St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-22
DAMNATION DOLLAR-rrs FRUIT

To the Editor of the Globe:
AS you may be aware, l have been
a subscriber to the GLOBE for up
wards of seven years last past; and
while | am Republican have never
felt like critictsing your Democratic
editorials, but have always respected
them L feel, however, that you are
entitled to some criticism for your
articles on the silver question, and
especially your editorial in the GLOBE
of the 18th inst. entitled I'm the Light
of the Past" You said among other
things. Legal tender acts are of no
value whatever" What then do you
consider the act of congress of
February IL, 1873 little 81, U. S. R. 8.
1873, making Is $40 grains of gold one
dollar and legal tender (two grains
more than made a dollar previously?
Surprising congress had said that half
of that number of grains of gold would
make dollar, would it not have been
dollar just the same? 1 think you
will answer, Yes. But it would only
purchase half as much, wheat for
instance. Very true, 1 reply, but then
the struggling of debtors and the great
majority of people of the United
be able to pay their debts instead of
thereby practically running their
creditors also.
You compared the "silver craze" to
the ''greenback craze and intimated
that the latter was preferable to the
former, because paper was cheaper
to print dollar on than silver, and
init tA1 fhnt Nd <-;1,
would have debased currency. Let
me ask you this further question, was
silver a debased currency when it was
demonetized in 1873? Your answer, in
view of the facts, will undoubtedly be.
no. L ask then, why was it demone-
tized? The answer is simply this, It
doubled the value of money,
thereby making the income from
government bonds and other
securities of double value by increas-
ing the purchasing power of money
Another reason why it was demone-
tized was to make great demand for
money so that the English lender
might get safe investment, which
he did, and the reason of our growth
from 1880 to 1890 was because we had
an abundance of borrowed money.
progress
from 1910 to 1860 without going in debt
LII silver had not been demonetized
we would have made similar progress
and would not have had to borrow
money to build cities, railroads, etc The
SOUND currency and the honest"
dollar we have at the present time
make the farmer pillow, SOW, harrow.
reap and threSh two hundred aces of
wheat to pay mortgage debt when
one hundred acres of wheat would
nave answered the same purpose be-
tore the characterization Of silver. You
may think it is honesty to thus squeeze
the farmer and the laboring man. but
think it is legalized robbery. Saint
Paul said that if one part of the body
suffered all of the body suffered to-
| gether, and it is undoubtedly true in
this case, for the depreciat ton in
value of over 40 per cent in everything
| since 1864 is slowly, but steadily and
surely grinding the life out of the
building societies and railroads. as
| Well as out of the farmers and labor
! ers The building societies are totter-
ing, and fully one-third of the rail
road mileage is in the hands of re-
ceivers. The great life insurance com
panies, whose moneys are invested
largely in railroad stocks and bonds
| and real estate, will, if tfef deprecia-
! ton in value continues, and it m
! doubtedly will under recommendation
go into inevitable bankruptcy inside
| of five years. We have had mono
| metallism absolute since the fall Of
1893, and Notwithstanding all talk to
the contrary the condition of this