The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-07-05
Concerning the Silver Faliacy.
From Ne,o York Puck.

WQlCQ S6CTSLaEy SaN1toio koV0 w tiao
country a few days ago-gospel which
shouid be preached unremitlingly In
those farming sections of the West " hece
good crops are not the rule. It would he
a waste Of time to preach 1t to the true
silverite whose prosperity Is in any way
contingent upon the output of silver.
Tell this man that the Secretary of tie
Treasury, under the Sherman Act of Ju-
II 18th, 1890, has purchased of him and
now holds in the vaults of the Treasury,
uncoined, 124, ,292, ,532 fine ounces of silver
bullion, which cost the rest of us Sl14,-
299, 800, and which is worth to-day $l03,-
4I1,386, and he will answer that the Dire;-
tors of the Bank of England have hung
the portrait Of Grover Cleveland in their
room, and that the loss OF SlO, ,8SS,5S4
which the people of the United States
have thus suffered, has gone to, swell
British. Golfers. We think the Populist,
however, could be made to suspect that
this loss to the people was profit to the
silver venders. The Populist, using the
term generically, is the product OF those
Western farming lands that have failed
20 produce much else. His development
under the conditions has been perfectly
natural. Settled upon land that does net
Weld readily to cultivation, and without
capital to treat it properly, he suffers two
or three years Of bad crops and falls into
the hands of the money lenders. For
the first time in his life he begins to cor-
slider finance as science. Two things
make him conclude that there is net
enough money in circulation. The sun
burns up his corn in July and his inter-
est falls due in August. He learns that
our 'sper capita" is $A.47, and he reasons
that Ii this were doubled his own wealta
would be doubled. Some one tells hina
that this can be accomplished by the fres
coinage of silver. The thing seems rea-
sonable, and he declares for free silver.
He then looks for corn fed oracle OF thu
Jerry Simpson stripe to advocate his
him that an actual shortage in the circu-
Iating medium would Immediately bs
supplied from the surplus in the banks
and the Treasury. He only knows that
he works hard without satisfactory re-
suits, and he lays his failure to an insect
he calls the "gold bug" That Is the way
the Populist gets his free-silver doctrine,
and he has no trouble in finding Con-
gressmen and editors to preach it for
him. Ho has a general sort Of belief that
the Government or "Society" should ses
that he is prosperous, whether he expends
his energy to good advantage or no.
His money theories are easiest refutec,
however, because they are the most
tangible of his whole nehulous system.
There never has been q better time for
him to learn that money is only con-
venient mediura for exchanging labor
and produce, and that it all the silver ia
the world were coined into dollars It
would not make him any richer. "Fcr
value received must be the keynote Of
civilization for some time to come. Ef
two dollars of cheap money won't bus
any more than one dollar of dear money,
they are not worth any more. It Is junt
as true that the Government which pay
out universal medium Of exchange fer
one that is not universal, Is on the road
to ruin. A man who bought up cobbld-
stones with the idea of making money
out of them would find hordes Of believ-
ers in cobhle-stQne currency until he
tried to pay his debts, with them. Then
he would arouse the same howl Of indil-
nation that we hear every time an imagl-
native reporter credits the Treasury with
the intention of redeeming It's notes in
silver. Silver has fallen S4.66 per cent.
In fifteen years, during which time TIE
Government has bought over halfa bill
lion dollars worth of the metal. TIE
philosopher of the Simpsonian school
6QOulQ 0Xatulu0 lhSIS VI ILLS h4uO q uttso
more closely. They are within his grasp,
because he knows, in general way, that
over-production Of an article cheapens it.
There is another truth, perhaps easier Of
comprehension than all the others, which
the Populist would do we'll to ponder.
All this talk about free silver and other
forms of paternalism is only putting
capital farther out of his reach. TIE
West needs capital, and soupd ideas On
finance are necessary, since it can only
attract capital by Q reputation for honest
dealing. The Sherman law will LIE
repealed in September. The repeal is
demanded not only by business men bnt
by the politicians, who are quick to sue
tie trend of public sentiment. And, ss
the absurdity of the law grows more
apparent from year to year, we shall
come to wonder that there was ever a
man simpls-mi4ded enough to frame it,
and people patient enough to face it 10
| the verge Of disaster.