The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1891-03-06
The Free Coinage Of Cooper.

The free Coinage or copper.
"Senalor PETER, OF Kansas, in recent
speech, seems 10 hRye pronounced in favor
of the free coinage ofcopper. According to
the Champion, he .held up copper cent
and said that for fifteen cents man can buy
copper enough TO make two dollars, yet il il
good money! A correspondent Of the New
York Evening Pest approves this idea, and
demands that the copper cent be restored Ia
it's original size and weight. The copper
mines, he says, are entitled to the same
fostering care as the silver mines, and he
proposes that the treasury be required BY
law 10 buy 100000 pounds of copper per
month for coinage. There is much 10 he
said for the suggestion. Copper is the money
of the poor, as silver is the money Of the
well-to-do and gold the money Of the cap
italist. To count the cents 10 transaction
is generally taken 10 be evidence If thrifty
disposition. Congress could not. perhaps,
do a better thing for the promotion OF
thrift in certain sections OF the Union than
to use the same industry in introducing
cents that 1t used in introducing the silver
dollar"
The above is clipped from quite long
editorial article in the Baltimore Sun,
which paper generally shows better sense
than indulging in such stupid rot under the
mistaken notion that it will appear smart
II pleases the gold money Capitalists, !"
doubtless, who are pointed out as the class
that gold Is best becoming to. Silver vii.
answer very well for farmers and other
swell-to-do" laboring classes, but copper
cents for the poor is the very thing. In
addition TO Asttering the Capitalists" the
royal class plainly designated by the writ
err, as superior class class line is dis
tinctly drawn, on which liue we have only
to keep advancing for few generations till.
like Asiatic nations this line would be
established by law placing an inseparabie
barrier between the Glasses This has
been the trend of our government affairs for
the last quarter of a century, and all that is
wanting 10 complete the cycle is time and
the unobstructed pleasure OF the class gold
is assigned 10 as the only money fitted to
toucl, their delicate fingers. All this class
Of articles, and the city papers are full of
them, are intended to deceive the more
lhoughtless and uninformed readers as far
as possible, and to show the contempt Of the
gold class who own the city dailies and
control their ulterance absolutely as the
Gar does the press of his do.ninions. The
penny was held up to demonstrate the abb
solute power Of the government to coin
monay and establish the value thereof which
the constitution invests it with, and prove
the fallacy and utter groundlessness Of the
claim set up by the gold money aristocracy
Of intrinsic yalne" being an attribute of
money. Mr.. PETER might have held up
greenback or any other government note, or
bond and demonstrated how the govern
ment could invest with value piece of
worthless paper. But the government
promises to redeem" these in coin say the
gold bugs. But the government lies. 1t
hasn't coin to redeem them in. They are
redeemed by the products Of the Industrial
classes. Gold nor silver has never paid the
two thousand million Of the public debt
which have been cancelled with the same
amount of interest thrown in, but the pro-
duce created by the industry of the people.
Gold is medium of exchange, SO is silver,
so are the copper cents and SO are the paper
notes, but the wealth is the products of labor,
and that wealth has paid all this four bill
lions or more Of debt, principal and interest.
Had there never been one dollar OF gold in
the country the ebtwould have been paid
all the same, and paid by the products of
labor and mostly out of farm produce.
If there wasn't one dollar of gold or silver
10 the country business would go on just the
same. The notes issued by the govern
ment would transact all the business money
is employed TO promote. The billions of
products that are created annually for use
aud for sale by the people would be sought
after by foreign countries as they are and
always have been. If they were compelled
to take our government notes to settle bal
ances they would take them, because they
would pay duties and buy anything in this
country. not excepting gold, silver aud
copper. From 1861 to 1878 we had neither
gold or silver to use as money, and the
producing classes were never SO prosperous
as within the FIRST half of that period, and
with the waste of a great wsr in the mean
time. Had our government shown tue
courage in dealing with the finances that
our soldiers did in prosecuting the war and
our laboring classes manifested 10 produc-
ing wealth, by proclaiming to the world
that its greenbacks were an absolete legal
tender for all debts and dues public and
private with no exceptions, they would have
risen TO parity with gold as soon as the
uncertainty of the war had passed. 1t is
the great productive power of this nation
that makes its money. Of whatever material
composed, equal in value to any money in
the world. Greenbacks, national bank
notes and other notes of the government
pass in Europe because they will buy any
thing in this country.
How If all Cama