Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1895-09-05
THE DEBTOR GLASS.

Refutation Of somc Arguments tn Favor of
BimstaliIsin--A Cominendabie hut Mis-
guided sympathy for tina Poor-A Ques-
tion % the Law as Applied to Poor Men
and Rich Men.
New YORK Evening Post,
We have received from Augusta, Ga.
a printed letter written by Mr.. II. B.
King, a business man Of high repute,
in that place, in favor of bimetallism.
Its significance arises chiefly from the
fact that Mr., King was delegate to
the Memphis Sound Money convention,
and has since been converted to the
other side by reading the arguments
ofiArchbishop Walsh, of the late Sec
rotary Manning, and Of Mr.. Henry
Cernuschi, more especially the last.
As all these authorities were opposed
TO bimetallism by the action OF any
single country, Mr.. King is also OBJ.
posed to an attempt to achieve BIZ
metalliam by the United States alone,
and he is not quite clear how many
countries would be requisite to make
the thing success. There being no
International conference on foot at pres
emit IL follows that Mr.. Kings views
amount simply to "a pious opinion. y
He puts himself in an expectant at
titude along with Gen. Francis A.
Walker and President Andrews in this
country, or the respondent one Of Mr..
Arthur james Balfour in England.
We might very well have his argu-
ment here, but we ara requested by one
Of his friendly neighbors to point out
its unsoundness, il it be unsound,
We will, therefore, indicate the points
where we think that it falls short of
being convincing. Thus, Mr.. King
saye:
The, lesson taught by these three
teachers is simple one. 1t is this
II, by the limitation of the use of sill
yer as money there is a greater need
for gold, this increased demand for the
latter will naturally put up its price,
and IL all other values are measured by
gold, 1t will take less gold to buy a
certain quantity of other commodities,
or in other words it will take a larger
quantity of the other commodities to
purchase certain quantity of gold ~
The first thing that we notice is the
size OF Mr.. Kings 'if. - Those who
do not believe in bimetallism say that
the use OF silver as money does not in
crease the aggregate amount OF both
| gold and silver in use at any time or
place, because the cheaper one drives
| the other out OF circulation, SO that
they are used alternately and not con
currently. They say that all history
proves this, and they have the books
to show it. Mr.. Shaw's History OF
Currency of 125i-1S90, {" the most re.
cent and thorough of all, goes over the
whole subject in minute and pains
taking way. So il cannot be said that
the opponents of bimetallism take
refuge in bare assertions and fail to
| give chapter and verse for tho faith
that is in them. The argument relied
upon by the bimetallsts at the Brus.
sells conference was that the union of a
sufficient number OF commercial nations
would hold the two metals together al
a permanent legal ratio SO that both
would be in use as money at one time.
This was denied by their opponents, Sc
we are within bounds in saying that
Mr.. Kings "if' is wide enough tc
admit coach and four, if not whole
circus, menagerie, band wagon, ano
other belongings. The eff is repeated
in the next succeeding paragraph thus
Ii these postulates are true, is moi
the corollary inevitable that the mar
| q
when he comes to repay it, have Il
eXpend more pounds of cotton, more
bushels OF wheat, more days Of labor
in proportion as the increased demand
for gold has in the meantime increased
its scarcity II so, then the present
arrangement is all in favor of the credi
tor and all against the debtor, in favor
of the rich against the poor, in favor
/ ~ "a h.,
AS these postulates" are denied
the first thing to be done is to prove
them, But even If they are proved We
cannot agree that the present arrange
nent is all in favor of the rich agains
the poor and in favor of the few
against the many. The terms rich anc
few assumed to be synonymous with
creditor, while poor and many ar,
Jumped together in an off hand way
as debtors. This is the fallacy which
Professor Farnam exploded so com
pletely in the last yale Review, ;
where he counted up debts in thi
country amounting to nineteen thous
and other corporations, by banks, anc
by persons who may fairly be classed al
capitalists, not counting the average
| Se"A hAiNA cIuplS1NIh oNO W tISlT CHI
ployes as wages Nobody can show
anything like this sum, or the half O
it, or the tenth of it, owed by the poo
to the rich. The honest and industri
GUS poor, as everybody knows, are YER,
reluctant 10 incur debt. The dishones
and lazy ones, as general thing
could not run in debt if they wanted
to-, because nobody would trust them.
Having convinced himself that tn
present arrangement is in favor o
creditors and therefore of the rich, h.
asks these questions
But are even such favors reall,
sound and lively TO be permanent
Does history anywhere tell us whose
people were really prosperous, wher
the working classes were not con
tented?'
Mr.. King cannot be very wei
acquainted with the leaders of tn
working classes, all of whom tell IL
that the last thing to be desired is stat
OF contentment. They say that all tn
, advance that has ever been made b
, the working classes, from the feuda
ages to the present, has been due t
discomfort; and here they are right
Ii they had been satisfied with thei
condition at any particular period i
the worlds history, they never wou
9 have risen above it. But are we {
understand that the working classe
were contented with their conditio