The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1881-09-22
An l'nanswcrahlc Argument.

ASSA1 - ~ ASksAS M usA ~ Naut "a AuStSs
The finest.spun theory cannot begin to
compare with one solid, substantial fact.
There it stands, answering by its pres
ence all arguments against it, and you
cannot talk it down or sneer it away,
The advocates Of paper money have
just now one such fact to strengthen
their arguments with. Currency re.
formers have all along maintained that
gold is not safe basis to rest the cur
rency upon, for the good and sufficient
reason that 1t does not possess the quail
ity Of stability-the first requisite for a
sound currency. II is here to-day and
away tomorrow, and when you most
need it YOU will find that it has taken
wings to itself and flown to parts
unknown.
With such mercurial thing as gold
rs basis for our monetary system, how,
argue currency reformers, can We expect
that uniformity in the volume Of money
which is Sd much needed for the husi-
ness interests Of the country? Contrac-
ton always brings panics, and panics
empty the workshops and fill the high.
ways and byways with tramps. Now.
Il there Is such an intimate connection
between panic and the contraction 81
the currency, is il not the very quintes.
sence Of folly to hase the volume Of our
money on something over which We
nave not complete control and which
may ut any minute lie withdrawn
Fudge and nonsense, cries the advo-
cate If hard money; such contingency
Is the loss Of its gold is to /, mot, Tor
my nation 10 take il into consideration.
Here comes IN the iact that We have
already spoken Of. To this argument
,bont the little likelihood Of country
neing drained of its gold to an extent
that would affect its business interests
" need but point to the case Of I'm.
gland
To-day England, which has more gold
t its command than any ether country
n the world, stands trembling on the
sdge Of a panic for no other reason than
that few million. Of its boarded gold
have left its shores.
Already the Bank Of England has nd
vanced its rate Of discount To per cent.
N the hope Of putting stop to the drain
IN It's gold resources. The paH Matt
Ga-stt.. in speaking Of the situation,
asks whether this advance in the hank
rate will be sufficient To check the out
ward flow Of gold. After putting this
question. 1t goes on 10 add that .'if this
export of gold continues nothing can
save England from disastrous shrinkage
in values and credits. The prudent man
must now hold himself ready for the
worst"
All this foreloding OF evil is caused by
the export Of few millions Of gold!
Could there he more unanswerabie mr.
gument against the hard-money doctrine
than is furnished by this simple fact.
Another English paper, the Daily
Ncrs, IN speaking on the same subject,
says:
IAN international struggle for gold
has now begun. The banks Of England,
France and Belgium have raised their
rates Of discount, and the banks OF Ger
many and Holland are expected to fol-
low. The American demand for gold is
thus seen to affect wide area"
Here We have the finances Of five Eu-
ropcan countries threatened with disar-
rangemcnt because the balance Of trade
in our favor has drawn to our shore
few millions OF gold. Does not that fact
demonstrate the trnthfulness Of all that
the Greenhack speakers and press have
.een saving about the folly of resting
our finances on gold, which, at any mo-
mcnt, may be drawn away from us, and
thus bring our whole financial structure
tumbling 10 the ground?
Ii We could discover tho secret Of
keeping this migratory gold on this side
Of the Atlantic, once we got 1t here, We
might view with selfish complacency the
disasters that its loss causes other conn
tr1es. But as We possess no such secret
n thousand things may occur to change
the balance Of trade agains, rs, and, in
that case, We, in our turn, may expect
to see gold leaving the United States rs
it is now leaving England.
The absurlity. then, Of basing our
currency, the stability Of which Is Of
such moment IL the interests OF the
country, upon SO eyanescent thing as
gold must be apparent to all who
are capable of reasoning. aud vet II j.
upon this gold. Of which we can never
I've sure, that the hard.maney advocates
would have MS base our currency. We
have too much confidence in the good
sense Of the American people to believe
that they will he long deceived by such
patent al,surdity. irish World.