The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-09-30

\ Is it not therefore, true that to you
who outnumber all other classes, who
hold in your own hands the means to
! correct any and every legislative
wrong, the question comes with re-
doubled force; What is 1T that has
caused the present low prices of the
products of labor?
In answering this we can no longer
! follow in beaten paths of established
fact, but we must subject the problem
to the test Of fair and impartial reason
/ ing, and see if we cannot reach con-
| cluslons that are at least satisfactory
| to ourselves. If by any provision of
law or otherwise, the markets of the
! world for any one of the great staples
of industry should be contracted, we
would expect a corresponding deprecia-
tlon in the price of the article so
affected. If two or more products weN
used in common, and substantial to the
same extent to supply any one of the
actual necessities of man and by law
! or otherwise, one should be with
| drawn from the markets, we would
! expect the other to increase in value
for the demand for it would be
doubled, and if it was true that
| the supply of the remaining pro-
! duct was wholly insufficient to meet
| the demand, we would expect it to
continue to increase until it reached
al eXofoltantly inflated value.
Not Gold Enough.
[ need not tell you there is not gold
enough in this world to supply the
wants of its people for money; neither
is there gold and silver combined sufIi-
Gent for that purpose. This is dem
| onstrated by the fact that in every
clVlllzed country resort to the use of
paper currency or credit money in some
form or other is found necessary to
supply the demands of business. And
| since it is true, as we all know, that
before the decentralization of silver the
| demand for money was greater than
| both metals could possibly supply is
it rational to doubt that the removal
OF one from use as standard money
would necessarily enhance the value of
the other that remained?
Is it not apparent, therefore. if the
semblance of justice was to be done,
that when congress demonetized silver
! and took away one-half the available
| means of the country to supply itself
| with standard money, it should have
cut in twain the quantity of gold re-
| quired to make a dollar? Was this
| done?s Not at all But congress left
the gold dollar just as large and just
as fine as it was when silver stood by
its side and bore one half the burden
of supplying the national with real
money
Is 1t at all then strange that under our
present system the prices of the pro
ducts of labor have decreased when
! measured by this single standard of
gold; is there any reason to believe ff
that measure is continued, they will
ever permanently increase? We need
| not look beyond the condition of our
own treasury at the present time to
learn something of the intensity of the
struggle for the possession of gold
that is now going on Is it possible
to contemplate without humiliation the
fact that this great nation has been
compelled to turn it's financial system
over to a syndicate of bankers, COM
| posed of a half dozen men, in order
! to maintain the credit of its currency
In the money markets of the world?
And what is the relief for this con'di-
ton, that the advocates of a gold
standard propose?
They say, retire the treasury notes
| and silver certificates that any one can
gather up under existing law or Gus
tom and take to the treasury and de-
| mand gold in exchange for, and then
there will be no need of a reserve to
meet that demand. That is true, but if
we retire these forms of currency, some
other must take their place. We have
none too much money now IF the
government goes out of the banking
business by withdrawing its OWN notes
| and certificates from circulation, some
one else must go into that business.
and must issue notes to an equal
amount and every one of these notes
must be made redeemable in gold un-
der a single gold standard, and the
hoT
eminent must keep on hand the gold
necessary for their redemption.
Would this diminish the demand for
gold? Would our own or any other
people have greater confidence in pri-
vate banking associa lions and be sat
isfied to take their bills with a less gold
reserve behind them than is required
to maintain the credit of our treas
ury notes, that have behind thenA-the
pledge of the whole nation that they
shall be redeemed in coin?
Is it not altogether probable that
any system of private banking that
could be devised to take the place of the
government in the issue of paper cur
rency redeemable in gold, would in
crease instead of diminish the demand
for it, and hence increase its purchas-
ing power and thereby still further di-
minish the price of everything of which
money is the measure of value?
Under such a system the banks in
stead of the treasury officials would be
hunting for gold to deposit in their
safes, and they would need more in
stead of less to maintain the credit of
their bills so that the demand at home
would not be diminished and certainly
no change in this respect could lessen
the foreign demand
In what way, then, is it possible to
lessen the present inflated purchasing
power of money, and thereby Increase
the selling price of the products Of la
Dor?
Increase the Real Money.
Evidently there is but one way. and
that is to increase the quantity of real
money, and this is practicable in a sin
gle way, and that is by return to the
system of our fathers; to the money
of the constitutions; to the coinage of
both gold and silver as standard money
instead of gold alone
Upon what terms or conditions this
should be done l will undertake here to
discuss. 1t is perhaps fair to concede
that it cannot be done upon any that
will not work some hardship to some
classes of people. This is true of MANY
a good law, but the paramount purpose
of all legislation is the greatest good
to the greatest number" Upon this
subject, l regret to say, cur own gov
eminent occupies an unenviable posi-
ton. 1t was the first to follow England
in its crusade against silver. The ire
rOQndOuS Woiorht of ifc m d1epoa COZ -,