The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1894-10-10
C.P. Bush Say s That J. H. A. Makes
Them in His Reasoning Out Of
POpuIists Theories.
That Poor People Should Have
I Poor Money is a Vicious and
a Debased Theory.
GOLD IS THE ONLY MONEY

NEws:-In letter from Paducah j. ii. A..
details the Populist idea Of money and
asks some Democrat to answer his argu-
ment will attempt to do 50.
lie lays down the proposition that the
value OF money varies inversely as its
quantity or, in other words, that smaller
volume of money causes low prices and
large volume of money results in high
prices. In support of this proposition he
quotes the economists Will and Records,
and he could not have better authority.
The advocate of sound money wishes
that the Populists wonld be entirely
guided by their writings. They both
condemn unlimited issues of irredeem-
able paper currency and all measures for
artificial initiation. They also recognize
Gresham's Law, which teaches that an
inferior legal tender money will always
drive the superior out of circulation.
Hence it is that an irredeemable issue
OF paper money would, as its first effect,
drive all the coin out OF circulation, and
thus we would have exchanged money
OF universal acceptibility for that which
was current only, in our own country
This is not matter of surmise-there
is no fact more plainly established by
history. During the civil war and the
years succeeding it there was no coin in
circulation. The legal tender greenback
sent gold to premium and it ceased to
circulate as money and became com
modify on the market.
1t is true that this initiation made high
prices, but they were unstable. The
wild fluctuation helped no one but the
speculator If the farmer received high
prices for his products he in turn paid
extraordinarily for what he consumed.
Wages calculated in gold were not high
when compared with the cost of food
and clothing.
The statement of your correspondent
that all money is fiat money is emphat-
ically untrue. II the government should
cease to provide the people with circu-
lating medium they would choose some
substance the int, insic value of which
makes it generally acceptable, and coin
it into medium of exchange and stand
Gard of value. The fiat of the government
does not add to the value OF the gold
contained in dollar but merely certi-
fies as to its pureness and this could be
done by any reputable assayer.
His statement that the volume of mon
ey is decreasing while the population is
increasing is also untrue. The treasury
reports show the average circulation
from 1850 TO 1860 to have been Sl485 per
capita it is now $24.l for each person.
There has never before been such sur
plus OF money in bank at financial cen
tiers. Nd
What gives color TO the arguments of
he Populists is the fact that prices in
general have materially lowered all over
the world during the last twenty years,
but il j. ii. A. will read David A. Wills
book "Recent Economic Changes" he
will find an examination into the causes
OF the decline in prices, which will con-
vince him that cheaper production and
distribution are responsible for nearly
all the changes.
Again his argument that a lessened
volume OF money has lowered prices,
States the uncontrovertible fact, that in
recent years the wages OF labor have ma
terially increased all over the world. In
our own country, leaving out the tempo
rary effect of the present panic, the fact
stands that the laboring man can buy
more OF the necessities OF life with his
days wages than ever before in its histo-
ty.
AS for the panic, from which we are
just recovering, it was most certainly
precipitated by the attempt to put into
partial effect the cheap money theories
advocated by your correspondent. The
government had vast circulation OF
greenbacks, silver dollars. silver certif-
Gates and treasury notes for the bonds OF
which gold reserve, fund was held in
the treasury. Under the law OF 1890
treasury notes with a gold redemption
privilege were issued in payment for sill
yer bullion, and they were scarcely issued
before they found their way back to the
treasury in exchange for gold which was
rapidly depleted. The people began TO
lose confidence in the ability OF the gov
eminent to keep all its currency at par
and the result was panic. The repeal
OF the Sherman Act has gradually re-
stored confidence and the outlook for
the future is bright. LIT us not darken
, II by recourse to further minus finan-
cal experiments. 1.-THE currency is to be
changed we should make il better not
worse. Every dollar in circulation
should bethe equal Of every other dol
lar and as gold is the money Of the high
est civilization, every coin OF currency
should exchange with 1t at par.
Your correspondent thinks an injury
has been done The debtor by the lower
ing Of prices. Suppose this is true, does
it remedy matters to arbitrarily raise
prices by the aid Of deprecated curren'