Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1878-02-20

,r follow from its success all prices mus
] fall largely. Can mortgages be paid
N Can capital save itselfi Public debt
y will become four fold more onerous
y Taxes will be lessencd upon propert,
T. because its value falls, and in the conse
4 queht distress and confusion publi
y faith may suffer.
MI II silver be demonetized Us Lawful
q money can you use il Ut all Us subsdi
y ary coin 2 Here meet the question
= Of my friend from Georgia, Mr. Hill.
. III is not like our fractional notes,
!, promise to pay 1t is payment. Tn,
9 legal-tendcr quality you give ii viii
7 |rpan moderate gap, and the peopl,
. will accept II for the sake of conven
I ience, ut its face value. But il silver
$ IiaIls 10 one bali the value of gold will
Q The subsidiary coins pass at their fac,
] even as tokens II il were rcdeema
(; Bile by the Government or exchanged
. bic at the Mints for god il cou!d sus
!, llain itself, but that cannot be for many
y reasons II il does so fall, and as q con
: sequence OF relegating silver to the arts
! as result Vi It's characterization, you
, will compel your own people 10 rejec,
|. il in the form Of subsidiary coin They
4 will not accept o coin as payment that
. is 30 dsbased as 10 DO worth bat one.
: half il proposes TO DO by law. The
argument used by Senators that silver
subsidiary coin is cheapened and may
| be used TO deiraud labor is intensified
when you consider with how much
more force it applies to an appreciated
gold dollar than ii does 10 silver dol
lar, for il it takes two hundred and
sixteen silver half dollars TO buy 500
in legaltendor silver dollars il requires
two hundred and thirty.eight silver
halt dollars to buy one hundred
gold dollars. The gap widens between
them very rapidly il you totally reject
silver as full legfl-tcnder. The result
Of such system inevitably is that
the wages OF labor are paid in debased
money while the profits Of capital are
paid 10 real money. This is one of the
worst results of an exclusive gold
standard. IL serves TO demonstrate
the necessity, in justice to all classes,
for full-valued metallic money, upon
an equal basis between the metals. Sir,
the people whom | represent want no
system Of coinage in which IL takes
fifteen ten-cent pieces TO make u dollar
Is it the interested this people TO in.
crease the value of gold, or what is its
equivalent, further TO decrease the
price Of articles measured by il 7 1t
needs no other argument than our OK.
perieDce during the last -four years to
prove that the adoption Of a gold
standard inevitably produces this result
Are we ready, is il safe, TO drive the
wages Of labor down TO a pittaDce, even
IT that pittancc be measured in appre-
ciated gold ? Are lands and houses,
mills aud furnaces, iron and coal, mer-
chandise and commodities OF every
kind to be still iurther reduced in value,
while money securities are increased by
the same process ? Shpll we reverse
our ancient poIicy~-iQ hueh an end ?
Aie theories worth more than healthy
progress Are our merchants and
business men 10 be cbanlSrnptedin masses
that we may redeem our paper In a
single u edium, while the contract pro.
vidcs for payment iD either We are
travelling TO resumption in gold. We
have not one. e.thrd Of the amount nee.
essary to successfully sustain it, IL
can only be- obtained by buying il in
other countries. Our people will not
agree 10 increase their interest bearing
obligations TO obtain il. The only re.
naming road is that which the Treas.
ury is now 80 remorselessly pursuing,
to reduce the price Of all our commodi-
ties in every market IN the world, to
the end that gold may flow hitber
We are buying gold at the expense OF
the labor enterprise, energy, fortunes
and property OF our people, and With
heartless faulty too we seek TO increase
the price of the very article our policy
deems vital to its wants. Was ever n
more destructive and suicidal policy
innugurated9 Whose ends are served
Who profits by this 2 The measure Of
value, the medium of exchange, the
dollar of our system is both gold and
silver, and the use of both, bridges with
ease that narrow but deep chasm
which separates the value of paper
from that OF gold. We are not at re-
sumption OF specie payments, even u
the credit of the Government does mark
legaltenders down to enc and quar-
ter premium. Whore is the gold to
redeem theml II we are to find and
maintain a coin basis tor our paper. its
quantity must equal TO the amount of
the paper to be redeemed. England,
emerging from her great wars in 1916,
had nincontrovertible paper currency.
She sought to return 10 specie pay.
ments, Gold was then but three -fourths
Of per cent. premium, She adopted
the gold standard and rejected the aid
Of silver by the statute OF 1916. Gold
at once began 70 rise, and during 1916,
lsl7, 1918, and part Of 1919, it ranged
between 2 and z per cent premium.
The graduation Of the Peel resumption
statute, by which the price Of gold was
graded to n value in paper over several
Years, cxtricatod them in 1919. viii
we have such an experience History
teaches None 80 foolish as those who
will not profit by her lessons.
FIVE compel the country to I'll the
narrow gap that separates US from
sporie payment with gold alone we will |
find II deep enough 10 bury every pro.
ducing and manufacturing interest in
the land that must find on outside mar.
ket for its commodities. With the
misery that surroands us on every
hand are we ready for such change
OF our ancient policy To get gold
we must compete with the low prices
of continental Europe and Great Brit.
ain in the worlds markets. To get
gold we must lower the prices Of com.
modities, and to this task every energy
Of those who droct our finances and !
originate ourpolicy--themen who own ,
the debts directed Gold cannot
aud II will not come in masses, but III.
lie by little, through the many avenues !
Df business. Business too, insensibly
perhaps, but none the less surely, 4
Inolded to that specific end. To get IL {
We must offer a high price for IT, This
san only be done byi6w prices Tor what
We sell, and to prevent Il from running !
away again, prices must remain low.
u..l Z