The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-06-26
4 Bit OF HISTORY.
A Statement of Prices a Thousand
Years Ago.
CASTLES BUILT FOR TWELVE
SHILLINGS.
Three-Fifths Of a Pound of Silver
Was Enough to Build a Castle
as Is Shown by the Edicts
of Charlemagne In the
Eighth Century.

One of the standard authorities on
German history is Johannes ScherT
author Of "Germania; Two thousand
Years Of German Life" He says in
that work in speaking of Charlie
magne, the first emperor of Ger
many:
'He arranged a thorough reform Of
the coinage system by substituting
silver coinage for gold coinage that
had been the rule in the occident
from the time of the Roman emperors
and decreed that pound of silver
should be coined into twenty shil-
lings.'
Charlemagne'S empire was the
greatest in the world at the time and
he one of the most successful rulers.
1t is a pity he had not learned from
the modern gold bugs that gold was
the only reliable money material.
In another part of his history of
Germany Scherr shows that at the
time of Charlemagne, who died in sl4
the building and furnishing of
lords mansion cost twelve silver
solid (shillings). AS the law made a
pound Of silver twenty shillings it is
clear that the building and furnish
ing Of the best houses Of that period
cost just three-ffths of pound of
silver or about twelve dollars in our
American money of to day.
The reason of this was that the gold
and silver mines of Europe had been
hausted and as the people of that day
had become infatuated with the idea
that money could be made only Of
gold and silver these metals became
so dear that it took two good houses
to buy one pound of silver.
Later on in his work, Scherr says:
Before the discovery Of America re-
leased the gold and silver treasures of
the new world the money value of the
old was SO high that in the rich city of
Augsburg mar was considered
| wealthy who had an annual income Of
two or three hundred florins equal to
aboat 80 cents Of our money. But he
| more was actually considered q
CrUSuS.
He says that the Weisers and Fug.
gers of Augsburg were ''the Roth
schilds of the sixteenth century"
In 1923 Charles " Of Spain who was
always in debt to these Rothschilds
sold to Bartholomew Welser the coast
of Venezulea and Welser rugged out
an expedition which sailed from Seville
in October, 1889, with 400 German and
| Spanish soldiers with view Of estab-
| fishing a colony, but the venture was Z
| failure.
And all this Welser undertook to do
on an income of about $500 year!
Scherr explains the cause of the
trouble thus:
The commercial relations Of Euro
pean nations had become SO diversi-
| tied and active that the mediums of
| the middle ages proved insufficient.
The demand for an increase in the
| medium Of exchange, the precious
| metals became so imperative that it
must 'be supplied at any price. East
| ern Asia was considered an incxhaust-
| iblc mine Of gold and silver and :he
| desire to reach these mines in Cathay
| (China) and Zipangoo (Japan) were
the principle objective points Of the
great voyages Of discovery undertaken
by Dlaz CANA and Columbus.
These conditions we're brought
about by a shortage of the money sup
ply. Now that the mines are increas-
ing their output, the money kings try
to shorten the supply OF money by
law
Are the people going to be fooled all
tho timeo