Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-07
MIR. CARNEGIE ON MONEY.

Mr.. Carnegie's interesting article, en-
titled "The A B c of Money" in the last
North american ReoieD, makes more
exhaustive examination of the coinage
issue than is usually found outside of
treatises in book form. He first traces the
growth of the money idea, commencing
with the stage of barter, shows how usage
selected some article as the common basis
for trade, until the use of metals by COM
mon agreement, and the coinage or stamp
of the Government, certifying to the
amount in the coin, were reached.
From this point he proceeds to the ex-
animation of the relative merits of gold
and silver as presented by existing circum-
stances in this country He shows that
under the present silver laws the Govern
ment is issuing as dollar a silver coin
worth rs cents, and correctly classifies this
as ''debased coinage" The profit which
it is commonly supposed the Govern
ment gets out of this he contends
exists only because it makes the silver dol
lar exchangeable for gold, as when the
Government cannot maintain this ex-
changeability the profit will disappear.
This time, Mr. Carnegie very clearly shows,
will be hastened by the proposed free
coinage act, which would, as THE DIS
PATCH has often said, reduce the country
to the silver basis. In all this Mr.. Car
negie is so clear and correct that we are
sorry to see him led into the error we
have before noted in some very active op-
ponents of silver. He says:
If the American farmer agrees to take sill
yer in lieu of gold he will enable the Liver
pool merchant to buy upon the lower silver
basis at present seventy-eight cents on the
dollar; while for all articles coming from
abroad he will have to pay upon the gold
basis. He will thus have to sell cheap and
buy dear.
In this paragraph Mr.. Carnegie seems to
make mistake the opposite to those of
the silver men. The latter think that the
rise in values which would follow the re-
duction of the monetary unit to a 7S-cent
dollar is a gain in wealth, whereas
it is mere shortening of the yard
stick. The only basis on which we
can suppose them to make the above as
sertion is momentary forgetfulness that
prices will nominally rise as the value of
the dollar is reduced For clearness of il
lustration let us suppose that the Amer
lean seller of wheat meets the English
buyer at some neutral point, after this
country adopts free coinage. The wheat
worth $4,000 in silver is worth 81, 800 in
gold, according to the present ratio as Mr.
Carnegie states it-and whatever variation
there is from that ratio will be quickly dis
closed in the rates of exchange. The seller
of wheat will get just as much for it
whether paid the $40, 900 of silver or 81, 800
of gold; and the buyer will pay just as
much in either case. The same rule ap-
plies to the purchase of foreign goods.
The invoice worth $500 in gold neither
receives nor loses value when taken into a
silver country at $4,000 in silver.
While Mr.. Carnegies article Is full of
strong and interesting points, it touches
very slightly upon the real idea which
gives the silver agitation its strength. 1t
is the belief, clearly defined in some minds,
indefinite and haZy in others, but in all
resting on the fact that debtors who have
contracted obligations on the gold basis
will have just % per cent less trouble to
pay than when the value of the monetary
unit is reduced in this proportion. This is
not very honorable motive; but it is not
less so than some of the great strokes of
the financial kings Beyond that the silver
men justify it in their own minds by the
belief that the changes in the relations of
gold and silver in the past eighteen years
have been really an advance in gold, and
that consequently debtors have had to pay
more. The real logic of the silver agita-
ton, outside of the purely selfish interests
of silver producers, is that the burden of
the debtors in the past two decades is to
be corrected by an injustice toward the
creditors of this decade.
Of course this is fearfully false logic;
and in nothing is it more astray than in
the idea that it will benefit the common
people. AS THE DISPATCH has heretofore
shown, a measure which will take away %
per cent of the investments of savings
banks depositors and the small investors
in railway mortgages, and give the same
percentage to the railways on their five
thousand millions of debt, is not for the
benefit of the people. 1t is, as Mr.. Carne-
gle points out, change that will benefit
spectators and manufacturers at the cost
Of the masses.
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