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

ine free coinage OF copper.
"Senaior PETER, OF Kansas, in recent
speech, seems TO haye pronounced in favor
Of the free coinage ofcopper. According to
the Champion, he sheld up copper cent
and said that for fifteen cents man can buy
copper enough TO make Two dollars, yet il is
good money! A correspondent Of the New
York Evening Pest approves this idea, and
demands that the copper cent be restored to
it's original size and weight. The copper
mines, be 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 TO be
| 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 TO be evidence If thrifty
disposition. Congress could not, perhaps,
do 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 lie 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 1t will appear smart
Il pleases the gold money Capitalists"
doubtless, who are pointed out as the class
that gold is best becoming to. Silver vii.
answer very we'll for farmers and other
well.to-do" laboring classes, bnt copper
cents for the poor is the very thing. In
addition TO flsttering the Capitalists" the
royal class plainly designated by the writ
er, 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 ''classes." This has
been the trend of our government affairs for
the last quarter of a century, and all that is
wanting TO complete the cycle is time and
the unobstructed pleasure OF the class gold
is assigned 10 as the only money fitted 10
touch their delicate fingers. All this class
Of articles, and the city papers are full Of
them, are intended to deceive the more
thoughtless and uniformed readers as far
as possible, and to show the contempt Of the
gold class who own the city daiies and
control their utterance absolutely as the
Car does the press of his doninions. The
penny was held up to demonstrate the alb
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 a
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. Ii
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 UealtA 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 bebtwould have been paid
all the same, and paid by the products of
labor and mostly out of farm produce.
Ifthere WASN'T one dollar of gold or silver
in 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 we're 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 great wsr in the mean.
time. Had our government shown the
courage in dealing with the finances that
our soldiers did in prosecuting the war and
our laboring classes manifested in 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 10 this country.
How 1t all Came.