Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-03-30

withdrawal from the market of so
much silver gives encouragement and
protection to the producers of tn at ar
tlcle; and, second, that it creates
currency for public use, made legal
tender for the payment OF debts and
good for domestic trade and home USE
But are these good reasons? Why
should the government thus create an
extraordinary demand for one particu-
lar product of industry, and give to
that product an advantage over every
other of equal merit and Importance"
Ii Mr.. Coe was one of the large and
rapidly growing class who believe that
money should be a promise to receive for
all debts. public and private, rather than
promise to pay-gold-or any other
'one particular product OF industry" !"
why, then, we could appreciate the in
spiration that prompted the above Ian
guage. But when it is remembered
that Mr.. Coe is what we unsophisti-
Gated westerners call ''gold-bug'' or
"goldite," who wants to see the money
of the nation rest icted to gold basis,
what disingenuous ingenuity is here
displayed in this his effort to utilize a
righteous sentiment of condemnation
to bolster up the very evil condemned?
Why is Mr.. Coe and his ilk unwilling
, to even partially accord to silver the
advantage" given to gold over every
other (product) of equal merit and i'm
portance? Why demand for gold the
artificial market price which is the re-
suit of its free coinage privileges and
yet complain because of the slightly in
creased value given to silver by the
law of 1890? know, of course, what
Mr.. Cole will answer. He will say
that gold has an intrinsic (?) or
commercial value equal to its money
or coinage value. To this 1 an
swer that such commercial value is
the result and not the cause of it's
money value. 1 further answer that
had gold been treated by the nations
| of the world as silver has been treat ed
for the past eighteen years, its COM
mercial value would be but moiety
of its present price. l also assert that
| if silver were accorded, as is gold, the
| privilege of free coinage, every
ounce of silver produced would be
worth or command its coinage value.
The rule-nay, law-governing the
case is this: If the total product of any
metal, be it gold, silver, brass or cop
per, is used In the arts and col led into
money free coinage being accord ed
to all not needed in the arts) the total
product will take to itself the money
or coinage value given to it by the fiat
law. The proof of the rule and the
reason for its being is found in the
answer to this question. Would there
be found any person so foolish as to ac-
cept less than dollsr-, for such an
amount of metal as by taking to the
mint would be freely coined into &
dollar coin? Echo answer: Would
there?
But it is not the enhanced price OF
silver the goldites fear. Oh, no. Free
coinage of silver would not, as they
contend, drive gold out of the countr,
on account of silver being the cheaper
money. No, indeed! Free coinage o
silver would cheaper gold money by
lessening its purchasing power Every
addition made to the circulating
medium, or legal tender money of /;
nation, lessons the money value or pur
chasing power of each and every uni
of account composing the volume O
such money. This fact is the cause O.
Mr.. Goes solicitude. The masses O
the people care nothing about the in
trinsic (sic) or commercial value of the
material upon which money is stamped
or coined, so that each dollar or uni
of account is full legal tender and pos
sesses all the legal attributes belong
ing to money. The treasury notes o
1890 are, as Mr.. Coe says. full lega
tender money ('except where other
wise expressly stipulated') and tn
monthly issue of more than $4,000, 90
has a tendency to raise the price o
labor and its products and restore t.
land portion of the value stolen from
it by the crime of 1873
Mr. Coe SAYS, in conclusions: ether,
is evidently marked change in p bli
sentiment upon this important subject
which has so far progressed tha
neither of the great political partie
will venture to avow itself distinct
in favor of the act in question, or to as
sumo it as a party measure for tb
future. Is it not, therefore, safe a
policy and timely in principle no
promptly to meet the issue, while S
many favorable conditions exist by Re
pealing the law; and after that, to cor
} slider how the great mass of silver a
ready purchased can be dispo 'ed o
. with the least injury to all interests il
volved in it?''
J If there has been a marked chan 9
in pubic sentiment" such change ha
been favorable to silver as none
: metal. 1t is not that people hats Z il
present law less, but rather that the
: love free coinage better. The tw
| great political parties" like Byron
r would be happy with either. wer
tother dear charmer away" The
/ know that the masses of the voters dt
: mand free coinagae and thev ar
: aware that Wall street viii ed ,ago
l to defeat any party that declares fo
t that measure With firm and abid g
faith in the powerful efficacy o. col
! rupt methods in politics, ther ar
/ afraid to trust the common people
: ami fight for principle rather tha
5 spoils.
The people are ready for the issu
, which can never be disposed of exeer
: by placing gold aud silver upol term
: of equal parity and equality be;or tn
3 | law-either by the fu remonet.zatio
: of silver and its admission to c1;nag
t privilege upon equal terms with gold
or else by the characterization of go
, and its treatment as silver is no beir
treated Millions of voters prefer IL
latter alternative. A promise recei'
= upon the part of the people, seycra
and collectively, is the essence o: .eg
: tender-stamped upon paper it v 'uld
the ideal money of civilization 10
eign nations accept our metal csas |
weight only, as they do our VIII at ar
: cotton, while we heavily discorirt OF
: trade dollars and Mexico's dollar, a
though they weigh much NOR, tha
the legal tender silver dollars we e
. change for them The money alue
units of ACCOUNT e., their purcaasin
power-is governed by the vol IN
I OF units in circulation in conjunt tic
:. with the volume of products osfere