The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-07-23

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GOLD STANDARD COUNTRY
has only $14 AZ in gold per capita. If
the gold standard is the cause of the
per capita circulation why these differ
ences in ci%rculatiOn9 If the gold stand
ard determines the per capita circu1a
tion, why does Turkey, with a gold
standard and limited legal tender sill
yer, have only 81 88, and also England,
with the gold standard and limited
legal tender silver have $18 40 per
capita, while France, with the use
of both gold and silver, as full legal
tender money, has $40 Sc per capital
81 call attention to these statistics to
show that the per capita does not de-
pend upon the standard which the
country has, but upon other conditions
and circumstances. If the per capita
depended upon other conditions then
the argument suggested by Mr.. Car
isles proposition falls to the ground.
The fifth proposition suggested by
the Secretary of the Treasury reads as
follows: There is not q silver stand
ard country in the world today where
the labOring man receives fair pay for
his days work. If MI. Carlisle means
to say by this proposition that the
| gold standard makes good wages and
that the silver standard makes low
wages he has. stated a proposition
which he cannot defend and the pro-
position is entirely immateriaI unless
he does mean that the gold standard
determines wages. I might answer
this proposition by saying that there is
not a gold standard country in the
world to day where a laboring man
has a fair chance to earn a days wages.
l might also quote an editorial in the
Chicago Tribune of January 9, 1873,
as follows: "A laborIng man would
indefinitely prefer to be set at work
earning silver dollars than to starve
waiting for employment on the gold
basis This accounts for the fact that
the labOrlng CLASSES now demand the
free coinage of silver at Is to 1. Mr..
Carlisle has spent the best part of his
life answering the form Of argument
which he now resorts to. Protection
lists have insisted that because the
United States had a protective tariff
and paid better wages. than were re-
ceived in England under free trade
that therefore protec Gion made the
good wages Mr.. Carlisle used to reply
to this argument by showing that Eng
land with free trade paid better wages
than Germany paid with a protective
system. We can reply to Mr.. Carlisle's
present argument in the same way by
saying that prior to 1884, when this
country used silver as it's money of
general circulation. we paid better
wages than Eogland paid under a gold
standad at the same time. l have no
doubt that the wages paid in Mexico,
where the silver standard is in use, are
higher than wages paid in Turkey,
where the people enjoy all the bless
ings of a gold standard.
In that fifth proposition, however,
Mr.. Carlisle makes the mist Ike of con
f1ning laboring men to those who are
engaged in mechanical LABOR. 1t might
be suggested that the standard of
wages has been maintained in this
country by labor organizations rather
than by the gold standard, and that
while
II WAGE e DAY
has been maintained generally-not
universally-yet we know that there is
idleness throughout the Unite d States
because wage carriers cannot find an
opportunity for employ ment. But MIR.
Carlisle should remember that the far
mers of the United States are also
%laborers, and, That their wages are de-
termlned by the price received for
their produce, and that the fall in the
price of wheat and cotton especially
has reduced the wages of those engaged
in producing these crops, and that the
American farmer has suffered more,
relatively, during the past twenty
years, than the farmer of India.
Another proposition laid down by
Mr.. Carlisle, but not contained in the
celebrated five propositions, is that the
free COine ge of silver will drive $780,
600, 900 of gold out of circulation, and
that it will require fifteen years with
our minis running at full capacity to
coin enough silver to take it's place,
and that this will make money so
scarce that it will be harder to obtain
a silver dollar under the free coinage
o: silver than it is now to obtain a gold
dollar. 1t would be difficult to conceive
of a more absurd tumble of statements.
In the first place, Mr.. Carlisle cannot
show that we have 5000, 600, 600 gold in
this country. The statement issued by
the Treasury Department on the first
day of June. 1895, estimates the
amount of gold and gold certificates in
the Treaury at $40, 900, 900. The
National bank statement of MAY 2
gives the amount of gold and gold GER
~tificates in the National banks of the
United States at SLIT, 600, 600. Thus, it
will be seen that the total amount of
gold and gold certificates in the Treas
ury of the United States and in the
vaults of the National banks amounts
to less than $500, OOO, 900. When we
add to this the amount of gold and
gold certificates held in the vaults of
private banks it will leave nearly $780,
OOO, 900 of gold not accounted for. In
other words, in order to believe that
we have in this country to day more
than S., 90, 200, 900 OF gold we must be-
lieve that the amount in circulation
among the people and in boarding is
nearly equal to the amount of visible