The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-07-01
SOUND CURRENCY.

From q communication printed IN another
column OF this issue OF The CALL, signed
~ Layman," we make the following eX-
tract:
II by ado ping gold as the measure of value
The value OF debts WAS raised, then the value OF
wages, which debts WAS similarly raised.
There is a flaw in the logic of this state
I meut, which may best be pointed out by
reversing the conditions. Let us suppose
! that at tile present time there are debts ag-
! gresating 100000. 100000, contracted on
! gold basis. Let Us suppose, also, that the
debtor class, getting control of legislation,
| enactS 4 law making all these debts payable
in gold or silver. Would the creditor class
in such-caSe think that tine loss on account
of the change OF currency was compensated
for by the authority given them to pay
wages in the cheaper currency with which
the notes. bonds and mortgages they hold
are made payable? We think not At al
events, money lenders are pretty active just
now in demanding that payments on all
contracts shall be made in gold, even if sill
yer should become the currency of every
day trade.
Wages are not debts in the sense which
cOntrac Is to pay money are debts. Wages
paid in the currency of the day will be
available, dollar for dollar, in the purchase
of daily supplies. If wages are paid in sill
yer, the butcher, baker, grocery account
and other current expenses will be paid in
silver; but when the wage-earner wants to
pay contract debt, he must pay it in the
kind of money stipulated in the contract
1t is In this that the hardship of free coinage
consists. All contract debts are payable in
gold, and under the operation OF a free-coin-
age act wages Will be payable in silver.
Tie argument of our correspondent, that the
64,0O9,00 Of our people are to a greater extent
the creditor class than the 100000 who
may be cldssedas dividend receivers, rests
upon the assumption that past accumula-
tons and future earnings are Identical in
| character-that a change in the currency
which affects the one will equally affect the
other. But past accumulations and future
earnings are not similarly affected by legis-
latiOn. \ law increasing the purcha sing
pow er of money would lower wages and the
prices Of commodities, while the same law
would not diminish the umber Of dollars
that debt contract calls fer. 1t is clear,
therefore, that the Misunderstanding class
would profit by law increasing the purchas-
ing power Of money, while the wage-earning
class would lose to the extent that the other
class would Profit
We quite agree with our correspondent
that the to;ling masses are more deeply iu-
teTested in sound currency lhan the divi-
| dend-receiving class. But the soundest cur
rency is one that 1uctuates least in its
purchasing power A currency composed
of both gold and silver is less subject to
fluctuations than one composed of but one
OF the two metals, for the reason that the
measure of value for commodities is in the
one case twice as large as in tie other
Assuming that the worlds stock of metal
lie money consists of So 900 00O, 900, one half
of each metal, the elimination of one, par
TALLY or entirely. would certainly increase
the purchasing power OF the money remain
ing in use. The sound currency the coun-
try wants is that which we possessed until
the money-lenders conceived the idea of in
creasng the purchasing power OF money
by driving one half lie stnck ont of ,Ian.