The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1893-01-05
JUDGE BLANplN ON SILVER.
How the Demonstration of Silver Lower
ed Prices ana Injured the Debtor GLASS =
A CLEAR, Able aod Concise Presentation
of the Question.

by communication In the cleveland
Leader OF the 18Th inst. signed "Anx-
ious to Know" / am requested to ans.
wer whether with general decline OF
prices of labor and commodities, there
will be a corresponding decline in the
size of debts and interest thereon.
A newspaper article is hardly ade-
quate to the discussion of question
usually filling volumes, and may prove
insufficient TO clear the subject to your
correspondent; but the courteous IN
quiry deserves attention.
The paragraph quoted from the Plain
Dealer by your correspondent makes
mo say, as | did, that If debt is con-
tracte1, and then such change is made
in the law as TO increase the purchasing
power Of the dollar (Which is th9 same
thing as lowering prlces), so that prices
fall one-half (or, what is again the same
thing, dollars double in value), then the
debt which is due in dollars" all the
time (uow of double value),is just twice
as haTd to pay. The debtor is thus
made poorer ard the creditor richer by
law.
This answers the question: who is
hurt by law limiting and contracting
the money volume?
The decentralization of silver lessened
the money volume of the world. This
produced d fail in prices. Debts, bonds
and money obligations did not fall.
They are, therefore, harder To pay.
The debtors were hurt. The debtors
are the poor, who are always with us,
so demOnetizlng silver hurt the poor.
Your correspondent assumes that l
said, or that | hold, that free coinage
would depress prices. He is in error.
Free coinage will have the opposite
fleet. 1t will raise prices II will not
Increase the value of debts. II would
lessen their value, aud hence the credit
or nations are opposed to 1t.
1t must be understood that free trade
and free coinage are not identical sub
jects because the word "free" is COM
mon to them.
Prices that are Influenced and made
higher by tariff, and would be lower
with free trade, are local aud particular
prices.
Prices that are affected by the volume
OF the worlds money are general aud
universal.
The latter are not substantially dis
turbed by tariff, and would not be by
free trade.
Tariffs affect prices of goods on which
the duty is laid, and in the country
where the tariff law exists. These taxed
goods may go up in price uAder the in
fluence of the tax, while general prices
decline by narrowing and contractin
the money volume.
Tarff-taxed Woolens go up in price
in the United States, while our general
scale of prlceS-ouC staples-decline
unCer restricted volume of money.
The market reports show this If they
are examined.
Free trade will not increase the prices
of our staples which we export. 1t
would reduce the prices of manufac-
tured goods which we import. This
would help the poor. 1t would help
some rich people as well. 1t would hurt
those only who get special advantage
TO their business by law. They are not
very numerous, and they are not very
poor. l hope they can get along with
out inflictiDg injustice upon others for
their benefit.
hope you will see that / am Of the
opinion that free trade will benefit the
poor and most of the rest.
Your correspondent has Gnoted me
correctly as saying that price is the re
sultant between the commercial trans
actions of the world and the volume Of
money.
If the volume of money remained un-
changed, aud the commercial
transactions were reduced one
half, it is evident that the
value of each dollar would be less, be-
cause there would be less demand for
its use. This is the same thing as to
say that given things "a bushe! of wheat
for InStance) wOu d get more dollars in
exchange IN the market-in other
words, prices would rise.
If commercial transactions remain
the same, and the volume of mOHey was
increased, the same result would follow
prices would rise. We can all remem-
ber how prices rose when we increased
our money during the war. In the Con-
federate States, where the money vol
ume increased more, prices rose ac-
cOIdingly.
In either case price was the resultant
between commerci. | transactions and
money volume.
Reverse the case and you will see the
same rule holds.
Let commercial transactions remain
the same, and il you diminish the
money volume prices will fall.
This is why silver was demonetized.
1t reduced the money volume, and
prices fell.
This fall is still going on.
Debts, however, call for many IDOL
lars" II wheat and labor fall in price
so that 81 will buy two bushels of one
and two days of the other, no matter,
the bond still calls for the same mum
ber of these doubly valuable dollars.
This is what makes Mr.. Phillips say
in his valuable book entitled "Social
Struggles" that contraction of the
amount of money insidiously increases
the tribute paid by labor to capital"
We shall come TO the restoration of
silver as money. The civilized world
needs and will have more money. Its
business cannot be done without more
primary money, and the people will de-
mand it by the free coinage of silver.
In January, 1891, Mr.. Goschen, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, in
speech at Leeds, in speaking of the
Barring Crisis" said:
"We were OH the brink OF q crisis.
through which it might have been diff
ficult for the soundest to pass un-
scathed, for the wealthiest to have es-
capped. 1t was time when none who
had liabilities or engagements to meet
could say how they could meet them;
If condition of things were to arise
under which securities could not be
realized, under which produce could
not be sold, under which bills could not
be discounted, under which there ap-
peared an absence of sufficient cash
to discharge the liabilities of the gen.
araI nnhlin That waa the nnRitinn Of