The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-07-16

|
muting the money of one country into
the money of another.
Ii people i'll one country wish to buy
IN other countries more than can DO sold
from their own country, they arc warn
cd by the state of the exchanges that the
balance is against them According as
the balance becomes moro and more
against them. those who persist in buy
ing should personally suffer tho incon-
veniencc. The people of the entire coun-
try who have nothing to do with i'm
| portations, should not be compelled to
suffer
Whenever that which may be termed
international money has its normal val
ne, 1t is at the par of exchange When it
| becomes Improbable to ship products
and the demand for money for shipment
becomes excessive, so that premium
arises. the persons who should pay the
| premium are the importers-those who,
Tor their own profit, import into the
country more than the exports of the
| country can pay for.
The people of the whole country, who
are conducting business 100 times MS
large as the entire importing business,
| ing themselves in debt to enormous
amounts. should not be compelled to pay
premium upon every dollar of their
| domestic debts simply to suit the con
venlence of a few importers Any bal
ance of trade which can possibly be
against us must always be infinitesimal.
| compared with the enormous amount Of
domestic debts that are constantly being
| paid by our own people. If we had an
ample supply of silver money for the
transaction OF our own business, all that
we could need of gold would be such
sum as would meet any adverse balance.
Professor Stanley Jevons, one of the
most renowned Of the financial econo-
mlsts OF Great Britain, in paper read
before tho American Social Science as
ISOLATION III Saratoga, in 1877, said:
Gold is not really requisite except
for making international payments, and
the stock need not be very much larger
than will meet any conceivable demand
for expectation
l call the special attention of those
who have n horror of the silver standard
to remark of the London Times, which
with them ought to be the first Of au-
thorities, in discussing the very bill
which 1t is now proposed to repeal In
an editorial on the SO called Sherman
law The Times of Sept 1, 1890, said
Under silver standard rich coun-
try can keep us large stock of gold as
it requires for all purposes without any
difficulty whatever "
Effect of the Gold Standard In Great Brit
ain.
The creditor classes are, and well may
be, content to receive not the money,
but the materials which the money will
buy Producing nothing by their own
labor, they can observe without regret a
constant fall Ill the prices of tho prod
ucts of other mems labor. They know
that it wonld be impossible to obtain
the gold. and that, if obtained, it would
be good only for it's purchasing power
as money. For hundreds of years, as
have shown, it has been the determine
ton of those classes to dominate the
commercial and industrial world. They
are too intelligent to attempt in this
age domination Of force. They know
how TO acquire domination by strategy.
This was the basis of their determine
ton to limit tho supply of money to gold
alone.
When they decided to adopt the gold
standard, they knew that the quantity
OF money in circulation determined the
value of the monetary unit Before tax
ing that step they We're not unaware of
the difficulties that would be encounter
ed, but not being themselves producers
of wealth they had nothing to fear The
mlserles which their course might in
hlct upon others was not matter which
concerned them. In the investigation by
the parliamentary committee, made
prior to the adoption of the gold stand
ard, the manufacturing interests of
Great Britain were represented by wise
and thoughtful men, who foresaw and
delineated the consequences that must
ensne from the carrying ont of the gold
policy, but the executive department. Of
the government of Great Britain turned
a deaf ear to the statements of the man
ufacturing and agricultural classes and
listened only to those of the bankers
and money lenders. To their interest
then, as at all times since, every other
interest was subordinated
So long as the rich and cultured
classes i'll those countries are enjoying
life 1t Is great comfort TO them to sup
pose that all others enjoy it. They CON
Germ themselves very little with the suf-
ferings or burdens of the workers, and
especially of those who are relocated to
idleness. They have no personal knowl-
edge of those conditions. 1t is gratifying
to their sense of humanity to suppose
that enforced idleness is unavoidable.
They would never think Of holding the
Onl1 standard g.. M