The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1876-08-12
THE OLD DIFFUSION.

| a. WIS oChbChCC IL CHI
braces every fundamental idea of the most
elaborate bullion argument, and so long
as majority of the people are blinded by
sucn sophlstry, we cannot make any sub
stantial Roadway with the greenback
cause. Yet there are men who pretend to
be Independents, who say :'Why attack
this universal prejudice of gold r. ''What
we want is to reduce the rate of interest, =
say a number of journalists and others,
who can see nothing beyond the prospect
of getting office by means of the greenback
movement. Our idea is we should attack
this very point not as means of getting
office, but because it is not true, and be
cause as long as it is believed to be true it
will be held to be conclusive answer to
every greenback argument and if it was
true it would be conclusive argument in
favor of gold. Let ms see, then, wherein
it is not true The first thing our friend
should learn is, that in money matters
things are not always what they appear to
be- One dollar in gold is not always the
same thing as he implies. 1t is sometimes
more, sometimes less, instead of always be.
ing the same. We know it is a difficult
matter to make this perfectly plain, but if
our dogmatic friend will investigate mat
tiers, he will find that what is now profess
eddy called fall in prices is, really, rise
in gold. This rise i'll gold is not confined
to this country. 1t is by studying the
English markets that we find the best test
Of this rise i'll gold, and it can only be
found by comparing the prices of many ar
ticles, hundreds and thousands of articles
in fact, with gold. When the price Of any
gwen article falls OF rises, we can general
ly assign some good reason for the change
in value but when there is a widespread
fall in prices, and this fall is tOlerably uni
form IN wide range of articles, then, I'M
less we find different reasons for each Of
these different changes in values, it is pref
ty evident that there has simply been rise
in the value of gold.
Having gone this far, if we then find
that the demand for gold has been increas-
ed, or the supply Of gold has diminished,
then the inference becomes certain that
gold has risen in value.
Now this is exactly what has taken place.
The bank of Berlin. the bank Of Fra ce
and the bank of England have withdrawn
from circulation and locked up over $500,
0OO, 900 of gold during the past three
years. The contraction policy Of our gov
eminent, which began under MCCULLOUGH,
in 1866, and has been continued with vari-
GUS interruptions ever since, eliminated IN
the panic of 1873. About that time the
boarding Of gold, which was only another
name for the contraction Of the currency,
commenced in Europe, and, being like
cause, it has produced almost the same eff
feet in Europe as it has here. People who
have not followed the question very closely
have been misled, because the different OPP
erations have been called different names !;
but there has been a close identity all the
way through, both in cause and effect.
| Europe is suffering to-day because Of an
actual, but not theoretical, contraction Of
the currency. We are suffering from exact
ly the same cause here in the United States
Bullionists undertake to demonstrate that
there has been no contraction of the cur
rency here but their attempts all hang up
on pettifogging definition as to what the
word currency means. They are Just as
certain to deny that there has been no con-
traction Of the currency in Europe, and so
far as Europe is concerned they would be
technically right but actually wrong. The
simple fact is that, when stripped of all
pettifogging, the money question resolves
corner on the gold market of the world
and as no man living can tell what an arti-
Gle is worth when 1t is cornered, so no man
living can now tell what one dollar in gold
will be worth on the LIST day of January,
1879, if the resumption law is not repealed,
measured by the value of other things
We will venture the assertion that a mort
gage given now on piece of property at
one-third its present value, would be " orth
more than the entire property in 1879, un-
der the circumstances named, and so it is
with all debts that have been or may be
contracted.
If we broaden out the base and make
both gold and silver legal tender, then,
when gold is cornered, and its price is being
put up, people will pay silver. This would
break the corner, and the robbers would
be banked. We never heard of locking
up greenbacks until Congress passed a law
that only a certain sum should be issued.
Then gamblers bsgan to corner the green
back market. The whole monetary system
is therefore simply question Of how to
prevent cornering the money market. If
gold is the only legal tender, then,
when gold is cornered, the money market
is eornered. If both gold and silver are
legal tender, then both gold and silver
must be cornered before the money market
can be controlled. If greenbacks, redeem
able in gold and silver, are the only legal
tender, then the limit is the volume of
gold and silver. These are the plain, com
nonsense rules which apply. They are
the only rules which conform to all known
facts, and are therefore the rules of the
true science of money which sooner or
latter will be applied, and when they are.
we shall hear no more of the nonsense
about gold being the Worlds standard
Of value"
We have one point more to offer: Sta
biity OF value is the greatest element to be