The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1895-05-21

yidual according to tho view which no
may take OF tho nature Of his oblipa.
tions 10 tho people who have loaned
money or sold property to him. II q
man who has borrowed a thousand dol.
lars In gold. or its equivalent. and Ina
promised 10 pny Il, or has purchased u
thousand dollars worth OF another
mans property. and promised to pay for
II In tho standard money recognized by
law nj tho date Of his contract, believes
that 1t would DO Just aud honoEt to dis.
charge hia obligation 10 n now standard
worth only half rs much ~ tho money
ho borrowed or tho properly no pur.
chased, le would appreciate mud on.
dorso this argument and It would DO
useless TO disc ss tho question with
him. But II, ne have already endeav.
ored 10 show, tho Immediate elect Of
tho adoption Of n irco.Gninago policy at
the ratio OF 10 10 | wonli DO to contract
the currency 10 tho oxtent Of about
SO25, 900. 900, BY tho withdrawal OF that
amount OF gold from circulation aud
from uso as tho basis OF notes and otior
forms OF credit, prices wonll not even
nomlnally advance. On tho contrary,
for the time being ut least, this contrac.
ton would greatly reduce prices. DO.
cause II would alarm tho country. dc.
stroy credit, aud undoubtedly produce
tho most serious financial disturbance
this country Inns over witnessed. Every
depositor In tho savings and other
banks. fearing that no would ultimately
DO paid In depreciatsd silver, would
Immediately demand the return Of his
money, and this would compel tho
banks to call a. once for tho payment Of
all The notes and other securities they
had discounted Tor their customers. aud
the contraction oil the currency would
ca,ise M increased demand for currency
at the very tiuo when it could not DO
obtained, and TINS the difficulty Of tho
situation would DO increased by both
causes. The banks would DO compelled
10 either suspend payments themselves
or drive their cuitomers, who are gen.
orally business mGn-the men who give
employment 10 labor in every commu-
nity-into bankruptcy at ice
WHO WOULD rRorIr7
Who would profit by this condition OF
affairsP Nobody, except tho holders of
gold aud the owners OF silver mines. the
holders silver bullion and the brokers
and spectators in tho stocks Of silver
mining companies. The people who
owe debts and arc unable to pay them
would be the ones TO sutIer most while
the people who owe no debts and have
money on baud would be the one to
profit most. Every man in debt would
be called upon TO pay it promptly when
due; there would be no more extensions
OF old debts, or any new credits given,
because no an could ~foretell what the
money would DO worth Il. any time In
the future. In this cra.h the laborer
would DO thrown out OF employment by
the failure or suspension OF his employ.
er, the farmer would receive less real
money for his products, property would
be sold At low rates under judicial pro-
ceedings all over the country, credit
would be destroyed, anu all industrial
and commercial enterprises would
stand still, awaiting the result, OF the
new experiment with tho monetary
system. OF course n great country like
this. rich IN natural resources, would
ultimately recover in some measure
from even such a disaster, but how long
a time would be required 10 do so no
mau can predict. All the mints OF the
United States. II devoted entirely to tho
coinage OF silver dollaas, could produce
only about forty million dollars per an.
mum, and, therefore. with free coinage
it would require more than fifteen years
to put silver dollars in tho place Of the
gold we now have and give back to the
country tho same amount Of metallic
money now existing.
But, suppose the change is made, and
that the business affairs OF the country
have been finally adjusted to tho new
standard, what will be the effect on our
domestic trade? The prices oil all
things will be nominally purchased
that is to say, it will require a greater
number OF dollar, 10 purchase a given
amount Of any commodity than i. re.
CURED before.
SILVER ASD rRicEs or COMMODITIES.
The fundamental proposition OF the
advocates OF Tree coinage 10 that all
values are measured and all prices are
fixed aud regulated by the amount OF
money in the country, and
that the amount Of paper currency. or
credit money, as it Is sometime, called,
such as bank notes, government notes.
and other, circulating media, exert no
influence on the values or prices OF COM
modi,ies. Having dognaticaliy assert.
ed'thls principle, they proceed without
further argument to the conclusion that
the legal decentralization OF silver IN
1873 and the legal establishment OF the
gold standard OF value at that time arc
the causes Of the alleged decline in the
prices OF commodities in this country,
aud then, upon the theory that high
prices for the necessaries OF life would
BIO o blessing to the people. they appeal
to tho consumers u agricultural and
manufactured products e unite with
them in the effort TO secure the free aud
unlimited coinage OF all the silver that
the owners'o bullion may see proper
to p.csen. nj the minis. Even il wo
should admit tho truth OF their first
proposition, their conclusion that tho
decentralization OF silver reduced prices
is founded upon tho assumption of
fact which cannot DO established. They
have wholly failed to allege, much loss
to prove, that silver actually constituted
any part Of the redemption money in
use or in existence in this country be.
fore or at tho timo Of that legislation.
II it did not, then it is cloar hal its
legal characterization did not and could
not in fact reduce tho amount OF such
money in this country, and therefore
cannot have reduced prices.
our METALLIC MONEY IN 1877.
1t is well known personally 10 evory