Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-07-12
SILVER AS A CURRENCY. (

From the Cincinnati COMMERCIAL.

4 from me Ninctnnati Commefcihl.
The great fact behind the silver
movement is, that there IS public
wrong to redress. The persons who
had charge of the measure of goods
| in this country-call it yard stick
changed it. The government and
people had borrowed a tremendous
amount OF goods to be paid IN kind.
The agreement of the borrowers was
to restore the goods, yard for yard,
with stipulated addition for use.
The borrowing was unprecedent in
proportions. Never, in the history
Of any people, was there so vast
mandatory of. securities, as in the
United States, after the suspension
of specie payments in 1861, and be-
fore the act OF demonstration OF
April ?, 1873. '21 3Ae3
The measure-ihe yard stick
was called the Double Standard, be-
cause it was made of two substances
long in use in association with each
other. Those substances were gold
and silver. They were used together
as measure of value-as copper
and steel are used together in the
composition balance-wheel of
watch, for the measurement of time
Take from the wheel the copper or
the steel, and the balance is affected
by the temperatures, and regularity,
and the measure of time IL spoiled.
The Standard changed and imper-
feet.
1t il the nature Of tho gold and
silver yard-stick that if ono Of tho
metals is removed the other expands
and then the measure is elongated.
Though. bearing all the official marks,
showing that it should represent
particular length, it expands Un~
der the counter, on tho I'd of April,
1878, tho silver was taken from tho
stick, leaving the gold alone. Moth
ing was said about it tor . time.
Those who happened to notice that
the measure had been tampered with
were told it, had not been harmed.
Mr.. Hooper said he had received val
liable suggestions. from an English
gentlemen, but nothing important
had been done
The next thing was the passage of
law that on the 1st of January,
1879, all goods must be measured
by the metallic rule, Then the peo-
bio began to see that 1t wasn't the
same old yard-stick that was used
when the goods were borrowed. 1t
is some inches longer. Payment ia
therefore made difficult. The debt
is greater 1t has expanded with
the measure. The dollar is dearor
than it was
And now amble forward the anna
bic representatives of the holders of
securities--the promises TO point to
the sacred yard stick OF standard
gold and tell US that it is the most
beautiful thing in the world. They
recommend it as the very thing en-
ployed to measure goods in Eng
land. They tell US that it has been
adopted in Germany. They even
become indignant at tho thought of
changing the holy unit of measure
ment-as though they hadn't just
changed it themselves under the
counter, secretly and in the dark.
We say: Softly, good friends; we
agree that after the LIST of January,
1879, we shall cease to use india-rub-
Der to measure with--and we know
as we'll as yourselves that legal ton
der paper is the india-rubber rulo
that causes uncertainty, speculation
and ruin in money matters /; but
that measure all of gold is not the
old American yard.stick. 1t is q
different thing. It is longer. 1t has
been changed since we borrowed the
goods. Maledictions on your British
measurement, and your Imperial
German gold mark. Bring out tho
old yard-stick that the goods wo
borrowed were measured to us With
Here is the old bond t; it says that
the debt is to De discharged accord
ing to the gold and silver oombina
ton. Here is the new bond : il is
drawn payable according to the
standard of July Ia, 1870. We had
the gold and silver standard then.
Fetch the same old stick or there
will be a fuss I! Yea, there will. even
DO row.