The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1891-06-06
Che GttelIigetrrHrs
WHEELING, JUNE o, 1901.



ton to endanger do not care to assume
such an attitude, even when warning
the public, as Mr.. Carnegie does in his
North American Review article, to flee
from the wrath to come. While indulg'
ing in no positive prediction ms to what
is 10 como 70 tiiis country ri inc way d
disaster, the whole trend of his article is
to show that the logical outcome OF the
course we are pursuing, and threatening
to pcrsistcntly pursue, is a grcatand de-
strnctiye panic.
A panic is the last thing in the world
that a business man, or, more than all,
a working man wishes to see, A mere
capitulist who has his money in solid
securities, the interest on which will be
paid in good times or bad, loses no sleep
for fear Of panic. He knows that low
wages and ruinous prices cannot hurt
him. His income will not fall off and
1t will cost him less to live than in good
times. Business may fall oil, and wog-
es decline, but his money will go all the
farther, and, in addition, he will buy
property, sold under stress, at prices
which on the return OF good times will
net him big profits. 1t is, therefore,
the business man and working people
of the country, or, in other words, the
masses who have cause to dread apanic.
Theresare certain things that are we'll
known to those who are versed in
finance. One,of these is that tixity Of
value is n matter OF the highest impor-
lance to whatever we call money, be it
gold or silver. An ounce OF silver that
is worth sl.2O one month, Sl.t0
the next, and 0S cents the next, has
no fixitNof value, but an ounce of gold
that is Worth SIS per ounce month by
month and year by year, and worth
this price any place in the world, has a
well defined tixity Of value.
Gold has attained this position be-
cause Of its regular and difficult supply
as compared with any other precious
metal. That it will keep this POSITIONS
ajustidahlc inference from its history
for ages. Hence no banker or trader in
anyparto OF the world is afraid of changed
value in an ounce Of gold.
Silver occupies a very different posi-
ton. 1tislike the grass that "to-day is
and tomorrow is cast into the oven"
An ounce of it scarcely maintains the
same Quotation for two days together.
The bullion value of our silver dollars
tluctuates between 05 and Is cents. 1t
has no fxity whatever.
The people are deceived by tho fact
that a silver dollar will buy as much
in the market as gold dollar. They do
not stop to inform themselves as to
the reason of this fact. 1t isnot as they
suppose, because u silver dollar is in.
trinsically worth as much as a gold dol
lar. Asamatter of fact the silver in it,
as bullion, would only sell for about
seventy.fiye cents, 1t is the fact that
the government receives it for n dollar
and that thus far it is exchHngcabie
fot u gold dollar, that gives it its
value. 1t is propped up artif,
rialIy and is only artifcidlly the equal
oigold. Gold has no prop, never had,
and does not need any, There is moth.
ing artificial about gold.
We'll, what OF all this-what If this
is true-say the silver men-what has
it to do with possible panic? 1t has
Just this to do with it, 1t has the pc.
tentialityof a panic in it-silvcr has
just aswhiskyhas the potentiality of de,
lirium tremens in it. 1t is as much q
question Of quantity in one case as an.
other.
Gold is not a panic breeder, but silver
is. Nobody is afraid OF too much gold,
but millions of people-wise people, toe
are afraid OF silver. Why shouldn't
They're? When it comes to calling .
K thing a dollar-or 100 cents-that in
reality is not, but is only 75cents-why
should not people be afraid that the alb,
sent 25 cents will be demanded, and that
demand will set in that cannot be
supplied? II, instead of the United
States government, house simply Of
great wealth, like the Rothschilds, wa.
behind the silver dollar, that % cents
would be demanded before tomorrow
night, But gold dollar needs no body
behind it--no governmentand nohousc
1t is like the house built on the rock
the rains may descend and the floods
beat, but it stands firm and mistaken
The United States government is 4
great house, and the people have great
confidence in it, but great as it is it can
not contrayene the eternal verities Of
finance. The world will have gold and
it viii drain any nation that fools with
gold to any great extcnt. a heavy
drain OF gold may mean a premium tor
gold, and premium means the dis.