Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1877-07-07
DAVID A. WELLS ON THE SILVER
QUESTION.

which NJ WI, sa,s ont IN hi. i,nns
sion is rar,. toiini.n,,s on ilIuctrn,,,,
lint illustra,inr 10 mot aruumant RI.
orI,. r,anamSr,L tLinnsE n,r,Ina
,io1 ssroIrnh ~ 49, nur COME VIII
is atan,.a ~ nannmrni,v wfI,pr. wamn,
and go $500 lnm, ,ha, om tnr'7.
hnr p. ,bo a." ~ 80
/. ti.m -, nHn,II onrImaS
rarn "' w., ,isS
s,.om .,r;, ''nS. s"NI "''i" y
conIJ ha hkan r. "n1, nr IaIi,a,. 49,
ra~, 49,, ~, "a. "'
to-, "'n .n,s aP, vi' - i
S's P'''' WI 'r'" f'O,'> I,
.,. uo"" har" on t"e .'"Ihsi'''s VI
hi' "o,iar u our ia''eir' II was we
unP'e" 10 me iaIe vi "aS"S u ""f
l''neiS' WHICH hid not eA'ee" MY cent
4 oa', "hc! a li"iith : wages III sllHci
vo'iid he carried Without inconvenience
1t ui''uea oet"ee tie Nv" pockets oil II
par OF trousers. but wages ana com
nloditIes have 50 risen III value since the
DAYS OF our fathers thai silver money Is
LOO bulky ana heavy iof the ~cohvenicn
OF tlelr sons. MI. Wells gays We have
become a great travelling people, and
mat n man seldom starts on Il Journey
win less tha one dollars II
his pocket. But one hundred dollars II
silver weighs live and Il hall pounds
burden that nobody would wish 10 b.aI
on his person. For every thousand
dollars that 4 man is paid in silver
says Mr.. Wells, "a w~heelbarruw would
become necessary if he wished to remove
II. me "heeIbtrrow IN tact, VIII he
fashionable, portemonnaie for ali VIII,
propose to engage in any considerable
monevrd transactions, il the dollar o.
our fathers is to be made the principa'
circulation medium. This is piuuan,
and amusing. but we fear that il ha, lii.
tie other merit. MIR. Wells zeal arainSl
silver has led him to overlook the main
distinction between the monetary meth
DDS Of our fathers" and those Of thei,
sons. IL the sons. ike the fathers, madt
all their payments from money carried
ABOUT III their pockets, tins sttlrICaI
illustration would hay real force ~ N
argument y gentleman making n tril
OF twenty days. with his family ,and hav'
ing To run the gauntlet OF such hotels Il
tue Windsor Ill this city. the Ocean a
Newport, and the Grand l'rnon at sara,
t"Ga, would need something more Capa.
cI"us than even "A 'whcelbarrOw as
portenlonnaIcIt he had to pay out aetna,
silver lor ms travelling expenses. But
even with gold Tor our circulating me
diuin our summer tourist would cave his
money Ill his bank at home and pay his
motel hllIs 10y checks drawn against il. II
i true enough, as MI. Wells MAINTAINS,
that we have outgrown he money Ar,
engagements OF our fathers but the most
important difference Is not IN the higher
wages and prices which natural. lead t.
coinage in a more precious metal, but
IN the habit OF carrying little money ON
the person and paving BY checks on Il
bank The argument founded ON the
great weight and bulk of silver on
which Mr.. Wells So largely insists,
Ignores the great modern fact OF pay
ment by checks. which is altooethcr the
most important advance the sons
have made over the fathers" in matters
oi this kind. 1t seems to us, therefore.
that tins part OF Mr.. Wells argumen,
breaks down, and that he Is the dupc Of
his popular faculty of ~ingeniou, illustra-
ton.
Even the diminishing number of peo.
pie who do not keen a hank acr1uut
would suffer no Inconvenience from the
weight Of silver if that meta, wer, ra.
m0neliIed. In maxine =, inurn.v tLey
would EXCHANGE Their silver ,nr cold
before st.rtino which they cnI,rd ,95s;Iy
do if both metals wer. in r,,rr.nt usa
and were at par. as the silver advocates
assume will be the case. Put even with
silver As the sole metallic hosis nj on,
circulating meJium auI th4 nn1v ler,l
truder. Mr.. Wells remuneration I'll
inrOure0icuf tarpuI1ent apajn.r
wheelbarrows a. portemonnaiesl would
have no other merit than belong to All
amusing satirical caricature. Neither
the silver men nor Mr. Wells. nor any
rational human being who has kept
pace with the march vi modern ideas.
supposcs that commercial cuuutri,. arr,
To disprnSe with bank notes Even in
the extreme case 4 case 50 ,,rrem,.
it-ut the exclusion 81 U,I1 L,ntS nn,as
would >tj,l be th, ordinary m.,j,rm ~
transactions. ana a prrson GoplcunI.Iin"
a Journey from New York tu San FRI
cisco. instead of CARVING silver with
linn. would either ,akr Tho NOES nr enm.
New York bank in GOOD credit ,t San
Francisco or buy letter of credit ar ,
draft ON a san Fronc;sro hank /, i
really amusino tn Ga. - ,~r,r.;,, wri,.,.
So genuinely modern and reilly ,hIa -.
ON the lido, I'm, ,ba san. ar. nH"L ~
,Iv,nca NJ ~aI, r,,Lom,. 49,, ,Ln w. :"
49, -. WA = Ia NV 't'iG.ll