The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1878-09-19
Some Effects Of Contraction.
the Washington Post

From the Washington Post
Newspapers that are cxpending their
enrrgles N the arduous task of defend.
IN. and apolOgIzlng for Shtrman's
r@uInous policy OF contraction, continue
to rrllcratc the claim that The lnCreas-
ed purchasing power OF the circulating
nedIu.n IL ample compensation, to all
~clSsec, and to every interest, for llg
dimlnulion tiHt has taken place in the
volume of the currency. lnese Jour
mails hold that. il u dollar to-day will
purchase twice AS much food and
clothing as n dollar would purchase ten
wears ago, then no wrong has been in
tllCted by contraction; for the essence
Of money, its purchasing power, has
not been destroyed, but merely con
dcnsed, 80 that all Of This quality hat
was contained in $l,l25, ST., 034 50 in
1864, resides nov in $G33.O59,2ll 1t
might be urged against the Lcnablcmess
Of this theory that, if it we've pushed
to an extreme, il contraction were car.
ried on TIT. but one dollar remained,
the whole purchasing power that exist
ed in the maximum circulation OF 1864
would, according to these theorists, re-
side in that Que dOIIar-a proposition
whose pa|pablr absurdiLy will strike
the most obluse intellect. But We
cOnccde, as NE have heretofore done,
that there has been Il great increase in
the purchasing power Of the curl ency,
aud We will demonstrate again, as we
have repeatedly done, that this Gu
hanccmcnL Of value, ST. far from work
ing equity, has covered The face Of the
country with ruin, has blasted the for
tunes Of many thousands Of honorable
business men, and has brought gain to
only one class, the creditor class, the
Money Power, IN whose inter est alone
this Government has been run since
the first ~grernlark was issued and the
first National Bank WAS chartered.
IT 4 thousand persons, more or less,
were TO make m eve division of alt
their effects, and, taking possession Of
an u~nInhabited island, and Keeping
themselves isolated rom other CON.
munitics, start on the rare Of life, it
wouIG make no difference to such a
community, save as u matter of convr-
%nicnce. whether they adopted II yard
stick ten inches or sixty inches long,
whether their standard busIIeI meas
urc, held two quarts or \ hundred
quarts, or whether their dollar would
pay for u quart Or II barrel Of wheat.
Provided They sci mp and establish uni
form standards, it would be inmatrrial
what they were, aud they might, with
impunity, decree that Il cent should be
M average price Tor a bushrl of cora,
and that six !eet should he a ard of
cloth. Bat let this community go or
for II generation or two, aud We shall
find that the even distribution Of effects
'lii not last long: that the people,
in obedience to natural laws. are diyi
he'd into debtor and creditor classes;
most Of the property is in tue
hands Of 4 small number; that the un
many are heavy debtors to the
few. Some owe money. stand
Ard dollars, to he paid with stated in
crest. Others 1--WE wheat aud corn, TO
ne paid hnsIel for 5ushel, with a rras ;
enable allowance for the use of it.
still another class owe cloth, to be d
'ald In kin, yard for yard with a spe.
'ilc amount Tor the use Of the goods =.
oaned. Let us suppose, now, that
he creditor class in this island have =
lower to influence legislation, and
they so Use this power ss 20 in
definitely increase the valuc-the pur- =,
power-of all the money in Il
REGULATION; that they also extend the
tandard yard and increase the stand
ri bushel to double their former ca :,
acity, aud require their debtors to d
ay dollar for dollar. hushel for bushel. Il
ard for yard. by the new standard. Is y,
nv one so blind MS not 20 see that the ri
reditors would he ruined to enrich the sc
ebtors? Ia changing The purchasing
over Of the dollar. in making it equal ~
twice as much labor or goods as il r,
as ten or twelve years ago, the Radi- II,
II Congress and John Sherman's vii IN
inc US policy have brought just this ~
in upon all the debtor class of the ar
The yard stick by whicL co
ey are to pay their debts has been to
,gthened the bushel by which they 30
to measure back their borro we'd
has been expanded; the days
,or by which they are to free thsm.l