The daily gazette., 1878-01-16
WHAT the PEOPLE SAY
For the t3AzErrE. ~ = ~. ~ rs
THE SILVER QUESTION.

Though 1 do not consider that any
power resides in Congress to demonetiz re
silver, yet as this result has been practi-
cally attained by Congressional enact
ment, let us examine what has been the
effect of such legislation. The price of
any thing depends upon the demand and
supply. BY demonetizing silver, the de-
mand was lessened, and it consequently
became cheaper, as one of its most inn
portant uses was as circulating medium.
But by the same act the demand for gold
was increased and SO it became dearer.-
So the demonetizing act caused gold to
raise in price as much as silver fell
But in addition to this the customs dues
were made payable solely in gold. This
still further increased the demand for
gold and raised its price still higher.
| Again, the amount of gold coin in the
country being comparatively small, ena-
bled the gold dealers to hoard it and thus,
by making it scarce, add still more to its
price. All things together then the raise
In the price Of gold has been relatively
greater than the fall in the price of silver
But as silver has been demonetized but
by a small portion of the world, and as II
has great intrinsic value in the arts, its
fall in price compared with gold has beer
but small
But if the price of both of these metal
compared with other things of real value
has gone up enormously; or in othe
words the price of stocks, real estate, &c.
had gone down. xxx
How any one interested In farm lands
houses, railroads, &C., can be in favor o
/ the single gold standard, cannot see.-
BY the characterization Of silver, real mo
: ney was more scarce;and when any com
: modify becomes scarce, the demand an,
supply remaining unchanged, the prie
! ! must go up. So as gold has gone up th
4 price of landed property has gone dowr
hence the frailures in the numerous trus
n institutions based on such value. Had
$ not been for the greenback currency
= which prevented the otherwise grea
lscarcity of money, the results would hav
been still more disastrous
L llhOibo aiC hOW ocihB W SCb otL
e Igreenback currency out of the way, s
THAT the gold dealers may have clea
field for their operations, AS to th
= morality of this matter, the bonded del
/ Iof the United States was made payable
Isilver dollars, weighing 412.i grains. No
(which are the most honorable, those thi
b wish to adhere to a contract, or those VIII
= wish to have it altered to their own az
d vantage? f4
I'll AS to the motives of those intereste
;, in having a single gold standard, we mus
4 ljudge them by their acts. The gold dea
q ers have made corner in gold ; tried
Z hoard it so as to make it scarce /; and I
= course, as it became scarcer its priC
], would go up, and as the price of gol
II went up all other values, as stocks, re-
y estate, &C., would go down. The holder
d of gold could then invest in these secur
1t ties with much advantage.
/ The same kind of men have made
"a corner in wheat, the bread of the LAM
D. with view of raising the price on IL
'e people. If they could, they would bu
- ! all the wheat in the country, and the
a. endeavor to obtain an act of Congre
lie that corn should not be an article of di
& in the United States. w. f. QUINBY.