The Delta independent., 1894-04-18
THE NEED OF slMeTALL,sM.
The Recognition and Coinage of Silver VIII
Make More Money and Consequently
Better Prices for Commodities.

Mr.. Morris NJ Estee contributes a
carefully prepared article to the Cali
f4rnian for September, in which he AZ
CUES that it requires no great knowl-
edge nor exhaustive study of financial
problems to see that if the large sum
of money represented by silver and sill
yer certificates is retired from use as
money it will cause the failure of many
OF tht best business concerns of the
county, and shatter national and III,
dividrsal credit, and thus paralyze the
industries OF the whole nation. In
deed, It is impossible to overrate tho
results of such an awful catastrophe in
the United States There does not al,-
pear t. be any reasonable cause for
disturbing the relations between gold
and silver, or the use of both as money
metals, AID there does appear to be o
necessity tor the continued use of both.
1t is striking fact that as silver
depreciates in value, commodities also
depreciate n value. Observe the price
OF silver for tine past ten years, and
then note the prizes Of the products Of
the factory and the farm; ss a rule,
they run parallel Money becomes
dear and scarce When the country
approaches a gold s.andard, and we
approach gold standard whenever
silver is talked down or driven out Of
circulation. This condition of things
has existed in our country for many
years The only two articles in
America which have risen in value arc
gold and United States bonds-the ono
because the creditor class has talked all
money but gold out of confidence; tho
nthar hnnnTca onuntrv yNarSicfc in,
paying all the interest on our bonds in
gold, when, under the law, and ofright
and in common fairness, some of it
interest is payable in coin, and silver
money is coin as much as gold.
Gold and silver being the most valu-
cient quantity arc the natural money
of the world. Every civilized man
knows both metals as money. 1t is the
common law of mankind to look upon
them as money metals The tradesmen
and producers all over the world re-
ceive either coin in exchange for their
commodities; and as the use Of money
il increasing the demand for it becomes
greater necessity. Without it, no ell
terprise, great or small, can be success
fully established or carried on. and
therefore any contraction of the mono
tary circulation would result in none
tary crisis, affecting not only the sta
bility of great banks and banking
houses, but the stability Of govern
Inents themselves.
It is mistake, says Mr.. Estec, 10
suppose banker different from other
people-he is simply q keen dealer in
money, and the man who deals in
money is like any other man who has
something to sell He wants his goods
(money) to bring good price-to be
in demand; and whatever will make
money scarce and difficult to get in
creases its value, and thus apparently
benefits him. He knows, as every in
telligent man knows, that when there
are two kinds OF money in the world,
and an equal amount of each, II he can
destroy one kind, what remains will be
more valuable; and so, many of tho
moneyed men of the world are for
monometallism, because II single gold
standard is adopted by all the nations
of the earth, and silver is dcmonetized,
there will be only one-half the present
amount of money in circulntion; and he
knows that this alone would double the
value of the money that is left, because
it would double the purchasing power
of gold, and in a like proportion lower
the value OF all other commodities, be-
cause the commodities would neces-
sarily increase in amount, while the
means to purchase them would de-
crease
In word, we would then have dear
money and cheap commodities; the
men who have money would be richer
by half; the men who have commodi-
ties would be poorer by half But tho
latter are as ono hundred to one. La
bor is commodity and would go down
in the general fall. The result ncces-
sarily follows that rs money becomes
scarce, there will be lowering of
prices; land becomes cheap Us money
gets dear; the products Of the factory
and the farm suffer alike; and, as pco-
pie have less money for use in the pur-
chase of ncedful articles less of those
articles are consumed. And then come
poverty, suffering and unrest, with an
Increase of crime and n lowering Of tho
moral standard. -,
The answer made to these arguments
S that us money would be worth more,
,hc relative value of commodities would
aot change, because one dollar then
would be worth two dollars now. II
the gold men think this is true, why
not double the price Of commodities
and double the amount of money, and
cheaper its value, aud thus make two
dollars worth but one dollar? If the
rule is correct, why will it not work
both ways? No, the fact is, the argu-
ment in favor Of dear money is a narrow
policy. II successful, it only creates
misery, want, unrest-it Is not q Great
i've, but rather destructive theory.
It will benefit the few and destroy the
many. 1t is admitted that the intrinsic
value of silver is less than gold-it al
ways was less Our laws make the
coinage value Of gold sixteen times
Ax,u 1,l Ill