The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1895-05-22
THE FALSE CRY.

fifty cent silver dollar. Possibly
some men will never be able to dis
tinguish between the intrinsic value
of silver and its money value. Its
debt paying power is entirely a
creation of government aud may be
either more or less than its intrinsic
value. Silver as measured in gold
has declined in value since 1873,
shout fifty per cent. OF course this
falling off is due to the action of the
gold conspirators who succeeded in
having silver demonetized in all
the leading commercial nations
Silver as a commodity. when pur
chased with gold on gold basis is
now selling at about IS centsepUT'
ounce. This is caused not so much
by a decrease in the value of silver
but by an increase in the value of
gold. The strong arguments to
support the claim of many friends of
silver, that its value today is just as
it was in 1873, and that it is the
most stable, and least variable meas
ure of values known TO the business
world. In spite of the attempt OF
the gold bugs over every nation,
to force down the price and degrade
silver, its value when measured in
any of the staple products of labor
or agriculture remains practically
the same. 1t is only when you
take the gold standard that silver
appears to have deprecated, be
cause such condition is wholly
caused by the increase in the
purchasing power of gold, caus
ed by an insufficient quantity
of that metal to supply the
needs of commerce. In 1873, the
days wages paid for common labor
would buy one ounce of silver; TO
day it will buy one ounce and 70
more. In 1878 wheat was selling
at S1.3O per bushel and silver at
S1.25 per ounce, a few days ago
wheat sold on the Chicago board of
trade at 62 cents per bushel, and
silver was quoted at CD cents per
ounce. In 1873, 129 pounds OF
cotton purchased one ounce of sill
yer, today it takes II and four
fifth pounds to purchase the same
quantity. This equality between
the value of products and the price
of silver continues through the
whole range of commodities the
price of which are not forced up
beyond their normal value by some
trust or combination. Silver is
worth as much today as it has been
at any time for the past hundred
years. for every purpose except to
purchase gold or pay debts. The
Wall Street shylocks have destroyed
one half of its debt paying power,
and one half of the value of every
product of the farm at the same
blow. They have doubled the bur
den of every debtor in the nation
by making him sacrifice twice as
much of his property, and produce
twice as much in order to pay his
debts as it required under free and
unlimited coinage of silver.
These shylocks can now demand
two pounds of flesh instead of one
and no Portia stands guard over
the numberless victims to save
either home or heart or blood, Yct
men seem willing to be duped by
the senseless cry of Sound money
started by the same criminals who
impoverished our people and echoed
by a set of cringing favoring tools
who think themselves wise, while
aping the powerful, and proclaim
ing a policy, of which they are
wholly ignorant. Sound money.
when proclaimed by a money
lender, means dear money and low
prices. 1t means a currency that
will enable the papers shavers &c
gradually absorb the entire wealth
of the nation, and make ours a land
of plutocrats and slaves.
The decision of the U. S. Supreme
Court, declaring the Income Tax
law unconstitutional, will rather
complicate matters in this country.
and the rich will escape paying
their fair share of the burden for
the support of the government. OF
course we are not going to set up
our opinion against that of the Su-
preme Court, but it does seem to uf
that the income tax was fair and
equitable. These millionaires have