The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-03-28
Efforts OF the BIZ Metallic League
TO Help the Mining
States.
Montana Called Upon to Con-
tribute Her Share to Aid
the Work. y
Vice. Presid ent Davies 10 Establish Local
Observation-Disclosures Of tho League
to the American People.

~. u. DRVl0S, VINO mas Deen 6ppoinE0u
vice. president OF the American Bl-metallic
league for Montana has received a quantity
OF printed matter in regard to the objects
Of tho league. which he 10 sending out over
the state. Al the recent meeting OF the
league in Washington MontanA's portion Of
the fund to be used In advancing the inter
ests OF bi-matallism was placed at $4,000.
This money il to be used in printing and
circulating literature in tho interest OF sill
ver. Tho fund is to be raised BY member
ship dues, the cost being 81 per annum.
This dollar entities the. contributor to n
copy Of all the publications of the league,
and these themselves will more than repay
the sum paid for membership. In addition.
II lie expected that large mine owners will
contribute something more than the price
Of n membership, and there should be no
difficulty in raising tho $4,000 in this state.
The only salaried officer In the league is
the secretary, and he receives but
$50 a month, 80 that nearly all the money
collected will 90 to pushing the cause Of BIZ
metallism. Remittances may DO made
direct to the secretary. A. M. Darlington.
Washington. u. c., and II. q. Davies should
be notified. SO he can tell when the states
quota has been forwarded.
Mi. Davies has been empowered to select
four gentlemen, residing in different por-
tiong OF the state. whose duty 1t Bhnll be to
organize local leagues. A meeting will DO
held in Helena shortly to organize a league
here. and any gentlemen who desire TO
speak on that occasion are requested to
correspond with Judge Davies.
An address to the public signed by the
president and secretary of tho leagne says:
IA strenuous effort was made in the con-
Rress just closed to secure the repeal Of the
silver purchase act of 1890 md place tho
country back upon the law OF 1879. This
next congress. for the silver question, al
though suppressed or made subordinate to
other issues in the late presidential cam
paiRn, Ia now put forward as the issue first
10 be settled. Hence the paramount i'm
portance of this question; no other is
fraught with consequences SO far-leaching
and all pervading.
..When cleared of all obsouritv the real
issue 10: Shall the people OF this country
be forced longer to do business. carry on
standard that is constantly increasing in
value? Shall all debts be changed to gold
debts and then the gold be indefinitely in
CREASED in value by legislation. or by crcat-
ing conditions TINT eet nations to scrambllng
for it? @
"Already more than two.thirds Of the
gold in the world, outside of Asian boards,
IL gathered into a hair dozen great treas
uries aud Ia under the control OF a few
hundred men. Most of the other third is
held by banks; probably not $500 1900, 600
are in active circulation in the world.
'Gold has admittedly increased a. a
money standard BY 30 per cent since 1873,
and during the twelve months of 1892, as
shown by the index numbers OF the Lon
don Economist. the increase has been moro
thou civ por rant Al tina wilma 0f nuyav
in the hands Of bankers aud bondholders
has been increased, the burdens of debt
md taxes have been in the same degree
added to.
the light of day, to talk of gold as honest
money! ia hypocritical cant INDUCED in by
those who would steal the livery Of heaven
to serve the devil in. or by silly imitators
who repeat parrot like what they hear. Nor
can the real issue be thrust aside or Gov
cred up by such a subterfuae of phrases rs
zone dollar as good es another or the
degradation Of money" IL to degrade
money Is bad, to appreciate it is infinitely
worse. If money that is falling in value is
"dishonest," money that is rising in value
is %felonious. The effect on production and
trade Of money that is growing dearer from
scarcity, is a thousand times more bnleful
than that of money undergoing dep! ecia-
tirn from over plentifulness.
mo people would submit to have their
6GAlQNfu OF WhlRlCS OF measures Increased
against them. Why should they any more
submit to have the one measure that in
cludes in its terms all Others. perpetually
increased by limiting and restricting the
number of standard money units? To i'm
pose upon a people such a money standard
ia to subject them to merciless robbery;
and a people who will submit to the exac-
tions of n money standard that takes from
them hat they never agreed to give. are
not only TT for slavery, but are fast being
made slaves.
"What enginery could be devised better
calculated to impoverish and enslave q PEG.
pile than the creation Of vast debts By one
money standard and then increase the
debts by increasing the standard? That
this should be done in the light of the
closing years of the nineteenth century and
find tolerance, and that too in a govern
ment where the people themselves hold tho
power, is almost incredible.
The only defense of such a system at
tempted is found in suoh can't phrases as
'seventy.cent dollar" ''put a dollars worth
that knows anything of the laws of money.
does not know that gold. rs Bishop berkeley
has said, is valuable because it is made
money, and ia not made money because it
is in itself valuable; in other words. its
chief vnlue Ia derived from its monetary
use. The same was true Of silver before its
demonstration. Monetizs silver; endow IL
with the money function the SAM as gold
and its old value will return to it. II IL
because tho money element has been taken
from silver that it has fallen below gold.
1t is impossible that either metal should
have the same value az commodity only,
that would have as money also. The parity
Of the two metals therefore can be preserved
only by opening the minis alike to both;
that is, by treating both alike.
''There Is no permanent remedy TO. the
depression of trade aud the continued fall
of prices, and no final settlement of the
money question. but the complete moneti-
cation Of both metals. With tho single
gold standard stability of money or OF
prices ia impossible. Automatic regulation
OF money. which constitutes the advantage
of metallic over piper money, Is impossi-
BILE with gold alone. Gold cannot DO pro-
duced in sufficient quantity to keep up sta
BILE relations to commodities and debts. IL
csnnot be found; it does not exist on the
earth. Prof. Suess. a high authority, says
thnt already mo o than the annual produc-
lion of gold is consumed in the arts, in
dentistry and for ornaments. Where then
10 the money supply to come from? Civiliza-
ion itself IL involved In this issue. With
the right restored for anybody to have gold
md silver converted into money without
limit, money may safely be left to auto
|matic regulation. The unlimited coinage |
pf both the precious metals rs money isnot
\ new experiment.. II IN Is old ns civiliza-
ion. The right we now ask to have restored
. among tina oldest of tho rights that have |
rome down to NJ. II il n right far older
han the constitution, but guaranteed