Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-10-17
rhs Honey Agitation.


Perhaps the most interesting
question now before the American
people is the extent to which the
theories Of the greenbackers can be
carried out without mischief. That
the controversy originated by
Pendleton and Buchanan is destin-
Cd to force itself upon our states
msn there can be no manner Of
doubt. Within certain bounds the
agitation against contraction Is
wholesome one. Until the national
debt has been entirely cleared off
The medium of it's payment should
equal the volume of the currency
which existed when the debt was
contracted.
Every candid man must unhesi-
tatlngly admit that money" even
though it be gold and silver, is not
wealth. At best 1t is but its agreed
representative and it Is only by u
patent misuse of the term that il
pes come to signify wealth. In
fact the whole mercantile system
Of the world rasts upon the fallacy
that money Is wealth; and If that
fallAcy shall be persisted in to a
consistent end. ; the world will
have compassed the fault and
suffered the punishment Of
Midas-for he but changed his
WEALTH. things which minis-
tered to his necessities, his ease,
his pleasures-into hard, useless
gold; aud the curse only passed
from him, says the old mythology,
when hating gold he dwelt in the
country and became q worshipper
Of Pan. the god of the fields. But
although, ever since the days OF
the old Phrygian King, men have
bsen athirst for gold, they have not
been candid enough to apply or ad-
init the true philosophy of his cure;
they have persisted in their faliacy ;
u iii now those who would recoe-
nlze the true conditions of wealth
are denounced as breakers of con.
tfacts. regulators and deceivers,
All deceived nations act as thoue b
tley believed that they can only
& oE rich by the accumulation q
Wsil andd silver within theii
t6ei;ie 10 The end of every financis
tslegres is the establishment of q
srrable balance of trade" but
live, that stops to think does not
low, for instance, that the soont r
E,gland digs out its mines of coal
eAni iron and tin, the sooner pov.
otty will come upon 1t, no matter
INV many tons Of gold may rest IN
t1s strong boxes Of the merchants
aud manufacturers in exchange
for them. Who d,es not know
that the atiemn.s to force such
conditions OF trade have always re-
sulted,to use the language of Adam
Smith, din fraud, punishment and
poverty at home, and discord and
war without; has made nations
consider the wealth OF their custo-
mers q source Of loss instead OF
profit; and an advantageous mar
kst q curse instead of blessing;
and by indulging them to refuse to
anofit by the peculiar advantage in
atfmate, soil aud industry, possess
"a by their neighbors, also forcing
chem In great measure to give up
their own"
1t Ii not necessary to complain
of the past. We only seek to point
out its errors. We have all forgot
ten how coin came into use, and to
oonvince ourselves that II has a
value, we have said. it possesses
this quality an that. and can only
b. sproduced by so much labor and
therefore it has a certain value,
but we are rapidly approaching
the time when the value of gold.
which Is supposed to attach to it
by reason Of the labor expended in
the search for 1t, will be universal
~ recognized as misdirected labor.
II IL strange that m lnkind 80 ag-
greseive in its advances in other
directions should be SO conserva.
tive In this. 1t is easy to under
stand how In our barbarous days
the glitter and Jingle of gold and
ailver sh ,uld please the eye aud
delight the ear, and based upon the
demand for such purposes they
should then have value
for exchange in the sense
that wheat and beef have;
aud, in the first advances of
civilization, 1t Is easy to see how
their use for purposes pertaining to
the arts might keep up the value
first acquired. But after that their
continued rise can only be put upon
the ground OF convenience. Is IL
possible that 10 the full glory of the
civilization Of this century we can
calmly count the cost, past, present
and to come, OF the army of labor