The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1876-08-29

dex not excepted) has been quick to
point out the unfairness of cheating |
creditors by depreciating money, bat |
seldom anything dendneiatory of cheat |
ing debtors by changing, through legis-
lation, the value of money, Whereby a
double amount OF property is required
to pay given debt. Ifaz
The entire debts OF the bccuntry, pri-
vate, municipal, State and National,
gauged by the quantity of property or
commodities required to discharge them,
have been pearly doubled since 1873,
and as the last act in q drama of wick.
edness, unsurpassed in any country, we
have deposed silver from its place as
money, and declared for gold only, sim
ply because ii is the more valuable and
will give more to creditors! so'- sseis'es s,
1tis susceptible of positive proof that
the demonetizing Of silver by Germany,
and taking gold in its place, has, by in-,
creasing the uses. for gold, operated per-
manently to augment the value of this
metal tlirouqhout the world, byiat least
eight per cent, and the demonetizing Of
paper (gfeenbscks) money Id this coun.
try,and calling for gold to take its place,
must enhance the value OF gold, as COM
pared with other things, ten or twelve
per cent more. - Li'ii - ga
Hence, with all the decline in prices
we are no nearer gold than we were three
years ago. With the single standard it
is possible for 9 foreign state, India for
instance, BY demonetizing silver and
adopting the gold standard alone,to aug
ment the burden Of our national debt by
ten or twenty per cent more, by simply
raising the value of the standard that
measures it ~ sf'- ~ %'.s
Now we have no disagreement to ad.
just with the advocates of metallic mon
ey, but we denounce the present Resump-
ton policy as, in effect, a gigantic sys
tenn Of robbery-robhery of the debtor
by arbitrarily appreciating the value of
money while in use, as the common
measure Of value ip al the exchanges of
the country, robbery Of industry, by
causing forced depreciation Of every.
thing produced. Now where is the jus.
tification Of this policy? If the Index
can point it out, It will have discovered
principles Of ethics unknown to the wri-
ter. The only Justification ever heard is
that during the war money was depre-
ciated, and thereby creditors wronged
Granted; and certainly it is just as
wrong to cheat creditors by arbitrarily
depreciating money as it is to rob debt
ors by appreciating It and without here
raising the question of the wisdom of
the policy OF the government at that
time, nothing could justify it but that
condition Of things which justified TAX
ing the citizen and compelling him to
serve in the army or navy at such rate of
pay as the government saw 6t to pre-
scribe, and in such kind Of money, too,
as the government in its extremity could
give him, But if taking the person was
justifahle, who would say taking capital
was not likewise justifiable-for is not
life more than meat, the body more than
raimert? - sJ9s.a IS l'16f
But we are not now righting wrong
done then That can no more be than
severed limbs can be restored, or the ex-
act value OF each and every life given to
save the nation determined, and ade-
quate compensation rendered. $3.50
We are simply committing another
wrong-a wrong immeasurably greater
than that of depreciating the value of
money then, for then only creditors were
wronged, but now not only all debtors
are equally wronged, but industries are
overthrown, ,and labor everywhere forced
into idleness for the ulterior consequen-
ces Of altering Che value OF money by
apprecia:ing it are the reverse Of depre-
ciation in their influences on industries,
trade, and commerce, as Hume long ago
pointed out. ie' 9aj 40 t9mIdi12q g3"
hnWe hold, then, this truth to be self.
evident-that tits as wrong to alter the
value Of money whereby debtors are
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