People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1892-12-30
SINGLE GOLD STANDARD.
How 1t Increases the Burdens and PTi-
yations of Wealth Producers.

The Iron Age places the entire nation
al, state, county, municipal and other
public Indebtedness, together with all
private debts, at $27, 1853, ,247, ,O49. To say
that the total amount will now reach
%O,0OO,OOO, 900 is not far out of the way.
The annual interest on this sum at 4
per cent, which is a low estimate,
amounts to $1,000, 100000, which must
be paid each year from the products Of
labor.
The payment Of this vast sum becomes
more oppressive from the fact that a
portion of the public Indebtedness is
payable only in gold, and also portion
Of the private debts, as money lenders
now demand a gold clause in their mort
cages. The effect Of this is to create
great demand for gold, which has re-
suited in making its market value reach
IS high as 25 per cent. premium above
the average value of lsbor's products,
which are measured by silver, the money
Of the world.
Therefore to pay this annual interest
Of 81 ,200, ,000,0 900 under a gold standard
Of payment the farmer must sell 25 per
cent. more Of his products, and the wage
Garner must give 25 per cent. more days
Of labor to make up this extra premium
to get the gold. This premium on
$1,000, 900, 900 of annual interest amounts
to $500, ,OOO, 900, which added to the an.
nual interest makes a total 81 800, ,O00, 900
10 be raised from labor each year; and,
further, when the principal Of $50, O,OOO,-
10000 is paid, the % per cent. must be
added, making it $37 500, ,OOO,OOO.
These destructive effects upon all pro.
aucers in debt arise from the demone-
tiEstion of silver in 1873, when the legal
tender quality of silver was destroyed,
and the government stopped its coinage,
which is the present case under the sill.
YER bill passed in 1896. At that time
gold was also made the only unit OF
rslus, quality that silver had enjoyed
iOr eighty-one years.
We have shown that this gold pre-.
MUM Of rs per cent. has been added to
al gold bearing obligations. But they
will tell US that the gold bearing obliga.
tons form but small part of the $780,.
900, 100000; yet, Notwithstanding they
are not all payable in gold, the debtor
AAs to pay this difference on every dol,
hr of the $50, 900, ,OOO, 600 for the reason
that be has to sell his products, or his
days labor, on q silver basis, which is
today sixty-fye cents on the dollar, that
Seing the present price Of silver bullion.
Silver is the money Of the world; hence
all products are sold on a silver basis,
while our debts are largely paid out on
gold basis. To show this, out of q
total population of the world Of about
1,40O, 100000 only s0,0O0, 900, or about
sne-ffteenth, live in countries where
gold alone is legal tender; $4,000, 900,
or about one-seventh, live where gold
and silver are both legal tender, while
the balance, or over three-fourths, use
ilver alone.
Hence ii follows that, while the
debtor classes Of the world must sell
their products on q silver basis-the
price OF silver bullion and ell other
products being the Same-the creditor
or bOndholding classes have succeeded,
in large bondholding governments, in
making debts payable on gold stand
ard Of payment, which is 85 per cent.
above the present price Of silver and all
products. They have done this by
sbolishing the free and unlimited coin
age of silver, thereby placing capital
above labor.-Melinds SissinS in Na-
tional Economist.
MGu-. l.