The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1891-01-15
CAUSE AND EFFECT.

When the republican managers
commenced to agitate the contract
ion of the currency of the country
and the increase Of its bonded debt
the honest men OF the
party protested against the scheme
as fraueht with danger to the inter-
ests of every legitimate industry and
business.
John Sherman who then had not
been seen by Wall Street. protested
against the scheme, predicting the
calamities which have befel the coun-
try through the adoption Of the meas
ure of contraction. But after he had
been 'seen" by the Shylocks Of Wall
Street he became their supple instru-
ment in fastening upon the country
the very calamities that he had pre-
dicted as the result of contraction,
introducing the bill prepared by the
money mongers Of the east, to rob
the producers of the west.
Pious usurers in the east when con-
traction began. rejoiced that at last
the government had decided to do
right and that their lusty cry for
'sspecie basis would enable them
''righteously' to devour widows
houses and grind the face of the poor.
Thousands of the purest and best
men in the country earnestly protes-
ted against the scheme for convert
ing the currency of the country into
untaxed interest bearing
bonds for the sole purpose of Great
ing All aristocracy o. money and
making slave Of labor, and the
PLAIN DEALER believing in the cor
rectness of their opposition to the
scheme of characterization and con
traction has always coincided with
their views.
In 1916 the North American Re-
view. before it had surrendered its
convictions of right, truth and JUS
tice to the money lords of Wall Street,
had the courage to say:
1.-The steady decline in prices OF
merchandise and produce presents a
very serious problem for the consid-
Grafton Of American business men.
For this decline renders it more and
more difficult to pay the enormous
sum annually due to Europe on our
foreign debt and trade balances, etc.
We have already shown this in the
case of silver. But in proportion as
silver depreciates the gold is enhanc-
ed in value, and it requires more and
more exports of all kinds to keep our
accounts straight. 1t is true that our
foreign debts are not now increasing.
But when We consider the immense
volume Of our exports and their limi-
ted value, it must be apparent that
the real weight of our foreign debt
has been largely augmented in fact
without any increase of the figures.
The depreciation of our bonds and
paper money answered the same Dur-
pose SO long as that was possible, and
when the steady reduction of bonds
and notes rendered this no longer
tenable the other tack was taken by
the characterization of silver, which
had become our chief treasure pro-
duct. The depression Of prices and
trade affiicts Europe as well as this
Republic and arises from the same
general cause. And this depression
produces the alarming increase OF
bankruptcy seen in the returns of the
last six months. The demand for re-
lies comes to us from Europe in the
proposition lately laid before con-
gress at the instance of a French
commissioner asking for an interna-
tional conference to regulate the val
Tie of silver and gold. Ten years
more Of the present policy will bank
rupt half the governments of the
civilized world, and even England
herself will find it difficult to obtain
gold enough to pay her interest
The more than ten thousand bust.
ness failures from year to year since
contraction came. shows how true
this prediction was. The arbitrary
contraction of the money of trade
and commerce gave additional power
to the .'traffickers in credit" raising
the emoluments OF those priv
ileges which our citizens government
gave to that class, enabling it to Oh
tain more usurious interest on that
peoples money which that peoples
agents and attorneys gave that priv
ileged order the use Of without inter-
est.
The recent criminal attitude of
John Sherman to the free coinage of
silver and the concurrence of VIM. b.
Allison, both fayoring the gold bugs
Of Wall street to the toiling millions
in their own states, gives new life
and potency to the statements from
the North American Review, which
turn back and thoughtfully peruse,
dear rnalur