The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-05-28

buy will be increased in much greater
proportion than the prices of the things
he has to sell, and if go, he will be q
loser instead of a gamer by the change.
1t is ~contended, however, that prices
or commodities have fallen since 1873,
and that this reduction OF prices has
made it more difficult to pay debts now
than it was then. 1t Is TRUE that the
prices of some things have fallen, DuG
it is equally true that the prices OF
some things have increased. 1t Is not
true, however, that our people owe any
debts contracted as far back as 1873,
but it may be that some or our gLeaI
corporations which issued bonds OeIore
that date still owe them, but they nave
all been refunded at a low rate OF III
terest, so hat our free coinage Irlehus
need not be disturbed on their ccoun5
The fundamental proposition OF neg
vocates of free coinage Is tina all
are measured and all prices are fixed
| and regulated by theamount OF redemp
| ton money in the country, n that Ine
| amount of paper currency, or creoiG
money. as it is some times calico, sucn
as bank notes, government notes, ana
| other circulating media, exert no lDhu-
ences on the values or prices OF com
modities Having dogmatlcalIy as
| serted this principle. they proceed
without further argument TO the con-
clusion that the legal demonstration
of silver in 1878 and the legal establish
ment of the gold standard OF value at
that time are the causes OF the alleged
fall in the prices Of the commodl-
ties of this country, and then, upon the
theory that high prices for h peces-
saries of life would be a blessing to the
people, they appeal to the customers
of Horticultural and manufactured prod
ucts to unite with them in the effort to
secure the free and unlimited coinage
of all the silver that the owners of
bullion may gee proper to present al
the minis. Even if we should admit
the truth of their first proposition. their
conclusion that the characterization of
silver reduced prices is founded upon
the assumption of a fact which cannot
be established. They have wholly
failed to allege, much less to prove,
that silver actually constituted any
part of the redemption money in use
or in existence in this country before
or at the time of that legislation. If it
did not, then it is clear that it's legal
demonstration did not and could not,
in fact, reduce the amount of such
A4OAOy AA GA4S NO0404y 0440 0AC
cannot have reduced prices. 1t is well
known personally to every gentleman
in this audience who was old enough to
know what was transporting in 1873 that
there was not a dollar of silver in Cir
culation at that date. The assumption
upon which the argument is based is
Numerically opposed to the historical
and official fact. The only metallic or
redemption money in use here at that
time was gold, which amounted toonly
$135, 600. 900, including what the gov
eminent was using, whereas we now
have about 1926, 900, 900 in gold, and
1892. $50 S73 in full legal tender silver,
beside S about ST., 600. 600 in subsidiary
silver coin. If. therefore, prices have
fallen since 1873, the decline has taken
place in spite of the fact that our full
legal tender metallic money has peen
increaS I'D until it now amounts to more
than seven times as much as it did at
that date, and consequently the alleged
decline in prices must be attributed to
some other cause than the demonetiza
tion of silver. These facts prove not
only that the demonetiz alton of silver
did not reduce the amount of redemp
ton money in this country, but they
prove also that the fundamental propO
sition of the advocates Of free coinage
is erroneous and prices are not fixed or
regulated by the amount of redemption
money alone, for, if 90. prices should
have increased since 1873
/ Substantially, the whole argument
for free coinage, so far as it is addressed
to the honest people of the country, is
based upon this fimsy foundation,
upon an erroneous principle and a false
assumption of facts That the amount
Of money in circulation, or available
for circulation, has more or less in
fuence upon the prices of commodities
Is not disputed by anybody, but it is
not the amount of metallic or redemp
ton money alone that exerts this in
duence. If all other conditions remain
the same. if b relations between sup
ply and demand are unchanged, if the
cost of production, transportation and
financial exchanges are stable, an in
crease OF decrease of the CURRENCY in
circulation, or available for circulation,
will, to a certain extent, increase or
decrease prices, as the case may be
bat by the terms money" and eur,
rencY," in this connection, I mean
every element that enters iato and is
utilized IN the complicated processes of
buying and sailing in the markets for
products and in the mercantile e K
changes, whether it be gold, silver,
bank notes, United States notes,
checks. bill, or other forms of credit
written or unwritten. Credit or con
fidence is an element of far greater i'm.
portance in fixing or UNFOLDING prices
than the mere amount of actual money
in use, or available for use; and, IN
fact, about 81 per cen OF the entire
business of the country is transacted
without the actual use of metallic
money, or its paper representatives
and as to metallic money itself whether