Ottumwa weekly courier., 1878-10-02


He buzzed TO the people,
And walked on with the steeple
He's dreadful old rat,
NOta bit Of n ouse,
And his eyes on the cheese
That perfumes the White House.
MAKING THE POOR POORER.
Some Conclusive Facts, Showing
the Pauperizing Effects Of
Trashy Paper Money.
From the Cincinnati Commercial
We have received q copy of an
address by w. III. Van NOrtwick, Of
New Jersey, which presents some
new phases Of the financial question.
1t is entitled .'The Struggle OF Labor
With an Inflated Currency, and its
Pauperizing Results"
The title Indicates the scope Of the
address, which aims in q special man
ner to point out the impoverishing re-
suits of an irredeemable currency up
on the laboring classes. The author
begins by exposing the fallacy that
money makes trade. He shows that
trade is merely an exchange of COM
mOdities equal to the wants of society
and that as an increase of currency
does not increase the amount of COM
modities to be exchanged nor their
desirableness, therefore it cannot in
crease trade. To quote the authors
words: Legitimate trade has its
own inexorable laws, and uses no
more money than is absolutely neces-
sary to pass the commodity from the
producer to the consumer. Take the
matter Of breadstufis as an illustra-
tion. Careful investigation has pro-
ven that the annual home consump-
tion of breadslufls amounts to seven
and one-half bushels per capita
This for our present population Of
Al, 100000 gives total domestic con-
sumption Of 337 SOC, 900 bushels. Bill
lions Of currency added to tho pres
ent volume of money cannot increase
the home demand for breadstuifs be-
yond the capacity of consumption"
Statistics are produced to show that
the volume of currency never has in
creased in the same ratio with the ex-
changes it serves to carry on. In
other words, that in times when
banks had an unlimited power of is
sue the business of the country has al
ways increased in far greater pro-
portion than the volume of currency,
showing that currency does not make
business. From 1887 to 1861 the pop
ulation Of the United States increased
81 per cent, the census valuation of
property 800 per cent, and the circu-
lation only 80 per cent. At that time
State banking prevailed and the pow
er of issuing money was unlimited.
The facts show that an enormous in
crease of business did not require,
and was not accompanied by, a cor
responding increase of currency. The
conclusion is that the exchange capac-
| ity Of a redeemable currency is indef-
initely great, and that there is almost
nolimit to the amount of exchanges
which a given amount of currency
will perform. From carefully cOllat-
ed statistics and comparison of the
foreign and domestic trade Of the
country at present with former years,
the author concludes that "the coun-
try possesses sufficiency of money to
more than double its present volume
of production and trade, if popula-
tion and the worlds markets were
equal to its use." The conclusion is
that the country does not need more
money, and that imitation of the cur
rency would not increase business.
| Passing to consider the losses caus-
ed by cheap money and an irredeem-
able currency, the author declares
that enormous as was the cost of the
/ nd M nf tnk n
during the last II years, "yet the
cheap money for which theorists and
demagogues are now bowling, has
already cost the people of the United
States moro than double the cost OF
the war, the interest Of the public
debt, and the administering the Gov.
ernment combined" In proving this
he assumes that the cost of maintain.
ing q family of five persons belong.
ing to the better class Of mechanics
and skilled laborcrs in 1860 was
$ll7.S3 per head, gold value. Reck.
oning the population of the loyal
states at only 2O000,000 during the
war, and tho cost of maintenance fol
the whole at only 500 per head, ir
coin, the loss to consumers through
deprecated paper during the three
years from 1862 to 1864, when gold av
ersged about 66 cents on the dollar
was $2,O82, 100000. Pursuing the same
line Of demonstration and basing tht
calculation year by year on the aver
age price Of gold, it appears that from
1862 to 1877 the people of the United
States suffered . loss through theiI
deprecated currency Of $ll, ,266, ITO,
600. OF course these figures are no
, supposed to be exact, but they arr
!. approximately correct. "Such." say
, the writer. "has been the history o
cheap money in the United State
, since the close of 1861. A redundant
J unredccmed currency has accomplish
ed more toward impoverishing tn
people and creating the business dis
asters which have afflicted the coun
, try &C long, than all other causes com
bined. And yet, in the face of thi
awful experience, visionary theorist
in finance, backed by political dema
; gogues, hungering for place and pow
or, would demonetize the precis u
metals, and by an issue of irredeema
bic Government paper eventuall
sink the nation to lower depth O
: poverty and suffering than it has ye
experienced"
But of all classes tho daily lahore
or wages-earning class suffer mos
from . deprecated currency. o.
l this head we cannot do better tha
I reprint tho following:
An exhaustive official examination
was made In lS67-S with q view to DE-
termining how far the working class
I es had been affected by agencie
growing out of the late civil war.
' was shown that the average advanc
in the price Of commodities necessar
|, to living had been 80 per cent, owe
! the ruling rates of 186O-6l, while tn
\ advance in wages-currency valus
!, Ftion-hAd been Gu per cent. to skille
2 labor, and SO per cent. to unskilled II
Dor. This official exhibit shows tbs
tho advanced cost of maintenance ws
30 per cent. greater than the advanC
!. in wages to skilled labor and 40 pe
cent. In excess of the increase to vi
. skilled labor. This in itself was su
Q ficient to curtail tho ability of the !,
+ boring classes to provide comforts
i which they had been accustomed, an
in time, 40 it has done, lead to the
ipauperizati0n. In their efforts to 81
s duce tho working classes into the sui
l. port of "cheap money" the advocat,
of imitation glowingly describe Il