to the
Goth of March, period of eighty-fve
days.
Now let us zee what this increase in
the price of gold has cost the people OF
this country during these eighty-hye
days. Our consumption of foreign goods,
for which we have to pay in gold, amount
ed during the fiscal year 1874 in round
numbers to $567, 100000, and the duty
thereon collected in gold was $l60, 1885,
600. Assuming our imports for the fiscal
year 1915 will be the same-and they
promise to be larger-the amount ofgold
needed for these two items will be S727,-
$4,000. If this amount be divided by
365 we find that the amount ofgold daily
needed to pay for imports is nearly 81
100000. At this rate we pay for import
ed goods during the eighty-fve days from
the LIST of January to the 26th of March
$l70000000 in gold, on which we had to
pay an average extra premium OF 3 per
cent, or S., 100000. But this So, 100, ,00Ois
only the extra amount that the import
ing merchants have had to pay. 1t may
be fairly estimated, as the goods have to
pass through the hands of jobbers, deal
ers and country merchants, that the con-
sumer has to pay at least 80 per cent in
profits ON the above extra 10, 1000.
The arbitrary depreciation of our ire
deemable currency since the people got
Mr.. Sherman's Christmas gift has cost
them at least $6,6O0,000. There is no
getting around these figures, whose in
tiuence has been felt in every pound of
sugar, coffee and tea consumed, as well as
in every dollars worth Of dry goods used
in the United States.
Even if it be true, as some argue, that
there was not and is not any legitimate
commercial reasot4 for this increase in
the gold premiumb that the rise is due to
the fact that spectators in stocks have
tried conclusions with each other, in
volving the withdrawal of gold from the
market and consequent speculation in
gold, yet were it not for our irredeema-
bic currency the people could not thus
be trampled upon in the chance tussles
of bulls and bears in Wall street. But
the evil goes even further. The gamblers
in rag money invariably look with u
wistful eye at the rreasury-one side or
the other is ever anxious to make the
Treasury subservient to its own schemes.
And precedents are not wanting where
Secretary of the Treasury has taken the
pressing necessities of some of these
worthless into consideration. The pres
ent incumbent of the Treasury, however,
is an able lawyer and stubborn official
who does not care for precedents but
looks to the law. How long he will re-
main at the head of the Treasury, and
who is to be his successor, are questions
which unfortunately give cause for pres
ent anxiety,
The greatest misfortune of the country
is this same irredeemable currency. We
are confident that the wisdom Of return
ing to hard money and free trade is daily
becoming more apparent. The great
West is now learning by bitter expert.
ence the hollowneSs and rottenness OF
rag money helps to prosperity. There,
more than anywhere else, the truth is
felt that while the banks and money
centres are groauing under plethora OF
rag money, the masses were never poorer,
and the difficulty of obtaining the loana-
bic capital which money circulars, was
never greater than now.-[N. T. World.