Birmingham age-herald., 1895-03-31
DOES lTPAY?
Some Reflections on the "Plain Fact" of Repudiation as Advocated
 by the Silvee!tes.
To the Age Herald;

we have the latest up- 10 date and most nom est exposition of the real platform of the favorers of the unlimited coinage of silver. For long time now, scouting the idea of danger to the governments ere lit as piece of trivial detail of the banker and political economs. too insignificant to merit the attention of real financiers, they have shouted for this unlimited coinage, with the broad, comforting assurance to their fol- lowers that if there could only be enough of it about they would all somehow get hold of some of IL. That IS those who had some would have that doubled and those who had none would have that doubled, and then they would have some. This Is mere conjecture, however, as they have always i'm patiently disdained any explana- tion as to how they who had none could get 1t.
 For long time it was no argument worthy of their notice, to remind them that no matter how plentiful money should be at any time il would all be locked up whenever anything threatened to destroy the value of securities by upsetting con f- dence. The majority of them still ignore the existence of such things as credit and con nfidence and refuse utterly to listen to truths which are the very foundation oi business education. They scout the exis- tence of this natural law of confidencs, thinking 1t can be governed by legislation, and still attribute the hasiy aud scared
 
 threatened, to a preconcerted and delio- crate corner of mouey by Wall street. Wall street, so perfectly combined as to present to the minds eye of the waller hideous and deiormed perso nality, the evil genius of all our hardupness; when as a matter of fact, and most tedious reitera- tion, if they could only cease for mo- ment walling their eyes in pious adora- tion of their wronged goddess they would see not only the shrewed business men of Wall street, but the business men of every other city, town, village and country store, nay their own neigh bors, brothers and even their wives, locking up their cash and refusing to invest in any business en- terprise, railroad or bank stock whenever anything threatens to unsettle money values. In other words, when their conh- dence Is shaken, no matter how ignorant they may be or the details of finance or legislation they obey this onnipotent natu- ral law of self preservation.
 This attitude of fiouting such pondera- ble entity as the faith in the promise to- pay of the government Is again fast being proven ridiculous, as seems to be necessary to be done about every twenty years, or as often as the fiat money people get new name for their old goddess and attempt to rsintroduce her as fresh and sweet sixteen.
 The writer of "the facts thus set forth' finally comes to the only possible good that cheap money can do the tax.ridden poor- man, namely, repudiation. They have kept this in the back ground all along Cor as much as some of their untactful brothers would let lhen) and have contended that unlimited silver coinage did not mean cheap money. But now il comes again afterits twenty years' sleep, ably ''set fortho in ''the factso referred to, burdened with its sense of real wrong and glowing with it's hope of patriotic justification. It is the old, last dying argument of every hat money movement, but it mounts the highest wave of popularity as though 1t had an ocean of reserve force to support it.
 The purpose of the advocates of cheap money Is to assist the debtor in paying debts contracted when the average prices of commodities were higher. The farmer, say, is the larger debtor class. He has got in debt raising wheat and cotton. He bor- rowed money when wheat and cotton were relatively high. Still he borrowed it in the shape of dollars, which the United States government guaranteed and still guarantees to be good for a certain number of grains of gold (nolhing more Tor lessInor other) in any part of the world in which the farmer might wish to spend them. He did not borrow it in wheat nor cotton, but in dollsrs good for so much gold.
 The unlimited coinage of silver will cause, the writer says (and there is no doubt in the world about iD, a marked ad- vance in the prices of all commodities; that isin silver. It is not pretended that therelwi!l be any advance measured by gold stand ard. by thus getting double the number oi silver dollars for their wheat and cotton (which will still be bought and sold in the markets of the world at certain prices in gold, regulated by the old fashioned nat ural law of supply and demand), they pur- pose to cancel each dollar of their debts, contracted on gold basis, with silver dollar worth half as much.
 Gu smaller scale, following the same principle, they might ask to have passed a law which would allow man buying sugar at cents from his grocer on thirty days time to settle the debt at cents if that hap peped to be the price on settling day. Leaving aside all moral questions as to such an act of repudiation, and admitting for the sake of brevity that the whole debtor class has been grievously wronged by the thousand acts of class Legislation which have been so fashionable since tho war, and that it is only fair that their grab should come some time, it is well 10 ask how much would 1t really benefit them?
 Ithink, at best, 1t would enable those at present in debt 10 repudlate half of 1t. After that they may start fair, stay at home and out of debt ana revel in the plenty of the silver basis. They can obtain high prices in silver for what they have to sell and pay high prices in silver for what they buy, aud be happy. They can ignore or live obivious 10 the fact that these same beloved high prices ars still translated into 50 many grains of gold in the markets of the world when these same prices are de- termined on the natural law of supply and demand (even that Of the precious white goddess nerseD, and whence they will stii. re dictated in terms of gold.
 Admitting (again for the sake of brevity) this gratuity to the debtor to be just, is there nc balancing harm to be looked for? The man who buys the sugar and repu- diates half the debt at the end of the month will be half a doliar's worth or half bar rel or half carload of sugar ahead, but after that he can reap no such benefit again. In the next transaction be will not be trusted; he will pay cash or give bond to fulfill his contract. This black eye to his credit may seem a trivai injury, viewed with the eyes Of farmer, lawyer, doctor, 1arsacher nnliIician or fha auarapa siI.