The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1877-10-25
WHOLE NO. 172.

w AO11L 1NOe liz
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bushel, if half this is destroyed, will
not the remaining half bring the or
iginal amount of money? Then, how
do you maintain that the country has
been robbed of any of it's wealth9 If
one dollar will buy as much calico or
sugar Or whatever is required by the
people us three dollars would then,
what is the advantage Of having the
three dollars? Is not the laborer who
gets MS dollar per day as we'll off as
ne was when he obtained three dollars
worth about 80 cents per dollara Had
the volume of currency remained the
same as when at it's highest degree of
lnnatlon, would not all values. or rath-
er, prices have remained correspond
lngly inflated! Then 1 fail to see
how contraction of the currency de-
preciated the real wealth Of the conn
try.
| Now, Mr.. Editor you can give light
on this subject, and we want it. Asa
member of the greenback party I ask
light. / am sure if the people could
see this matter as clearly as you do.
| success would speedily crown our eff
| orts. E. w. B. Harvey.
| We reply:
The country is mot poorer to-day
/ than it was six years ago. There is
as much of wheat, oats, corn, horses,
cattle, iron, cloth, houses, lands ETC.,
as there was then. These are real
wealth. They are the things necessa-
| ry to civilized human life and happi-
ness! This alone constitutes wealth.
But with the decrease in the amount
OF money. and the still greater de-
crease in the confidence necessary to
trade and commerce, caused thereby.
these forms ofwealth avail not. While
it is true that dollar will buy as
much calico or sugar as three dollars
would five years ago, labor cannot pre-
cure the dollar; and the value of the
calico and sugar has fallen because
labor has not the dollar with which TO
buy them. The prosperity of coun-
try.and the consequent demand for the
productions of industry, depend upon
the prosperity of it's laboring popula-
| ton, since these are the great bulk
OF the inhabitants. The price of cal
leo and other manufactures is due to
the fact that they are produced by
bankrupt employers and half-fed en-
ployes.
Our friend seems to think that when
prices are comparatively high they
are inflated, and that this is due to a
superabundance of money. Suppose
this to be true; would it not be better
to have the imitation which followed
the war, together with the extraordi-
nary prosperity which accompanied
it, rather than the present low prices,
with three millions of workingmen
out of employment, and society and
liberty endangered as they are to-day!
We believe that money is the life
blood Of society. Baron Storch calls
money, "the marvellous instrument to
which we are indebted for our wealth
| IL
money is necessarily rude, ignorant,
, barbarous race. A people with only
/ half the money required by their de-
velolment of wealth and population,
is race arrested in it's growth and
; /, overwhelmed with misery:-a civil
lied race limited by barbaric condi-
: tions. This. in our judgement, in the
: condition of our people to-day. It is
of no avail that the weaver weaves.
; the miner delves, and the farmer
ploughs, if the currents Of exchange
' are blocked and the arteries of COM
t merce knotted. Human labor be-
! comes the victim Of a device of capi-
= tai.
But do the cheap prices of Ameri-
can goods to-day indicate their real
; values No: because we can take
!! those goods to Europe and undersell
the productions of all the world.
} Why? Because our people have been
. impoverished below the level of the
r rest of mankind. If this thing con.
y tinues Europe will have to enact a
!, tariff to protect herself from the pau.
r per labor of the free people Of the
h United States!!
VI Why is wheat high to-day com.
y pared with dry goods and other man.
r ufactures! Becaese we sell it at
n the worlds price and buy our manu-.
le factured goods at the American prices
l. prices far below those Of Europe.
is But ii the European demand for Ou1
IS wheat ceased we would fall into thu
8 common abyss Of poverty with the
s rest of our fellow citizens.
"a In short, the true test Of the pros
a. perity of a country is not the valul
ld of it4 nrndnctinna hi1t the condition