The advocate., 1890-07-16

sldered, Of falling prices, Is not upon existing
property nor upon debtors, evil as IL ~, but upon
labOrers, whom II depriYes Of employment ana
COnslgns 20 poverty, aud upon society, which lt
deprYes Of that vast sum or wealth. which resides
potentially IN the vigorous arms OK the IDLE work
man, A shrinking volume Og money transfers
existing property unlualyj and causes cOnCen-
tratl0n and dimuntiOn Of wealth. 40 also Inn.
pairs the value OF existing property by ellmlnat-
Ing from Il that important element OF value con
erTcd upon u by tho SKILL energy and care OF the
debtors from whom II Is Wrested. Mt tdOeanOt
destroy any existing property, while y does Ab.
sOlutely annihlhte all the values prOduClble by
the labor which " condemns tO idleness. Tho
estimate " not an eXtrnyagant one, that there
are now IN the United states three million per
sons willing ~ work, but who are Idle because
they can not obtain employment. This vast pow
erty stricken army II increasing and will con.
tlnue 20 Increase 10 long as falling prices shall
continue 20 separate money capital, the nind ont
Of which wages Is paid, from labor, and ~ dis
courage los Investment In other forms 0f prop
erty 'f However great The natural re-
sources Of o country may be- however genial lts
climate, fertile lts SOIL Ingenious, enterpriang,
and industrious iLs Inhabitants or free lts lnstk
stiultiOns, II the volume Of money Is shrinking
and prices falllnL los merchants will he over
whelmed with bankruptcy ils Industries VIII be
paralyzed and destltutl0l and distress win pre-.
vail. Report Of StlUcr Commission, page El,
The TRUE and only cause Of the stagnatlOn In
industry and commerce now everywhere felt is
the fact everywhere existing Of falling prices,
caused by shrlnknge In the volume 0f money -
Report NJ STEER O0mmtssiOn, page i2L
One Of the baneful results Of the CON
traction Of currency is the increased bur
den it imposes on the people In paying
the public indebtedness.
In the silver convention recently held
at 81. Louis the Hon. Thomas Fitch, Of
Nevada, SAID
We have heard something here about money
M q measure Of value. The truth IN that human
labor s not only the creator Oi all value, but II IL
the tape line by which qll values must be meas
ured. From steamship 10 u halrpln, from q
cargo OF sugar 10 a spool Of cotton, the value OF
every product Of mans skill and Industry de-
pends upon the amount Of human labor eXpend-
cd IN It's production The apparent debt Ot thls
nation is the number OF dollars II owes; its real
10 earn the number Of dollars II owes. PoEhapg
NJ a people we have not sufficiently considered
these plain principles Of political economy and
IN our Legislation We have been too much IN
Cllned to listen 10 the COunsels Of bankers, who
arc SllppOsedl don't know why--tO POSSESS the
financial wisdom Of the age, and tO carry upon
their shoulders the credit and prosperity Of the
nation. They Ohe peOple) are paying
Tile debt with their toll, paying u with values
created amid hot furnace fires and under RWelteE-
Ing suns. Has the labOrer then nothing
10 show for twenty years OF t0llP oh, yes; he
can boast that the aggregate wealth Of the ma
tiOn has largely Increased. He can boast OF iac-
tories established, of cities erected, OF rivers
bTldged, OF mountains tunneled, Of transCOnll-
mental highways stretching from ocean tO ocean.
He can call the roll VI the lands milllOnalTes and
eight thousand will respond, where before the
war there were less than 600. lie can wipe the
sweat from his weary face and reflect that among
the 5000 milllOnaireS may be enumerated The
names Of twenty American citizens who have
gathered ~ 800 O00000 from the toll and tears VI
0OO00OO0 people. He can reflect that those
twenty men can combine their Interests and
their efforts and TX the price Of every bushel OF
wheat, every ton Of coal, aud every days wages
Of labor between the Hudson and the SaCra-
mentO. He can reflect that these twenty men
have II I'm their power To name the majority Of
SENATOR'S congressman, governors, judges and
legislators In twenty states. He can jOgtle bis
rags against the sllken garments which his toll
has made, He can Tegale his hunger by tho
OdOTs OF feasts which he can not taste. He may
walk weary and shelterlegs IN the shadow OF The
palaces which he built but he can not enter.
Amy law or system that makes money
more valuable at date Of payment than Il
was at the time a debt was contracted, is
robbery. The terms Of the contract are
stated In money--so many dollars and
cents; but the equity Of the contract 10