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

pace with gold under the adverse condi-
lions which have prevailed for the last 20
years, as it would be to knock man down
and then kick him for falling.
When the gold mines of California and
Australia were discovered, gold was de-
nounced as the dishonest metal, and was
demonetized in Germany in 1857. But if
the silver dollar is dishonest dollar, how
will an international agreement purge 1t
of its dishonesty How will the waters Of
international bimetallism wash out its
guilty stains' If it is illegitimate, can
the bar sinister be removed by interna-
tional adoption' Out upon such fallacies!
The only advantage to be derived from
international bimetsllism is that which
would follow our independent free coin
age. 1t will restore silver to its former
position as money metal, thereby in
crease the demand for it, and stop the
continual appreciation of gold.
But" shouts the monometallist, "gold
has not appreciated, silver has deprecated.
Gold is of stable value. All prices have
fallen relatively to gold, but that is due
to invention, improved methods, and vari-
Gus other causes"
1t seems difficult to comprehend why
mOnometallists, who are so glib in quot
ing the rules of political economy in sup
port of their claims, so persistently refuse
to acknowledge the force of the same rules
when they tend to overthrow theirclaims.
If there is any rule that monometallists
delight in quoting, when attention is called
to the persistent falling of prices, it is the
rule of supply and demand. As soon as
we attempt to apply that same rule to the
value of money, we are met with an ava
lanche of objections.
Let US see if We cannot examine this
question with our minds disassociated from
the ideas of money thoughtlessly formed.
Let us imagine nation of men sud-
denly deciding to demonetize both gold
and silver, and to adopt new money ma
terial. Suppose that they concluded to
use marbles for money; and by law deter
mined that the marbles made from GER
tain peculiar white clay should bear a
proportionate value to those made of
certain yellow clay of 16 81. Suppose that
the government established manufactures
for making these marbles, prohibited
their manufacture by any individual; by
law made these marbles full legal tender
for all debts, public and private, and an
ounce marble of white clay the unit of
value. Suppose other nations should be
pleased with the change, and should also
demonetize both gold and silver, and some
would use both clsys and some only one
as full legal tender.
After 80 years use Of these marbles as
money, during which time the white clay,
in bulk, was little more valuable than
one-sixteenth OF the same amount of yell
low clay, because of the fact that number
Of the most populous nations used the
white clay only for money, suppose one ma
ton should surreptitiously demonetize the
white clay as full legal tender, and cease
to manufacture white clay marbles: will
any man who has an ounce of common
sense deny that such legislation would in
crease the demand for the yellow clay, and
make the yellowmarbles gradually increase
in value, as compared with all other COM
modities, if the supply of yellow clay was
no more abundant than is that of gold
Then, suppose other nations made the
same change: would not eachaone Of them
by the change increase the demand for the
yellow clay, and would not that very in
creased demand, under the we'll known law
of supply and demand, increase the value
of the yellow clsyi
Then suppose certain persons who
thought their interests were favored by
this increased value of the yellow clay
should unite with those who owned the
yellow clay, and should insist that it was
a mistake to suppose that the yellow clay
had increased in value, and should claim
that yellow clay was the only stable article
in existence, and that the white clay had
simply deprecated; then suppose this
claim should be met by showing them
that, owing to the insuficiency of the
supply of the white clay to meet the de-
mand of those nations which never had
used the yellow clay for money, the white
clay in bulk would purchase as much of
every article, except the yellow clay, as
it would before the demonstration took
place; what would you think of the friends
of the yellow clay if they should still per-
sist in claiming that the yellow clay had
not appreciated! Would you not con-
slider them either perverse or blinded by
self -interesti
Then suppose one nation, in the slough
of despond from forced bankruptcies, the
poverty and distress of the great mass of
her people-all wrought by persistent
falling prices should propose to remon-
etize the white clay and furnish her peo-
pie with sufficient money to stop this
ruinous fall of prices: what would YOU
think of men who claimed to be possessed
of the instincts of patriotism who would
protest against such a course unless the
other civilized nations would agree to do
the same thing!
We are told that we cannot maintain the
two metals at parity with the ratio OF
l6 to l; that our gold will take wings and
tiy away; and we will be left with nothing
but deprecated currency on our hands
There are great many citizens of the
United States who are to-day talking of a
lack of confidence in our currency who
simply have lack of confidence in our
country. They claim lack of confidence
in American money when they really have
a lack of confidence in American manhood
II these citizens would take the trouble
to find out what the resources and de.
mands of this country are, they would
readily see that they need have no fear
about maintaining the parity between sill
yer and gold.
Here we meet with another difficulty, b,
reason of the different meanings attached
by different minds to the words, "main.
tain the parity"
Monometallists mean, when they say We
cannot maintain the parity, that if ",
have unlimited coinage of silver thu