The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-03-13
THE TWO MONEYS.
The Money of Degradation and the
Money of Civilization.
1.-THE American, Philadelphia. ]

d.
A part Of the argument for the
single gold standard is the assertion,
often repeated. that gold is 1.-THE
money of civilization" and the basis
OF this declaration is the fact that the
most highly civilized countries have a
gold standard. This argument would
have much force if it could be demon
strated that the people of these ma
tions voluntarily selected gold as the
only standard money; but this cannot
be demonstrated while the facts re-
main to tell how silver demonetiza-
tion was secretly forced upon the
American people and how France and
the other countries of the Latin Union,
alarmed by our evil example, reluct-
antly stopped the coinage of silver. If
adherence to gold monometalism be
the test of the degree of civilization
attained by the people, then the only
highly civilized nation IN the world,
down to 1S73 was the British nation.
In what particular was American civ
iliZation in 1870 inferior to American
civilization now?
The theory that the gold standard
has some mysterious relation to high
civilization is supposed to obtain force
from the use of silver monomet talism
in such countries as India, Mexico and
Japan. But, where shall proof be OBJ
tained that the kind of money en-
plOyed in any country is the product
or the source or any index of the par
ticular civilization existing therein?
Unsupported assertion will not suf-
flee in matter SO important; but no
evidence has been produced thus far
that the social conditions and the
money are inevitably relate What
is the consequence Of the use of paper
money? During the civil war we had
none but paper money. Was our CIV
ilization uplifted or degraded? The
man who desires to learn the truth
will discover, if he shall make the ef-
fort, that with silver money alone. and
because gold has been gradually going
beyond their reach, Mexico. India and
Japan have made in 20 years such
strides toward higher civilization as
none of them made in antccedent
years. The facts respecting Japan are
known to all men. That India and
Mexico have developed their manufac-
lures and acquired large degree of
self-dependence is not SO we'll known,
but it is nevertheless true. Thus it
is indisputable that the use Of silver
has helped rather than hindered these
nations in their efforts to uplift them
nf nd
going too swiftly toward better things
that the British government in 1898
compelled the demonetization Of In
dian silver. Here, indeed, is a for
midable stumbling block in the way of
the theorists who insist that gold is
the only money of civilization.
The tendency Of genuine high civili-
zation is not to discard useful things,
but to rescue and bring into the ser
vice of man the things heretofore re-
garded as useless. One of the most
important of the functions Of that
science which itself is one of the best
products of high civilization, is to pre-
vent loss and waste. And so now the
former waste products of petroleum
distillation have become the most val
liable of it's components; the cotton
seed is pressed for it's oil; the woolen
rags torn into shoddy, give warmth to
the backs which would have no suf-
ficient covering. 1t rs incredible that
the civilization which attainS such re-
suits and seeks such economies should
reject one of the precious metals for
performance Of the money function.
Particularly would it not be likely to do
SO in view Of the fact that, for service
as money silver is really better than
gold. Were all the gold in the world
instantly exterminated there would
be heavy loss and much inconvenience,
but commerce could proceed with it's
operations, because there is no service
of which gold is capa BILE which can not
be performed by silver On the other
hand, we're silver suddenly withdrawn
the commerce of the world would en-
dure paralysis, because gold can not do
the most important part of the work
Of silver, that of making the small ex-
changes which, in sum total, create
wholesale trade. If, therefore, high
ly civilized people should desire to sur
render either metal, they would, beyond
question, give up gold rather than sill
yer. not from mere preference, but
from sheer necessity.
Active, ir, Chicopn