The herald., 1895-06-03
ANNOUNCEMENTS
nONDAY. JUNE }, 1905
PAYING DEBTS

The Express asserts that it takes three
times as much wheat. cotton or labor to
pay debt as it did under bImetallism.
In the first place, it would be interesting
to know what Ieriod in this country
history it refers to as the blmetalllc.
This country has been or a silver and on
a gold standard, but never on both at
the same time. The theory of double
standard is an ''iridiscent dream. -
There is no ratio that can be established
that will not be disturbed SO long as
production goes on, and IN time one
metal be undervalued by the ratio that
has been fixed. The metal that is under
valued will 60 out OF the country and
not into coinage. The history of the sill
yer dollar proves this fact beyond dis
pute. During the time that the Express
considers we had bimetallism, the legal
ratio in this country, OF silver and gold,
was Is to /, but the worlds ratio was
only 15% to 1. Hence we coined only
few silver dollars, ana we were as much
on a single gold standard as though the
coinage of the silver dollar had been for
hidden. So the Express had no bimetal-
lie era to compare with.
While it may take three times as much
cotton or wheat-we do not say that it will,
but supposing temporarily that it does
to pay debt contracted previous to 1878,
nobody but a silverite would have the
hardih hood to assert that it takes three
times as much labor. 1t should not re-
quire professor of political economy to
see that there is a vast difference between
labor and the products of labor. While
the latter may be cheapened because of
improved methods in production, the for
mer may be better paid because the i'm
proved methods enable it to turn out as
much in one day now as it did in three.
four OF five days, a few years since. So
while it may take more OF certain things
to pay the debts antedating 1873 than it
did then. the same labor will produce
more of those things. OF course it often
happens that articles fall in price for
awhile below the cost of production, but
that will be because of supply greater
than the demand or because of displace-
ment by some other article answering the
purpose as well as the discarded product,
which is the same thing in effect. Rye
flour is now in competition with wheat
flour. and will perceptibly affect the price
of wheat. Petroleum is being substitut-
ed for coal and the latter Will be cheap
ened in consequence.
Tne reason the farmer cannot pay his
mortgage Is not because he cannot get
gold. There is plenty of gold to be had IN
the banks OF the world by those with col
lateral, and there is probably not big
creditor in the Ian who would not take
silver dollars, treasury notes or green
backs SO long as this country refuses to
adopt free coinage and can thus mann
tain the parity of its dollars OF all kinds.
One would think from the silverites'
wall that that all the farmers had at one
time borrowed all the gold, had then
planted it. painted houses with it, and
generally used it up until there was but
small amountl left in the unioh, and
that amount all the members of the
Farmers alliance were Offering stepladder
premiums for gold in vain endeavor
to procure enough for the payment OF
their mortgages, all OF which matured
simultaneously. The fact that money
does not stay with the borrower, but con-
tinues to circulate and eventually gets
around to all men having anything to
give for it, seems to have escaped the
silver men.