Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1895-10-17

yer in the coinage, the government
could consistently adopt certain
standard. But after one-half tn
money Of the world had been coinec
in silver, it was impossible to destroy
I its use as such--it could only degrade
! it-by legislation. This has beer
done, and in manner to confiscatt
one-half its value to the benefit Of IL
substitute. 1t is charged that this wa
the object and end in view by tht
prime movers of the legislation. The
expected Came. The last prop in In
dia gave and the universal collapse
came, causing panic. Cotton fell
twenty points that day.
Was this coincidence Was it CO.
incidence that from 1879, when gold
payments were secured, that the lead
ing staples fell, along with silver
wheat from $l.25 to Sc cents, Just the
price Of silver dollar in 1879 and
j 1894, and cotton from ia to IA : 1t
| is accounted for, say the gold advo-
Gates, in cheapened production and
transportation. The production OF
wheat was no more. Prof. Andrews
Of Brown University, the Berlin COM
missioner, says, 81 considerit nonsense
to talk of the cause of the fall in prices
Of wheat as the cheapening Of the cost
OF production and transportation. II
you will take the gold price list Of sill
yer bullion we will find that the wheat
has followed the silver as the shadow
follows the man."
The concrete OF this situation Isl
can ounce OF silver brings just as
much of wheat, cotton and everything
else, when silver is the measure OF val
ues, as it ever did in 1880 or 1873, and
ptradoxically buys as much in our
own country with its gold measure Of
value, the appreciation OF gold bear
| ing prices to the silver measure. If
the purchasing power of silver had
really declined the world over. there
would have been a universal rise in
prices for silver payment, whereas
there has been universal decline for
gold, showing that gold has appreci-
ated what silver has apparently lost
in its quotation. And it could not be
otherwise--the universal economic
law forbids it. If law says cotton
shall no longer be used for wearing
apparel, but wool shall be, any novice
in political economy would say cotton
would become comparatively worth
less. regardless Of cost, and wool would
enhance abnormally. Law has dis
graced silver and exalted gold to do
the duty of both heretofore. Could
it be otherwise in economic law, that
gold should have more purchasing
power p
Before French monetary conven-
ton in 1869, testimony was given by
the late NJ. Wolowski, by Baron
Rothschild, and by NJ. RoulanG, gov
ernor of the bank OF France. M.
W0lowski said: The sum total Of the |
precious metals is reckoned at so mil
lizards, one-half gold and one-half sill
ver II, by stroke OF the pen, they
suppress one of these metals in the
monetary service, they double the de-
mand for the other metal, to the ruin
OF all debtors.
Baron Rothschild said: ssThe ST.
multaneous employment Of the two
metals is satisfactory and gives rise to
no complaint. Whether gold or silver
for the time being, it is al
ways true that the two metals concur
together in forming the monetary cir
culation Of the world, and it is the
general mass OF the two metals COM
bined which serves as the measure Of
The value OF things. The suppression
Df silver would amount to veritable
destruction of values without any
compensation"
An eminent English writer on fl
nance says: ITO sum up the leading
'acts in regard to gold, there is the I'M
disputed evidence Of statistics to dem
'nstratc that the gold prices OF com
have fallen from 80 to 80 per
'ent--that is, gold has increased in
producing power from 43 to so per
ent.'
This means that all bond and mort
,age obligations require just twice the
property to pay them as formerly.
The farlrer gets half as much FIR his
PRODUCTS but has the same amount OF
odd to pay on mortgage. That's a
commodity that is arbitrary in its
ace, as is the coinage of gold eagle.
Ind we claim that this condition has
een brought about purely by legisla-
ion in disgracing one-half the worlds
MEASURE Of value. And yet the mon
Y is called ''honest" and it is only Of
interest to few silver mine owners.
he exchanges Of the world disorder
d, commerce and trade shaken to the
ENTERTAINERS of the idle and starving,
ecause Of this disorder, and it con-
erns only a few mine owners. Shame I
n such claptrap!
The redoubtable Edward Atkinson. J
rho always has convenient figures to
how that wages decline under pro- I
'ction laws and rise under lower du-
es, tries to show that wages have adj
anced with the decline IN s;lvor WI