Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-08-07

prise, doubled the burdens OF all debt.
ors, greatly Increased the fortunes OF
tho money lenders, contracting the
wealth OF tho country 20 large OK
tent in the hands OF the few, threatens
ing the country with general bank
ruptcv. and nlling the country with
tramps and beggars who cannot OBJ
REDucTIoN or PRICES.
On the Goth Of June. lS72, gcven
months before the passage OF tho act
OF congress OF February, 1879. demonc-
tlzing silver. the national debt Of the
United states was S2.iia ESQ, $50. The
average export price OF cotton was at
that time 1873 cents per pound, this be-
Ing the average for all grades. mi idllng
being 22.ia cents. and the average price
OF wheat exported was sit7 per bushcl
These facts are shown by the statisti-
cal abstract OF 1894 published by the
treasury department OF the United
states The prices OF the other staple
cNportablc commodities were In the
main on a par with these.
ON the seth OF June, 1898, the national
deht was $s3S.969.i7j. and the average
export price OF cotton was SIS cents
per pound, and of wheat so cents per
bushel. and other eNportablc cofnmodl-
ties were on a par with these,
on June so. 1879. to have paid on the
national debt as u then eNlsted-S2,-
1880 ,530-paying one-half the amount
IN cotton and the other half In wheat,
NJ their respective values Of 1913 cents
per pound and Sl,l7 per bushel. $780,
219,6ii pounds of cotton and 7gi.2i7s67
bushels OF wheat would have dlBcharg-
ed the debt
on the 90th OF June, 1898, uotwlth-
standing the national debt had been
reduced In the meantime from S2.1ig,-
7So.530 to SS3S, 800, $40 10 have paid on
the latter amount In the same manner.
half In cotton and half in wheat. at
their respective prices on June 30, 1899.
OF IL cents per pound for cotton and
so cents peir bushel for wheat, It would
have required 1895, 1855 pounds Of
cotton and b24.S55922 IL bushels OF
wheat to Discharge the debt, or more
than IS 10 per cent as much cotton and
| nearly Il 80 per cent MS much wheat to
| paw the debt OF less than S3e millions
| In 1893 as 1t would have taken to pay
| the much greater debt OF over 2,l4a
millions In 1879.
| This statement Is made TO Illustrate
the difference In the prices OF COM
| modlties when In the first Instance they
We're valued by gold ana silver as stan
! dard money Of the world and In the
second Instance when they were valued
under the single gold standard And
to show that under the single sold
standard. 1t requlEes nearly
to pay debt OF a given amount as
woull be necessary II TIE joint stock
Of gold and silver measured the values
of property.
In order that we may form something
of just conception OF .he extent to
| which the relative lights II creditors
and debtors have been influenced by
the characterization Of silver and the
adoption OF the single gold standard
1 present the following facts:
The census OF the United States FOR
1890 shows that the national debts Of
the world less the sinking fund, was
seG,693, 0iG,Sil, And that the local debt
Of foreign countries was N,GS0,ltp 25l;
making an aggregate of S2S,322, ,55, O63
The annual interest ON this sum at 5
per cent would be S.il6, iS7S53,
The amount OF gold now in the world
as shown by the report Of the director
OF the mint OF the United States, Is
$S.727,0lS 500. IL thus appears that II
would require nearly 3s per cent of all
the gold In the world to pay the Interest
on this Indebtedness for one year.
Now as to our indebtedness The
bonded indebtedness OF the railroads
OF the United States alone us shown by
Poors Manuel for 1894. was $3.50, 292,-
6i3, their whole Indebtedness at that
time, including their stock, was ST.
4iS,SSS SOP, The national debt OF the
| United states, as shown by the census
OF 1870, was Ssgl ,960l0i, and the debts
| VI AlF NENfNhA EAhAfh anu WI A'0t
Hs shown by thatcensus was 2s.gSi,-
$50, and the debts OF the counties. mum
lcipplltles and school districts ure by
the same authority placed at Sg6l,2lS,-
063. Poor's Handbook OF Investment
Securities for 1928, states that the
obligations issued by 1897 counties, cit
les and towns, by the United states.
the states and territories and the rail-
| way and industrial corporations, In
GLIDING share capital cannot be less
| than $4,000 100000. Census bulletin
No. II states that on january list, 1880,
the real estate mortgage indebtedness
| amounted 10 SG,0lg 6l9,sS5. Showing an
| aggregate Indebtedness OF the federal,
state and municipal governments,
school districts. corporations, and pri-
vate debts secured by mortgage on
| lands, Amounting TO at least S2l,0lg,-
679.gS5. This In exclusive Of the great
| volume OF private indebtedness Of the
country except that secured by mort
Cages on real estate. And the interest
on this sum at 8 per cent per nnnum
would be si050,9S3,999.
Very much the greater part OF this
vast amount OF Indebtedness was Great
ed before the passage OF the act of 1878
| demonctizng silver. And when the
price OF commodities was measured by
the amount OF gold and silver Now
payment IL to be made when the prices
Of commodities are measured by gold
alone, and when IL would take nearly
twice as much OF cotton and wheat 10
pay a given sum as would have been
required before silver was dcmonctized.
And In addition to this all writer's on
political economy agree with the COM
mon experience OF mankind that when
there is q liberal supply OF sound cur
rency country and Its people are more
prosperous, enterprises are prosecuted
with more activity, and the Industrial
classes are in better condition fnan-
clally. They are also given to show
the imposslbllity OF paying the principal
and interest OF this enormous amout
| OF full currency on the basis OF the
single gold standard
II is assumed by the advocates OF tho
single gold standard that the denone-
tizatlon OF silver BY the act OF 1873 did
not cause the fan Of prices Of commo-
dlties which have occurred since that
time.
Tho two leading staple articles Of
this country, the TWO most largely eN'
ported, and which bring TO this country
the greatest amount OF money, are cot
ton and wheat. The amount OF cotton
exported In the year 1898 was 2,2l2, llb,-
1926 pounds, at liz cents a pound, tbs
| average export price for that year; III
value was slSs ,029, $50. The amount OF
wheat exported that year was 1905
9g5 bushels. Al so cents per bushel. ~
| export price that year Its value was
1888 229 0s2 These two agricultural pro
ducts furnished for export for thai
: I gAaT ORG k7T