The Labor enquirer., 1884-07-26

a ~ N u u y = s. N 'lllhi ~ III
on1 sSlf timei3l y 4 AZ " gAe dle6s ef
eur lsts MI ll tlzHI Y ~ - 4 bls16 "
Great Bsitn11. y ~ ouly S1pE ohe- thttd
of what wsg expeai " the Miles 4
This 8 not taking Into considefati6n ths
Immense ssn,6 plundered BY ne French.
armies, NOT only in money, plite and
bullion, bat IN ~ The various srticles Of
provision, clothing md stores required
for their use, f6r every copttnental coun-
try in Eufope, from the Tseus 70 Mo-
cow suffered more or Iees from Che
French armies. &.
Now, there e strange feature con-
nected With Ill this expenditure, when
war is going on, and it Is this That in
all great wars, paper currency" Or
greenbacks, in one form on another. is
resorted to By the combatants. From
the time when Scipio defeated Hannibal
to the close Of our war, paper money
was an active agent in the fray; and .
more curious fact, that at these times all
or nearly all of the industries are kept
in full blast, and the working classes re-
.ceive higher wages, and there is less des-
titution and less crime Of all kinds. than
in times Of peace. This spectacle might
by the surface thinker be taken as proof
that it would be more advantageous to be
at perpetual war, but not SO. It only
goes to show the advantage Of having q
full supply Of currency in nation,
which obtains in time Of war, and when
peace comes this currency is called in
and DESTROYED and bonds is
sued therefor, and by this method chang
ing blessing into curse, and conse-
Fquently stagnation in industries takes
place, crime prevails. and society rocks
and reels to its utmost depths, and the
toilers do not see the cause, blame some
other agent for the ruin, and never SEEM
ingly for one moment comprehending
where the blow has come from or where
to trace the cause to its fountain-head.
Now shall try and illustrate this. Sir
Archie Allison says: "The paper circu-
lation Of Great Britain has increased
during the drain of the metals and COM
pensated for their want, and which gave
prosperity to the country Now how
often had Great Britain cause to issue
these greenbacks? First. in the panic Of
1898, she issued $4,000, 900; again in
1877, $50, ,0OO, 900 in 1911, when 80 pei
cent was paid to obtain coin, she issued
$75, 100000. and it is Of these several Is
sues and bills of exchange that the his
torian speaks when he says there was
prosperity in the country. At that time
taxes were more easily paid, for the
farmers, the toilers, received more fol
their produce and labor, for as currency
was ample. prices rose. and as a result
there was more contentment peryadine
all classes of the nation. But upon the
suggestion of Ricardo, dutch Jew. and
by his advice, in 1919, it was resolved te
resume specie payments, and Lord Liy.
erpool, who was then head of the gov
ernment, declared that no practical in
convenience could arise from the meas
I ure.'' Lord Granville saw no reason tt
1 suppose that the.payment of the banl
note at par would produce serious evil
Mr.. Ricardo assured them "that the op
Grafton could not produce more Of al
alteration than 8 per cent" (How like il
this talk to the talk of our republican
party when introducing their fraud o
specie resumption in this country.) The
bill was carried through parliament.
Now let us see the working of thil
financial law upon that nation. / shal
quote first from the Standard newspape
of January %, 1880, A Mr.. Blamire. il
speaking at a meeting in Cumberland
county, says: I'm 1892 the public reye
nue. was $50, 900. Wheat land We
should always remember that bushe
of wheat is the true unit of value ant
ought to be the standard of money
whether metallic or paper) was then a
$4 per Carlisle bushel, SO that it require,
4 20, ,OaO,OOO bushels eCarlislel to pay tin
revenue. In 1913 the public expendi
4 ture was S4O5, 100000, and the price 0
wheat, $1G25 per bushel; the expendi
ture wastherefore equal to nearly 10000,
| 900 of bushels. In 1929 the revenue wa
$2S5.OO0, 600, and price of wheat $5.2
per bushel lit therefore requires 56,00O
600 of bushels to raise the years supply.
Will any person who values his reputa
tion and aspires to be teacher at th'
present day, ignore this difference in tn
price of wheat at those three periods o
time in the history of Britain, on thu
social condition of its people, and sa,
ahigh taxes or low taxes do not effect th,
toilers?" If there should be any such
| let me ask them how will they accoun