The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1885-12-23


10 drawn from this stock. II e not to b. q.
pocted that congress win withdraw from
lhess 2l5, 0O0, Ot0 their full tender quality; Il
e not 70 be expected that congress will 70.
deem and melt them and sell ths metal. Tbs
fact then, & that We cannot b tWo.mst.
AllistS
sThe choice before congress q not between
silver inopometnllisn and gold monomstal
lism Both arc inAdmisible Tie ehoies
before congress Is not between bitrnetAlliam
and either gold OF silver mon0mstallism Tbs
latter are not admissible, and bim6talim q
only possible with the cooperation Of other
nations which Is not now 70 10 had. For,
although France holds the same friendly az
tituds and would be followed by some Of her
associates Of the Latin union, England now,
q In 1871 and 1881, Is unwilling 70
depart from hsr mintagO Of gold
alone into coins Of unlimited legal
tendon, aud Germany now, a. In 1881,
regards the concurrence Of England in an
international bimetalllc union, as sine qua
NON. Such being tho facts established upon
abundant testimony, official and unofficial,
gathered by The department Of state, II be.
comes plain that the choice Of congress Is
only IN fact between stopping the coinage Of
silver dollars, or riSking by further coinage
the equivalence Of those dollars with our
monetary unit, riSking tho fall Of the value
Of 2lb,UOO, 900 silver dollars from their legal
domestic rating to their commercial intetna.
tiOnAl value which Is 20 per cent less, and
involving such disuse In our domostis trade
OF $50, 100000 dollars Of gold coin, as when
gold was etsctsd by pap,r during the war.
1.-THE only choice before congress, there.
fore, u the choice between one metallism
and two-metallisul The nlver dollar can
not bs kept in equivalence with the gold dol.
lar II the coinage Of silver continual The
goll dollar eau not be kept in full domestic
circulation II the silver dollar Is suffered to
fall. Coming more neeessltates Its fall.
DOUBTLESS some will bopa that more silver
dollars can Do coined, and yet their equiv
Rlonee with tho monetary unltnot be lost
II Il respectfully submitted that there L no
compensation for that risk, and Judgment
70 accordGut Of the great business classes
who carry on the exchanges Of the country
must be accepted az a final estimate Of that
risk.
IAN adequate sense Of the magnitude OF
tho actual coin money stocks OF the world,
which Join with the potential money exist
ing 10 uneolned gold AMI silver, and with all
their numberless equivalents, mbstitutas
aud representatives to measure prices, not
to mention growing economies II the uIe Of
money by checks, bills Of exchange, book
credits, clearing houses postal orders iSle-
graphic transfers, ETC., which cperute in the
zane direction, entorces tho lessons Of OK.
perience as to the impotence Of any nations
legislation to affect prices, II prices arc
measured by a'Stapls monetary unit Chang
Ing the measure changes nothing except the
Ownership Of the property Of the losing ones
1t does not change prices measured hone,tly.
But the lessons Of experience cannot be con.
plotely learned in moment For the gen.
sral range Of prices Of the hundred chief
commodities Of civilized mans use has tesn
more than third Of a century In completing
the last le!surely cycle.ot its rise and fall
"a large proportion Of our WorSingmeu
Of uaturs years have had an instructive OK.
pericnco that lowering tho value Of any 80.
callol dollSr, legal tender OF payment for
thoir wages, Is a lowering that Is compen-
SatiOu to everybody else before compensation
reaches them. 1t Is lowering that lifts the
prices Of oil commodities before it lifts tho
rate Of his wages A cheaper dollar for
worklngmen Of the United States means q
poorer dollar. The daily wages Of our
workingmen ald workingwonen arc by far
tue larRest, the most important aggregate
OF wealth is to be affected by the degrade.
ton Of the dollar or any legal tender equiv.
alent Of tho dollar. All other aggregates Of
wealth, the nccumulAtiOnI OF capitalists,
which can only DO obtain profitable use by
being tlrnel over daily in the wages OF
worhmsn and the employment Of TIE cap.
tainS OF their industry, all ether aggregates
Of wealth which remain unemployed IN the
payment Of wages Of the day, tho month,
tho year, are not to DO compared in their
sum to this gigantic sun. II Is this
gigantic sum, the wages OF labor,
which Is GRailed by every policy
that would mako the dollar Of tue fathers
worth less than itS worth in gold. Tie debt
Of the United STATS, large uS 10 Is, Is a wart
besides that mountain. II by detraudiny
our fellow cltiDeus who, directly, or iudi.
reCtly through the savings banks, hold those
promises 10 pay dollar on demand or 10 due
season. IL by letting the silver dollar fall be-
low tho gold dollar, we could take third
Of tho burden Ut the public debt, much leaS
than ten dollars apiece pay cir working
men aud women for the loss OF third Cd
every dollar Of thOir wagsSl How long BE-.
fore they could get their wages raised
enough 70 buy as much az bsforsl
Tbs range Of prices Is lower to-day than
since the discovery Of gold in California.
The redistribution Of population in the two
hemispheres since then Is vastly moro as.
cribable to legislative ccntrivaucs than
Is the low level Of prices Prices
in the United Statea arc the record OF the
fluctuations OF commodities and Clrrenciss
In ths markets otths world. ThAy arc not
merely domestic fluctuations OiesSa and
India appear IN thu price OF wheat at Chi.
S-sAN. S,I. ~ .a.s;s,. SiSdJ .,.uSs. 49, sai,,
five million ieoHe, but prices are the out
coma Of twelve or fifteen hundred million
peoples Affairs Yet We arc occasionally
told that tho present general fall Of prIces
has been caused and can 30 couuterpolSed
by the variation Of a lew hundredths Of
! por cont In the ratio Of our own
silver coin stock n The mssS Of The none.
tary metals Of the world, By tho transfer OF
moro silver FROM mines In Nevada " vaults
In New YORK.
MANS inventions and indutrial arc ham.
mDring down all the products OF mans
labor. II ono New England town by one
weeks labor can shoe all the fest III Ciuciu-
natl, Chicago and St Louis for year, when,
4 years work was too littlO one dssads
40, how shall not tue price Of shoes 20
down. EvaryWbsre the effort Is 70 obtain
better, clothing, fool and tha or1AnsutS Of
thsSs necessities Of life at q smaller expense
Of mental energy and bodily toll The bis.
tory OF inventions Ia tho record Of psrmA.
mont reductions Of tho cost Of getting mans
necessities This reduced cost makes poSsi.
bio the enlargement Of The comforts Of all, a
higher and higher standard Of life Tor
the poor How shall the reduced
cost not appear In dropping pricOsi
| tn ihn teadInn 49,. eli