The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1893-08-22

ing his public career none show a trucr
conception of official duty or describe with
more clearness the body from which tho
member receives his authority and to which
ne owes his responsibility. .
ihe Message.
l have read with care the message sent
TO us last week, and have considered it
III the light of every reasonable construc-
ton of which it is capable. If | am able
TO understand its language it points to the
burial OF silver, with no promise of res
Sufrectlon. Its reasoning Is in the uirec
tion of single standard. 1t leads ire
slstibly to universal gold monometallism-
TO Il realm over whose door is written:
Abandon hope, all We who enter here!'
before that door L stop, appalled,. Have
gentlemen considered the effect of single
gold standard universally adopted? Let
As not uGeeive ourselves with the hope
that we can discard silver for gold, and
that other nations will take it up and keep
1t as Il part of the worlds currency. When
all the silver available for coinage could
gam admission to some mintS and all the
gold available for coinage would lind Il
place for mintage, and some nation like
France maintained the parity by means of
blmetallism it was of comparatively little
Importance whether particular nation
used silver or gold or both.
Exchange did not fluctuate and trade
could be carried on without Inconvenience.
But times have changed. One nation af-
ter another has closed its mlnts to silver
until the white metal has i'll European
countries been made an Outcast by leglsla-
ton and has shown bullion value different
from its coinage value. India, at last,
guided by the misrepresentation of the
metropolitan press, which proclaimed as GER
tain what was never probable, has suspend
ed free coinage, fearing that this country
would stop the purchase of silver. If the
United States, the greatest silver produc-
ing nation, which now utilizeS more than
one-third of the total annual product of the
world, closes its mints to the coinage of
silver. what assurance have we that it
can retain its place as primary money in
the commercial world?
Is it not more reasonable to suppose that
n further fall in the bullion value of sill
Yer will be followed by a demand for
limitation of the legal tender qualities of
ready being urged by some. Is it not
reasonable to suppose that our hostile action
will lead to hostile action on the part Of
other nations? Every country must have
money for its people, and if silver is aban-
oned and gold substituted it must be
drawn from the worlds already scanty
An Honest Dollar
supply. We hear much about a stable
currency and an honest dollar 1t is a
significant fact that those who have spoB
en- in favor of unconditional repeal have
for the most part avoided a discussion of the
effect of an approaching standard. They
take it for granted that a gold standard
is not only an honest standard, but the
only stable standard. l denounce that
child of ignorance and avarice. the gold
dollar under a universal gold standard, as
the most dishonest dollar which We could
employ.
| stand upon the authority of every in
tclhgent writer upon political economy
when | assert that there is not and never
has been an honest dollar. An honest
dollar is a dollar absolutely stable in rea-
ton to all other things.
Doilars Rise and Fall.
If the number of dollars increases more
rapidly than the need for dolarS--as it
did after the gold discoveries of 1S49-the
eXchangeable value of each dollar will fall
and prices rise. If the demand for dollars
increases faster than the number of dol
lars-as it did after 1SO0-the price of
each dollar will rise and prices generally
will fail. The relative value of The dollar
may be changed by natural causes or by
legislation. An Increased Suppiy-the de
mand remaining the same-or Il decreased
dcmand-the supply remaining the same-
will reduce the cXchangeable value of each
dollar. Natural causes may act on both
supply and demand; as, for instance, by
increasing the product from the mines or
increasing the amount consumed IN the
Al 5. LEGISLATION acts directly on the de
mand, and thus affects the price. since the
demand is one of the factors i'll fixing the
price.
If by legislative action the demand for
silver is destroyed and the demand for gold
is increased by making it the only stand
ARD, the eXchangeablc value of each unit
Of that standard, or dollar, as call 1t,
will be increased. If the cXchangcabic val
Ne of the dollar is increased by legislation
the debt of the debtor is increased, 10 his
injury and to the advantage of the creditor
And let me suggest here, III reply to the
gentleman from Massachusetts (Alr Mct
Call who said hat the money loaner was
entitled to the advantages derived from
improved machinery and inventive genius,
that he is mistaken. The laboring man and
the producer are entitled to these benefits
and the money loancr by every law of JUS
tee ought to be content with dollar equal
in purchasing power to the dollar which
he loaned, and any one desiring more than
that desires Il dishonest dollar, it matters
not what name he may give to 1t. Cloud
applaue"). Take an illustration: John Doe,
of Nebraska, has a farm worth $1,000 and
mortgages il to Richard Roe, of MasSa-
chusetts. for $1,000. Suppose the value Of
the monetary unit is increased by legislation
which creates Il greater demand for gold.
The debt is increased. If the increase
amounts to 100 per cent the Nebraska
farmer finds the prices of his products
have fallen onc-half and his land loses one
half lis value, unless the price is main
tanned by the increased population incident
to a new country.
The mortgage remains nOminally the same.
though the debt has actually become twice as
great VIII he be deceived by the cry of
honest dollar?' If he sould loan Il
Nebraska neighbor a hog weighing 100
pounds and the nx>t spring demand in re
turn hog weighing POO pounds he would
be called dishonest. even though he contend
ed he was only demanding one hog-just
the number he loaned. Society has become
accustomed to some very nice distinctions.
The poor man is called a socialist if he
believes that the wealth of the rich should
be divided among the poor but the rich
man is called tinancier if he dcyiSes Il plan
by which the pittance of the poor can be
converted to his use. daughter and APP
plause.)
The poor man who takes property by
force is called a thief, but the creditor who
can by legislation, make Il debtor pay a
dollar twice as large as he borrowed is
lauded as the friend of a sound currency.
daughter and applaUse.) The man who
wants the people to destroy the government
is an anarchist. but the man who wants the
government to destroy the people is 4 pa
triot. (Applauee.)
Confidence Must BE Restored.
The great desire now seems to be to re-
store confidence, and some have an idea
that the only way to restore confidence
is to coax the money loancr to l9t 90 of his
hoard by making the profits too tempting
TO be resisted. Capital is represented as a
shy and timid maiden who must be courted.
if won Let me suggest a plan for bring
ing money from Europe. If it be possible,