The daily gazette., 1878-12-16
For the Gazette.
The Cause Of Hard Times.

Ihe Cause Of Hard Times.
Many causes have been assigned for
the present troubles in business.
First, Contraction of the paper cur
rency Of the country.
Secondly, overproduction Of useful
articles.
Neither of these reasons will account
for the difficulty.
There has not been sufficient contrac-
fion OF paper currency to account for
the great and sudden financial embar-
rassnent
Nor is overproduction, for the effect of
that Is simply to cheaper the price of
manufa ctured ARTICLES. The cause is
much deeper seated.
The decentralization of silver 10 the
true and only cause that will account for
the widespread desolation that fills the
land.
Paper currency may be used as a clrcu-
latlbg medium, but 1t Is not money.
From time immemorial silver has
been used as the chief material for mon
etary transactions.
The sudden obstruction by law Of this
property of silver, which occurred In
1873, Is sufficient to account for all the
subsequent troubles in the business of
the country.
In order to simplify the matter we will
suppose that million dollars of gold
and million dollars of silver oonstitu-
ted the money of the United States at
the commencement Of the year 1873.
Then suppose that silver was deprived
Of its property as money, gold would
then be endowed with double its former
mn hos fNaeN IL.
hou'es and farms would sink to one half
their former price. A farm that was
bought for ten thousand dollars when
gold and silver were the money Of the
country, would only sell for FIVE thous-
and dollars when gold alone was endow-
ed with the purchasing quality. And this
is what has actually occurred. In 1873
the silver money of the country was
substantially destroyed.
The disturbance in values occasioued
by this act has been sufficient to spread
ruin and disaster through the land. The
demonerization of silver was a scheme
calculated to mako the rich richer, and
the poor poorer, and IL worthy of its In
fernal author.
If the Indian corn Of the country could
be suddenly deprived of its properties as
food, then the wheat would rise very
much in value /; and, II II were the stand
ard, all other things would appear to fall
in price,
quality as money, gold rose very much | q
value or, which is the same thing, the
price of everything else fell.
If wheat were the only life sustaining
grain that was grown, it would be liable
to great fluctuations in value, owing to
failure OF crops in our own country or
"a. NAIt NtAn1 a -, l.av, Pro.
So, " gold were the only metal used
for money, it would be liable to great and
frequent fluctuations in value, owing to
wars, difficult productions, &c.
There is no such thing in this world as
an unchanging standard of value.
Gold anu silver vary in price according
to the laws of supply and demand, just
as do all other articles having a CONNER
cial value and it is just as necessary to
have several metals in use for money as
1t is to have several kinds of grain in
use for food; SO that if one happens to
be scarce the others may operate as q
check on its rise in price.
The Dutch East India Company, once
having monopoly of all the spices, found
that they had imported too much, and
that by burning one half Of them, that
they could get much more for the other
half, then they could get for the whole OF
them at the then price. But if commercial
company could buy all the wheat and
corn IN our country, they would not be
permitted to burn all of Que of these
grains in order to raise the price Of the
other. Nor if a company should secure
all OF the gold and silver coin of the
country, would they be permitted to cast
the silver into the sea in order 10 raise
the price of gold.
There are limits to mems control over
articles of public necessity.
Yet practically the money quality OF
silver was destroyed through the int1u-
ence of men interested in the price of
gold.
All of those who derive an income
from money loaned, were benefited by
the increased, value of gold, but all others
were worsted.
1t is persistently urged against the sIl-
yer dollar of 412! grains, that it is not
worth so much as the gold dollar. But
this objection has no weight, for no one
need give gold 4, liar for silver one,
unless they want to.
The two coins never were of the same
value, nor is 1t possible, or necessary that
they should be. :,
Their relative values are continually
varying. just as is the price OF wheat and
corn. Yet no one proposes to enlarge the
corn bushel, when the price of that grain
falls relatively to that of wheat. Nor Is
Congress asked to nut few more grains
in the pound weight, because butter hap,
pens to raise in price. There are good
reasons which may be stated, why the
, silver dollar shonld weigh just 4l2t
grains, so much, no more. AT the none
lnh lot al IaH