The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-01-16
IaegntelIigsrtcs
Tnc pecline In the Gold Pre-
MUM.

T,o nerIine In the Gold Pre-
MUM.
year or two ago, on more than one
o,r,.ion, the ISTELLIdENCER argued that
O OSi,b pTernium on gold was the best thing
a.. GnI ri! country. As all imports had to
hs M n,ii for in gold or its equivalent, the
mars that article cost the smaller would
J.. III ,Ss amount Of goods imported. This
",nII haze the double effect ot keeping
W., 80 goIJ nj home and increasing the de-
m,pJ for goods Of home manufacture.
Mi, reasoning struck us at the time as
Lam, uretty sound, no we accepted II as
he matureI wisdom Of one who knew
,II about it. (0ur editorial neighbor
,Iw,ys does write on financial questions
:. one who had nothing TO lear:L) But
Ts.lerjay morning, this eminent financial
G,it.r took the opposite tack, and an.
vonnced that III the premium on gold
.hould keep on falling, and soon disap::
near we should add the whole stock OF
ISIJ in the country to tue present paper
Circulation, and have all the money any
body would need.'
What We want to know is: II 1t re-
ouireI premium on gold, year or two
no, TO keep it in this country, how the
s6oiition Of that premium at this time is
going to set ii ahoat proniscuously
through the land?-Regiier Of Yesierddy.
The Register is correct in regard to our
position on the gold question. The
premium on gold ia 10 the nature OF a
t.rilT. An importing country cannot al.
ford to make it unnaturally cheap. 1t
should only fall with the general fall in
prices. Otherwise foreigners finding such
a acOuntry a good market TO sell in will
ship literally there and drain the coun-
Try Of its cheap gold.
twill be remembered that one Of the
arguments used by Jim Fisk and Jay
Gould in 1869 to induce Gen. Grant to
prohibit government sales Of gold, and
allow the premium to rise, as they said,
to its normal height, was to the effect
that only in this way could we dispose oil
our crops to Europe. Foreigners were
selling goods to usat irredeemable paper
money prices and getting gold in pay.
ment below its relative value. There
was great force in the argument. Fisk
and Gould thought that they had made u
deep impression on Grant. On the
strength Of ii they undertook to put gold
up from 80 to 60 premium in the course
Of few days.
The case is quite reversed when ma
ton secures such a balance Of trade in
her favor that she becomes an importer
Of gold. Her position is doubly strong
when she cuts down her imports Of mer.
Chandise and increases her exports. Ever
since the Turkish war set in we have been
heavy exporters Of all sorts Of agricul.
tural products, and even Of merchandise.
Shipment after shipment Of gold has been
made 10 Us from England. We have
accumulated an increased supply Of gold.
Naturally the price has fallen. Our ex.
ports have supplied the American mar.
kes with tue exchange on Europe that
was necessary TO pay our interest abroad
aud purchase all the goods we needed.
Prices have been 80 low in this country
for imported goods that We have
no LONGER n temutinc mnrke. for
foreign shipperi. On the contrary. we
have produced cotton goods cheaper than
England was able to produce them, and
have sent thousands OF bales over there
to be sold. And at this time our
manufacturers, even in the neishboring
city of Pittsburgh, have called conven.
tion ut Washington City to prepare the