The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1885-09-03
History of Demonetizing Money.

ted by o. P. Wharton, Esq to the
Youngstown Daily News. They will
be found interesting:
cit will perhaps be news to many |
of your readers TO he told that the late |
origin of demOnetiZirg money grew |
out of the large fnds of gold in Cali |
fornia and Australia, and that gold |
was the money then aisne" at TO he
demonetized. But this is the histOri-
cal fact, and gold was actually demon. |
etized by several nations.
"Sonn after these discoveries of gold,
the extent OF which startled the world,
the eminent English writer, DsQuin
cey, pu blislled a collection of statistics
to show that the yearly product of gold
would mount up to $3.50, 600, 900. The
financial author, Chevalier, took up
this showing and wrote an appeal to
European nations and capitalists, in
which he said:
1.-The quantity of gold annually
thrown on the general market APP
proaches, in round numbers,a a milliard
Of francs (S2a0. .0O0,O ,OOO).
"'These two countries California
and Australia) must for yet long se
ries of years produce gold in such
quantities and on such conditions as
to render a market decline in its value
inevitable.
alt is absolutely certain that SO
vast u production should bs accOmpa-
MED with Il great reduction in value.
- In no direction eau n new outlet
be seen sufficiently large to absorb he
extraordinary production of gold
which We are witnessing so as to pre-
vent fall in its value.
"' Unless, then, we POSSESS a very
robust faith in the immObility of hu.
man affairs, we must regard the fall IN
| value of gold AS an event for which
we should prepare without loss of
time.'
"Chevalier was backed up in his
appeal, against continuing gold as
money, by other fnanciers, and the
result was that in 1857 Germany and
| Austria, followed by somO of the small
er countries of Europe, actually de
munetized gold. So fierce, indeed did
the financial craze become against gold
as money, that only for the determin.
ed resistance of France against ii, gold
would have then ceased to be money
throughout the most of European ma
tiOns.
"This craze against gold continued
in Europe till about 1865, when it took
q turn against silver as money, al
though Germany did not remonetize
gold and demonetize silver until 1871 :,
while Austria still keeps gold demon
etized and retains the silver standard
But, in 1865, the Latin UuiOn on
finance was formed. This union in
cluded France, Switzerland, Italy and
Belgium, all of which, except France,
insisted upon demonetizing silver, but
France proved financially strong
enough to override them and prevent
its being done by the Union.
1.-The sole object aimed at in all these
money demOnetizing, and proposed
demonstration schemes, is given in
their history, unhesitatingly, to be
that the disuse of one of the money
metals as a money, would protect
the creditor classes and those having
fixed incomes, against a fall in the
, value of money and rise in general
prices for instance, a rise in prices
of the property and labor of the debt
f or aud labor classes through the plen-
, tifulness of one or both metals used in
money, which would enable these lat
J ter classes to pay their obligations too
easily and cheaply to the former OF
moneyed classes, to suit their idea OF
the Importance of money over proper
|, ty aud labor.
| lie IDluG dlIlcu at, Ill SuOIb, was
to make property and labor pay about
f twice as much tribute to money as il
otherwise would if the metal demOu-
etized had continued to be money and
the mOAeyed classes had been COM
PEELED to so receive 1t.
"All the advantages accruing from
, the natural rise or fall in the conmod-
, ity price of either of the money met
ais were by these decentralization
schemes secured to the mnneyed class
es, who, through them, had the priv
ilege of choice which metal they would
take in payment from debtors as mon
, ey, and who were enabled to buy with
this money the most labor for the least
quantity of il as remuneration.
ION the contrary, all the disadvan-
tages of the natural rise or fall in the
price of either of the money metals
, were made to fail to the lot of the
debtor, who, after the demOnetiZ ltion
of one of them that had fallen in price,
Was compelled to sell his property at
about half its former value in money
I'd pay his debts at full rate in money
and the laborer whose pay was reituc
cd to about half its former rate, be-
cause money had increased in value
SO much, but the decentralization or
wiping out of about half its value, that
the other half could buy about twice
the amount of labor
: "Such a system of finance, dictated
solely by privileged classes, may he
legislated into existence and may be
worked successfully under some such
despotisms as prevail ia Europe, or
elsewhere, but in this Republic of the
people such legislation is contrary to
the organic law, and cannot prevail
for any great length of time. although
1T has once been attempted by the de
moneiizlIion of silver, and the stop
page OF the coinage of the silver dollar
OF the Constitution; and from all in
dicatiOns may soon be attempted again
by practical characterization of that
silver dollar, or refusal to pay il out
to the creditors of the Government, by
the present administrators of the Treas
ury Department.
"This system of demOnetiZing one
money metal or the other at the behest
of moneyed classes has gone on see.
saw fashion in the world until Great
Britain, Germany, Norway. Sweden,
Denmark aud Portugal. in Europe,
Canada, in America, and the Cape OF
Good Hope, and the British Aust ralian
colonies are exclusively gold standard
countries, while Austria and tu-sia,
In Europe, ana MEXICO, CenCral Amer
lea. Ecuador and Peru, of the wt.~t,rn
continent, are exclusively silver -iam.
dard countries.
"The double, or both gold and silver
standard countries of the world, ar,
France, Belgium, Holland, Switz-,
: land, Italy, Spain, Greece and R"u
mania, of Europe, Egypt, of Africa,
British India, China and Japan ~:
A sia and the United States C,,luubit
Venezuela. Chill, Uruguay and Para
quay, of the Americas.
."Great Britain did the least h:.ru
perhaps, by the adoption of her gold
standard that could be done by any
government. She adopted it more
than sixty-fve years ago, when gold
was the cheaper of the two money
metals. She also remained liberal in
the matter of silver coinage, coming
it freely and making it legal tender TO
the amount of E2 or SO.
"The Latin Union of Europe now
includes France, Belgium, Switzer
/, | land Tfalxr nnI nroaoa anI nonh AF