The Portland daily press., 1895-05-21

no more extensions OF oiu debts or auy new
credits given, because no man could fortell
what the money would be worth at any
time in the future. In this crash the labore-
would be thrown out of employment by the
failure or suspension of his employer. the
farmer would recei7e less real money for
his nroGucts, property would be sold at low
rates under judicial proceedings all over
the country, credit would be DESTROYED.
and all Industrial and commercial enter
prises would stand still, awaiting the result
of tho new experiment with the monetary
SYST EN-. Of course a great country like this,
rich in natural resources, would ultimately
recover in some measure from even such a
disa but how long a time would be re-
uuired TO do SO no man can predict. al the
mints of The United States, If devoted
entirely to the coinage of silver dollars,
could produce only about forty million dol
lars per annum. and, therefore, with free
coinage it would require more than fifteen
years to put silver dollars in the place of
the gold we now have and give back to the
country the same amount of metallic money
now existing. But, i'll the meantime, We
would have depreo lated standard of value
with nominally higher prices-after the first
| collapse was over-on account of the re-
duced purchasing power of the dollar. and
at the same time We would have for long
| time fewer dollars to pay with. Common
| prudence would dictate that, when any
considerable change is to be made in our
monetary system, some provision should be
made in advance OF the actual change for a
gradual transition from the old to the new
| order of things: a transition period should
be provided for so as to avoid, as far as
possill le. sudden disturbance of business
and contraction of the currency: but the
| advocates of free coinage have no such pur-
pose. They propose TO make n sudden and
rev olutionary change in the standard upon
which all existing contracts of the people
are based and by which all values are meas
ured, and let the consequences take care of
| themselves.
| But, suppose he change is made. and that
lie business affairs of the country have
been finally adjusted to the new standard,
what will be the effect on domestic
trader The prices of all things will be
nominally increased-that is to say, it will
| require greater number OF dollars to pur-
chase given amount OF any commodity
| than it required before. There appears to
| be sing ular delusion in the minds of some
upon this subject. Many good people
| appear to think that in some mysterious
manner, which no one has yet attempted to
| explain, the government, by legislation or
| otherwise can increase the prices of the
things they have to sell without increasing e
the prices of the things they have to buy. If
there il any financial necromancy by which
| this one-sided increase of prices can be ac-
| complished our5 free coinage friends ought
| to explain it to the people. The plain,
every day, cummon sense view of this SUBJ
ject is the only correct one. If prices are
increased solely on account of an increase
in the volume of circulation. on account
of a depreciation of the currency, without
any change in the relation between the
supply and demand of the commodities to
be exchanged, the increase in prices will
necessarily affect all things alike. If. there
fore, the farmer or planter receives great
er number of dollars for his crop of cotton
or wheat. he will be compelled TO pay a
correspondingly greater number of dollars
for his agricultural implements, for bis
81 oceries, for his clothing, and, in short.fo
everything he purchases. Consequently, his
profit, if he has any. will bear about the
same relation TO his expenditures it
bears now-tIiat is to say. if he now makes
profit of ten per cent he will make a profit
of no more than ten per cent then. Now it
is out of the clear profits of his business
that he must pay his debts, and it therefore
remains to be seen how much benefit he
would ultimately derive from nominal in
crease in the. prices of commodities. He
cannot control the prices of the commodi-
ties produced by him to the same extent
that other producers can control the prices
of theirs. and it may be that the prices of
the things he Is compelled to buy will be
increased in much greater proportion than
the prices of the things he has to sell, and
if so, he will be loser instea1 of gamer
by the change.