The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-12-05
THE FOOL AND HIS MONEY.

Elsewhere in this issue we treat of the
subject of gold, silver, and money; but we
are tempted again to notice the weak ar
6 venomous writer Gin our
morning contemporary. He tries to take
revenge for the spanking we gave him,
by calling US merry and euphonious
names, such as "a transparent IDIOT, IAN
escaped lunatic." etc.
There is no definite statement to quote
from the answer he makes, so that we
merely follow his alleged reasoning.
The Tribune stated the other day that
nations are wealthy according to the
amount of money they can keep in the
country, and that this country would soon
be very rich if it would keep its gold and
silver here 1t also stated that England
is weather. than any other nation.
We then gave the amount of money cir
culating in England, which was less than
that Of France or this country.
Then the organ declared that England
had loaned some of her money abroad, and
thus it tumoled upon the truth that it may
be good not to keep our money always in
our own house. Nevertheless, as it thinks
Americans give their gold and silver away
when they send it abroad, it still maintains
that this country should bankrupt our
mine-owners by preventing them from sell
ing gold or silver anywhere except in this
country.
Not satisfied yet, however, it argues that
after all France is very rich, having more
money in circulation than this country or
England. The insinuation that France is
the richest nation, it manages to carry out
further by the amusing remark that the
French paid their late war indemnity of a
''thousand millions almost in day, and
within year the old terror of France had
spread through all Germany"
We may just remark of this statement.
the only definite one in the whole article,
that the French still owe much Of that debt
and have the heaviest debt of any nation in
the world.
This bit of pleasantly follows: that price
and value are often synonymous, therefore
they can be interchanged at will in dis
cussion Of subject in which they are MOI
synonymous.
Then comes the profound remark thai
''the doubling of money in a country
doubles ''the land and products of thai
country" For instance, the doubling o.
money in France by means of the dSsigndts
or the doubling of the early continental
money, which was thereby made worthless
or the doubling of the confederate money
all Of these ''doublings", curiously enough
failed to help the government or the people
issuing them, and certainly did not double
the land or the products. That doubling
the money" might change the attraction o
the moon, or eclipse the sun, we would no
have time to argue against; but we d
know that doubling the money! does no
double the land or the products.
Then it is shown by the organ that i
California could have kept her gold a
home, she would have been better off jus
IS, in like manner, if Utah could keep he
bullion and wheat, other people would hav
to go without them, and, conversely, Uta
would have to go without the pay for then
The Tribune would have made the miner
of California rich by making them kee
their gold, that is, by starving them woul
make Utah rich by bankrupting the mine
owners; and in general it commences I
make people rich by first making the1
poor, on a theory it has, that if the process
is kept up, that if each nation, community
or person is compelled to keep all produce
by them, especially if the product be gol
or silver, then each one is bound to ge
rich, for each then ''keeps his money q
home.n The chief objection to the theor
is that it dosen't work in practice.
The writer says We want ito see ever
factory in America bank It's fires" but fol
gets to substantiate this charge. Then
feelingly warns US against several prc
tected countries, and says this countr
must be saved from their sad fate by pul
suing the same course they have pursued
that is. by maintaining high tariffs.