Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-12-03
Honest Change.

CHIC coast. AiIcauN sOuc u ,Ht
smaller coins have found their way
into the retail trade of San Eruucs-
co, but further north the mythical
bit" or actual dime, is the lowest
denomination of currency which bus
mess men will admit in daily trans
actions. This leads to considerable
loss, which is almost always on the
side OF the purchaser. BY adopting
the fiction of placing the value Of
any commodity at bit, for which a
ten-cent piece will be readily received
in exchange, if quarters rendered,
q bit or dime il all that the buyer
will receive back, while he actually
pays Gfty per cent. more than the
price OF the article. And SO it runs
through all the practical transactions
of business Three bits are .hirty-tive
cents If you happen to have the ex-
act change in your pocket, or forty
cents if you do not. Five bits
amount to sixty cents, under favor
able conditions, or sixtv-tiye under
adverse circumstances; and while
the merchant or trader places the
money in the till with admirably
complacency, tho heeced victim
tries to look as if he doesn't care, OF
endeavors probably to be somewhat
Modified by tue electrotyped assur-
ance, cts few cents over, but
we'll make it right next time" The
"next time" it has Eeen observed,
never comes. You may wait for
"next" in barber shop, with some
degree of assurance that your pa
tiencc will be rewarded-not so in u
store. The balance is always on the
wrong end of the beam, and thus it
goes on from day to day, and year
to year, without the slightest hope
of escape, unless we can bring to
our MD an adequate supply Of the
once despised, but now venerated,
little picayune. Probably it is a
low estimate to place the Joss to each
individual. who buys his supplies
from the retail stores at ten cents
per day; but this would aggregate
So per month, or S36 for the $50
shopping days of single year!
Nor is the picayune the only aid
which low wages and hard times de-
mand. The nickle should be well
coined and the copper cent restored
to its sphere of usefulness. Many
an article is sold for FIVE cents, in
quantities of bits" worth, SIM
ply because the cent is of such pie
bian origin that the vender will not
acknowledge it any more than he
would n delegation of his wife's poor
relations. The only place where
they have an actual value is at the
post-office, and even there they are
treated with the same disrespect as
were the colored race before the
adoption of the Fifteenth Amend
ment, and occupy pasteboard box,
where their dingy hue will not con-
tamiuate the brighter coin and it is
an indisputable fact that they seldom
enjoy the distinction of being placed
behind a combination lock.
Let us reform all this. Let us
rsmonetize the Inanitessinal parts Of
our Daddy Dollar, and send them
forth on pilgrimage of usefulness
upon the busy current of human
events. As our business men have
the best possible reason for not in
Producing the nilnble sixpence"
let us, consumers, club together and
send for hat-full, fresh from tho
mint, and send them on the honor
able mission of replenishing the
empty pockets OF the needy.
The Globe Democrat gives this de-
inition of Stalwart," n torn which
came into general use in the late
campaign:
" II means ii man who abides bv the
decision OF his party in convention As.
setnbled; who makes his fight for his FAY
oiite and accepts defeat within the party
with good gree; who believes that Il
Republican is better than "A democrat Tor
: any POSITION whatever, and who stands
by all the principles and traditions OF H,-
pubiicans, including the machine. Tue
Antilles sis of the Stalwart is the Kicker.
The Kickers are known i'll this
longitude as Boilers, and their spe-
ciai province seems to be to spring
the traps which the Stalwarts set
' n