The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-03-13
Good Money the only Honest Wages

A correspondent, speaking in the inter-
est Of what he calls the midding class"
wants TO know how the return to hard
money would affect them. II by the mid
ding class he means the producers and
laborcrs of the country, the men who Gre
ate its wealth ana prosperity, we reply
that they Will be benefited above all other
men. When the farmer is paid for his
products. ana the workman for his labor,
in dollars, everything depends, TO them,
upon the value of those dollars. The bet
ter the dollar the better their pay. There
is really but one honest dollar, and that j.
composed of u certain fixed quantity Of
gold and when the laborer is paid in that,
he cannot be cheated. But every other
form Of dollar that we now have in
this country, is cheat. The giecnback
dollar is q cheat and the bank note not re-
deemable in gold is a cheat, because nei-
ther is as good rs gold dollar. The la
borer aud producer are now paid in
these paper dollars, worth no more than
cighty-iVe cents each. How can they fail to
perceive that if they We're paid in dollar
worth a hundred cents instead OF eighty
five, it would be just SO much the better
for them? Let any one go and buy gold
dollar with the paper fractional currency,
or with copper cents, or nickel five-cent
pieces, and see how much he will have to
pay to get Il. He will find II will cost him
one hundred and fifteen cents. And yet
this gold dollar is what be is honestly en-
TITLED to on every contract TO pay him u
dollar; and when he doesn't get it, 1t is be-
cause he is defuuded.
We think it may be plainly seen from
this, that whenever we get back to the
gold dollar, the laborer and producer will
DO greatly benefited; because they will
then be paid IN good money instead of bad.
Tho pretence that paper money makes
times better. makes better markets, makes
more demand for labor, is another cheat.
Haven't we got paper money now
Haven't we had II for long years. But is
labor III demand, are wages high, are times
goodi Not at all. On the contrary. IT is
Just the reverse. Things are about rs bad
a. they can be. Prices are low, and wages
are clear down. There are IA few foolish
people who say this is because We have not
paper money enough. But paper money
was never more plenty, and interest never
so low. Money lies piled up and idle rs il
never was before. Anybody can get il
VINO can pay for it. There is just as much
money rs we had three years ago, and Ave
years ago, when the country was doing
| twice the business il now Is and when
there was no complaint of scarcity in any
quarter. 1t is not paper money then that
is wanting, and it is tremendous fraud
aud mischief to represent that il is.
What Ii at the bottom of our difficulties
is want of honest dealing. Our paper dol
| lar is a swindle, and we need to get back
TO honest money. Until We do, things will
| go on from bad to worse We cannot liz
and cheat IN our finances, any more than
we can lie and cheat in anything else, with
out suffering from it. The hrst thing now
diton, is to return to honest courses
and restore our lost prosperity by indus
try, economy, and fair dealing. A good
honest gold dollar IL the basis of II all
We have given irredeemablc paper fnii
trial, and it is failure; aud the more W,
have of it the worse off we shall be. Tn
effort of the inflationists IN Congress to is
sue more, is what is now postponing tn
revival of business more than any Other
one thing. If the laborlng classes woulC
set up a clamor to be paid In good money
instead Of deprecated paper, it nigh
bring some of these members TO thei
gau.pa