Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1895-06-19
EION4EK SWEDNF

For thirty years this has not only been
done, but the nonproducer has much
more than offset his purchases. Thu
price which the American laborer ha3
paid for this is constant toll and won1
derful amount of Indebtedness. think
it would be safe to say that sticking
to the grand old parties" has cost the
producers of the United States debt
of thirty thousand millions of dollars,
which now represents an annual trib-
ute of eighteen hundred million dol
lars.
Mr.. Carlisles treatment of the sub
ject Of prices does no credit to his intel
ligence. 1t shows that he is either a
demagogue or has never gone below
the surface of this question in his in
vestigations. He starts out with the
assumption that a man spends all he
makes and is not expected to lay uD
anything for rainy day. or for old
age. We are willing to admit that if
man has a good home, is out of debt,
and has enough to keep him in his old
age it would make but little difference
to him as to what prices were SO long
as the price for which he sold was es-
tablished on the basis Of The price for
which he bought. But how many
producers and laborers are so situated?
Here again Mr.. Carlisle shows his dis
position to represent only the rich and
well-to-do.
If man is in debt it makes a great
deal Of difference in what he gets for his
To
that a man after he has sold enough
to pay all living and farm expenses for
the year, has 100 bushels of wheat and
bale of cotton left to dispose of and
pay the money on his debts. 1t makes
a great deal Of difference whether he
receives 81 or so cents per bushel for
his wheat, or $100 or $40 for his bale of
cotton. The same principle applies In
the payment of taxes, fees, etc. The
trouble with Mr.. Carlisle and others of
his way of thinking is that, in the
consideration of this subject, when 1t
suits their argument they consider gold
as money, and when they don't, they
consider 1t as property. If gold is to
be considered from the standpoint of
intrinsic value alone and to be con-
sidered the one thing to adjust balances
with foreign nations, we see no reason
why the United States should enter into
a conspiracy with other nations to in
crease its value by creating for it
greater demand. According to the gold
advocates own argument there exist
the best reasons in the world for the
United States to demonetiZe gold and
throw her whole stock of $625, 900 600
on the market of the world and "bear"
the price. According to modern busi-
ness ethics it would be a perfectly
legitimate transaction and would rem
der our foreign debts SO per cent easier
to pay. 1t would be meeting the
Rothschilds at their own game. On the
whole a careful reading of Mr.. Car
isles speeches only strengthens the
opinion we formed twenty years ago
that neither gold nor silver is safe
and sound currency. Mr.. Carlisle's
sound-money proposition consists of
gold as the only redemption money,
supplemented with silver redeemable
in gold, and bank notes based upon in
terest-bearing bonds. This would place
the whole currency system in the hands
of such men as Belmont and Morgan,
whose recent sharp deal with Mr.. Car
Isle in placing $62, 100000 in bonds,
cost the government over $4,000, 900;
places the control of our finances in
the hands of such men as Christ
scourged from the temple, as were de-
nounced by Jefferson, Jackson, Benton,
Lincoln, Stevens and Wade; such men
as would not scruple to use the power
they thus possessed to still further op-
press the people, and control legisla-
ton. w. S. MORGAN.