The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-02-23
WORSHIPERS OF GOLD
WHY Not Demonetize Both Of
the Precious MetAls3
LETTER FROM JAMES Q. CLARK.


There 10 tendency in finance, no less
than in religion, to emphasize the type
and shadow Of thing at the expense OF
the substance. It Is disgraceful sight
that of great and prosperous nation, con-
tanning within itself all that makes money
of any value, going into spasms over the
possibility Of gold being driven from cir
culation by free silver coinage" Even il
the prophets should prove to be right and
gold should go-leaving silver as the last
and only metal deity-I presume the same
worshipful and despairing wall would
ascend to the skies over the possible de-
monetization of silver to make room for
paper money.
One not accustomed to the political snd
economic humbuggery Of our civilization
which. with all its illusions, is the best
on earth-would be led to imagine that IL
all our gold should be suddenly exported
to the sun, and our silver to the moon, the
inhabitants of the planet would be eter.
nally beggared and converted into . race
seeking in vain for food and employment.
The fact is, civilization, both In the
material and spiritual realms, is depending
upon its gods to accomplish something il
ought to have the sense and energy to
accomplish without their special aid.
To claim that nation like ours must
limit ito action and measure its wealth
and power by the amount Of gold it can
corner and hide, away in bankers vaults
is like claiming that the volume and
value Of an immense inland sea must be
gagged and limited by the amount of
water that can be forced through three
inch pipe.
Every intelligent man knows that all the
gold coin in existence il not sufficient to
carry on hundredth part of the worlds
business. Every bank and nation in
Christendom would be driven into bank
ruptcy in forty-eight hours if concerted
run were made upon them by bill and
bond-holders. But, II gold and silver
should both suddenly lose their value,
does anyone imagine that the loss would
permanently affect the activities Of society?
In fact, would it not be to our ultimate
advantage to remove from our midst an
element of evil which certain men have
manipulated for personal ends and for the
Inconvenience and oppression of those
who had learned to lean upon it as cir
culating medium that refuses to scircu-
late" when most needed because number
of spectators are holding it captive tor
ransom fees?
An individuals credit and note are
gagged, not by the amount of coin he can
show, but by real values in good security
lying back Of him. individuals do bust
ness almost entirely on this basis, and
society moves along all right, because peo-
pie must live and exchange articles and
commodities, and all this involves labor
and production, which will go on while
humanity has an earthly existence. And,
with plenty of currency, it all might be ac-
complished on purely cash, ready.pay
basis. But this would deprive manufact-
urers OF the opportunity to swindle en-
ployes by compulsory trade at company
stores" and money manipulators, bankers
and middlemen Of all chance to Cypress
and impoverish the general public.
Certain newspapers continue to say that,
though money is scarce 1--WE want more
banks" which is equivalent to farmers
scarce, but what we want Is more grass
hoppers to eat what we have" One would
think, to hear our bankers and Wall street
statesmen talk, that the heavens would
cease to give down." the atmospheric
udder collapse, and dear old Mother
protracted strike If Shylock should be de-
prived Of the power to gloat over his gold
"ducats" and cut the 'spound of flesh.
Worst of all, many of those who have
the most gold and make the craziest and
noisiest ciatter over its importance, know
that they are fooling the people. They
are solemnly winking at their accomplices,
with one eye, while with the other they
are weeping crocodile tears over the antici-
patton of woe which would aff1ict the
"tOiling masses" through the advent of
"cheap and deprecated currency"
The ancient Jews-and / respect the
Jewish race over all others for its inte-
gritty and wonderful physical and spiritual
vitality--reached that point in the wor-
ship of types and forms where they
seemed to think man made for the Sab
bath and not the Sabbath for man. And
the modern Gentle evidently thinks that
man was made for money and not money
for man. Let the gold and silver 60.
What does 1t matter SO long as We still
try. and the resources of the
nation, and the brain, muscle.
energy and enterprise of the most free and
intelligent people on earth to sustain
that credit. Let the shadow depart.
Who cares to retain it, % long as the
substance-which alone makes the shadow
OF any value-remains to evolve another
representative of exchange more in pro-
portion to the reality? We have already
shaken off that other myth and superstf-
ton of the ages-"the divine right of
kings" and why not Danish the useless.
fallible and despotic myth Of the divine
right of gold to dictate to U.S.
Surely If FIAT money" based simply on
governments word, will carry nations
safely through war where one-half the
people are engaged in killing each other
and in tearing down and destroying what
the other half produces, it will carry them
along In times OF peace and prosperity,
when men are cooperating ON the lines Of
fraternity and mutual enterprise.
have quite as much faith in the golden
calf as have in the ''free silver" gray
stallion that our Western miners and SEN
ators are training to harness by its side.
only welcome the latter as creature
that may help drive US a little further to-
ward the goal, where preclons metals shall
no longer tyrannize over the civilized
world.
am aware that all this sis to the
Greeks foolishness, and to the Jews a
stumbling block" but it is coming. never
theless, and congress had better cease try-
ing to create foreign and domestic wars
over few Alaskan seals and election force
bills, and get ready for it.
Those who have the most to saw about
war with England, in regard to few seal
SKINS which none but the wives and
daughters of the rich can afford. are the
very men who favor the existence of
gang of Pinkerton thugs, who. independ-
ent OF all civil and constitutional law. are
permitted to shoot down unarmed citizens
on our streets in broad daylight, or to com
pound crime by instigating murder. arson.
theft and railroad disasters" simply on
the pretext OF working up" and making
out case against parties who would
otnerwlse never dream of law-breaking.
put witness the crucifixion of others .sfrom
afar Off - They are nerfacfly ur;II,- = a.