People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1894-07-27

more valuable abroadi II it takes wings
and flies away to foreign climes, will the
addition of s6OO,OO0OOO in gold to the
supply OF other nations have tendency to
increase the value of the gold coin, You
cannot increase the value of gold abroad
by increasing the supply. You must
either diminish the supply or increase the
demand.
Why would our gold leave usi Would
1t 60 to Europe TO pay our debtsi That
could not hurt US. Would it be used TO
make purchases Certainly, no American
would buy what be did not want from En-.
rope simply because we adopted free coin
age. Suppose gold should 20 to premium
OF 20 per cent. What would it mean
simply, that the price in silver of all prod.
ucts would rise 20 per cent. How vonld
we suffer by that! They claim that we
have S6O0,0O0,OO0 of gold in the United
states. If that should 90 to a premium
OF 20 per cent, it would make difference
OF Sl2o,OOO,OOO. The benefit to the farm.
ers OF an increase Of 20 per cent. on the
price Of corn would equal that in one year.
We are also told that foreign nations will
not take our silver money. For all which
we shall be truly thankful. We do not
want them to take our silver money. We
need every dollar that can be coined right
here. They do not take our silver money
now; but our silver answers our purpose
Just as well as if they did. II we were TO
coin every ounce of silver that can be
mined in the world for the next five years,
and allow not an ounce to be used in the
arts or by other nations, we would not, at
the expiration of the five years, have as
large per capita circulation as the late
republican state convention of Pennsyl.
vania demanded. We have a population
OF 10 millions, in round numbers. The
greatest amount of silver ever mined in
one year was 1872 million dollars less
than SO per capita for the people of the
United States. So, il we had free coinage
for five years, we would not increase our
currency $l4 per capita. And does it not
occur to you that if We deprived all other
nations Of silver for five years the demand
for silver would become so great that we
should hear no more of the difficulty of
maintaining the parity! And who would
be injured Absolutely no one. For,
while it might appear that the capitalist
might sustain loss, the stimulus to en-
terprise which would result from the free
coinage of silver would make such thing
as idle money unknown. The profit to
the capitalist is greatest when capital il
otive-when industry is ceaseless.
In studying this question, many enooun.
ter great difficulty because of their wrong
estimation of money. The celebrated DO.
litical economist John Stuart Mill, says:
There cannot, in short be intrinsically q
more Insignificant thing in the economy
OF society than money, except in the char.
acter of continuance for sparing time
and labor. 1t is a medium for doing
quickly and commodiously what would be
done though less quickly and commodi
ously without it; and, like many Other
kinds of machinery, 1t only eIerts dis.
tinct and independent influence of its owr
when it gets out of order"
Only the miser gets money to hoard il
Other people seek money to loan or to sell
it. When q man sells corn or cattle OF
cotton for money he simply buys money
and when he buys corn or cattle or cottor
for money he sells money. Every mar
who borrovs money simply hires it, as on,
would hire q team from livery stable
But, as every one is struggling so to ge
money for what it will buy, we seldom us,
the word buy without conveying the idet
of purchasing with money.
The capitalist who opposes the fret
coinage Of silver is sacrificing a perma
nent advantage for temporary one. II
is never to the advantage of creditors Il
bankrupt their debtors. When they Dc
that, they are in the situation of the mar
who killed the goose that laid the colder
egg. This persistent falling of prices il
bankrupting not only the merchants ant
manufacturers, but is also bankruptinc
the farmers of the land.
Take the example of a creditor in tn,
East who has loaned $1,000 to Salin,
county farmer. What does he believe viii
benefit him most, the prosperity of hi
debtor or the bankruptcy of his debtor
He does not want the farm. He wants hi,
interest paid promptly and his principa
returned. If the debtor becomes bank
rupt the creditor is compelled to take thu
farm; and, if prices continue to fall, hi
will be compelled not only to lose his in
terest, but, failing to find a purchaser who
will pay as much for the farm as he Loaned
upon it, he finally sacrifices part of hi
principal. What is of more Importance
the farmer is changed from an independ
ent home owner to dependent tenant.
Suppose we should admit that the re
monetization of silver would make money
so plentiful that it would for time be an in
justice to the creditor. Then you canno
avoid the conclusion that the demonetiza
ton of silver was rank injustice to ever,
debtor in the land. If the debtors of th
land have for 20 years been suffering in
Justice by reason of the demonstration
of silver, is it anything more than fai
that the shoe should be worn on the othe
foot little whilei The debtor class il
this country is by far the larger class, ant
If the reconciliation of silver would bene
fit the debtor class, then, in a countr,
where We are supposed TO be seeking tn
greatest good to the greatest mum ber
there should be nohesitation about adopt
ing free coinage.
But this question ought not to be ham
pered by any such considerations. W
favor the free coinage Of silver because i
is emphatically right and proper. We ar
a new nation. We are yet in the forma
tive period The possibilities of thi
country are in their infancy. If all of tn
people of the United States inhabite,
Texas, her population would not be a
dense as the population Of Germany.
For the development of this country, W
require every dollar Of silver that we ca
get hold Of for the next so years; and b
that time our proorees will he an orea