People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1892-12-16
SINGLE GOLD STANDARD.

| How 1T Increases the Burdens and Pri-
tations 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, 1868, PAT ,049. To say
that the total amount will now reach
| 10000, 100000 is not far out Of the way.
The annual interest on this sum at
per cent, which is a low estimate,
amounts to $1,000, 900, 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 a portion
Of the private debts, as money lenders
now demand a gold clause in their mort
great demand for gold, which has re-
suited in making it's market value reach
as high as IS per cent. premium above
the average value of labor's products,
which are measured by silver, the money
of the world.
Therefore to pay this annual interest
of 81 200, 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
81 200, 600, 900 of annual interest amounts
to $500 900, 900, which added to the an
nual interest makes total 81 500, 900, 900
to be raised from labor each year; and,
further, when the principal of $80,000,-
000, 900 is paid, the 25 per cent. must be
added, making it $37 800, 900, 900.
These destructive effects upon all pro-
ducers in debt arise from the demone-
tization of silver in 1878, 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 1890. At that time
gold was also made the only unit Of
value, a quality that silver had enjoyed
for eighty-one years.
We have shown that this gold pre-
MUM Of Is per cent. has been added to
all gold bearing obligations. But they
will tell us that the gold bearing obliga-
tons form but small part Of the $780,
900, 000,0 900; yet, Notwithstanding they
are not all payable in gold, the debtor
has to pay this difference on every dol
lar Of the $50, 900, 900, 900 for the reason
that he has to sell his products, or his
days labor, on a silver basis, which is
today sixty-five cents on the dollar, that
being 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
a gold basis. To show this, out of
total population of the world of about
1,400 ,000,0 900 only 100000 or about
one-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
silver alone.
Hence it follows that, while the
debtor classes Of the world must sell
their products on silver basis-the
price Of silver bullion and all other
products being the same-the creditor
or bondholding classes have succeeded,
in large bondholding governments, in
making debts payable on a gold stand
ard of payment, which is 85 p3r cent.
above the present price of silver and all
products. They have done this by
abolishing the free and unlimited coin
age Of silver, thereby placing capital
above labor.-Melinda Sissins in Ma
tional Economist