Rocky Ford enterprise., 1895-06-27

financial history of the United States.
In 1880 we had in circulation In the
country $1so.3o9 in gold and 81 .6ss.246
in silver. making total metallic cur
rency of 81 ,883,555. In 1910 the gold
in circulation amounted to $1.s75.6 $40
and the silver to S2.765.22S. our
mints being open to both and re-
mained so until 1873, when silver was
demonetized. There had been little
change in the ratio between the two
metals. and the two were easily main
tained at a parity. What did the
country achieve during the period from
1910 to 1873. during which time the
two metals. gold and silver. circulated
and were carried freely together?
1t is simply impossible to recount or
hardly touch upon the evidences Of the
marvellous prosperity of the country
and its people. A few things stand
out as phenomenal.
The country went through the Mex
ican war without feeling its cost. Later
1t carried to q successful issue the
bloodiest and most expensive war In
the annals of history, costing millions
of dollars and entailing on the govern
ment debt of $2,773. .236, ,173, Of which
over 1921, 100000 had been paid pre-
vious to 1873; we had built nearly 90,-
900 miles of railroads and 154.472 miles
Of telegraph; we had increased our for
eign trade from $140, ,000, 900 in 1910 to
1920. .705,643 In 1873; we built enor-
nous cities; our agricultural products
have increased thousandfold and our
manufactured goods were supplanting
in the markets of the world the pro-
ducts Of the older nations. Our gov
ernment bonds have credit that
makes them the favorite investment
In all the money markets of the world,
and American securities were sought
by the capitalists of every nation in
christendom. We had also reduced
our rates of interest, not only on our
public bonded Indebtedness, but by the
statutes of nearly every state in the
union. Money Was abundant labor
was In demand and adequately paid,
factories, forges and furnaces were
crowded with work. universities and
colleges were founded beyond the hopes
of twenty years ago; 100000 slaves
had been freed and crowned with citi-
zenship; the mines of the country were
turning out millions upon millions of
dollars worth of gold. silver, iron. cop
per and lead annually; and, in word,
the people were becoming the richest
per capita Of any nation on the globe
with one exception.
This was accomplished while we had
double money standard and free
coinage of both silver and gold. OF
sudden in 1873 the lawmakers In con-
gress forgot the old adage, as true as
1t is trite, LET we'll enough alone" and
passed law the scope of which was
understood neither by the congressman
who passed 1t, the president who sane
toned 1t nor the people who were af-
fected by 1t. 1t was the demonetiza-
tion act that overturned the whole f.
nancial system of the country and with
drew from silver, the money of the peo-
pie, its quality as money Of ultimate
redemption.
Not an argument has been adduced
nor scintilla of evidence presented
to show that the prosperity of the coun-
try would not have remained constant
and unchanged had we adhered to our
financial system of a century's trial,
but all the contention has been that
such change as was made in 1873
would be an additional incentive to
still greater advancement, and. hav-
ing made the change, 1t would be fatal
to our interests to recede from 1t. The
whole history of the country from 1873
sustains neither of these propositions
or assumptions.
If the government changes the form
of a lock on mail pouch 1t is made
the subject of scores of reports before
the experiment is indorsed. Before the
adoption of the Rodman gun by the
war department nearly 400 reports
were made by various official boards
as to the merits of the weapon. But
when it comes to the question Of in
cooperating an untried experiment in
finance and the destruction of system
under which we had in century be-
come the richest, largest, most power
full and most prosperous nation on the
globe, starting from practically moth
ing, 1t is done without the considera-
tion that would be given to the weighty
subject whether our 2-cent postage
stamp should be green or red.
1t has taken twenty-five years to
awaken the American people to sense
of the magnitude of that movement.
Stripped of such catch words and
phrases as ratio" parity" Sound
money" "a 50-cent dollar" Inter
national bimetallism" and the like, the
main question is: Did we not make,
in view of the marvellous growth in
area, riches, manufactures, military
and naval power, agriculture, education
and everything that can in any way
contribute to national greatness and
domestic prosperity which had attended
the country under a century's use of
a bimetallic currency and free coinage,
a most grievous mistake when we
struck from our financial system the
money value of our silver currency?
Over 80 per cent of the business of the
country to-day is done on credit, and
II we coined into money all the silver
we produce that does not find its way
into the arts we should be adding to