The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-21


resources. would ultimately recover IN
some measure from even such disaster
out now long a time would be required
10 DO so no man can predict. Al the
minis OF the United States. II devoted en-
tirely TO the coinage Of silver dollars.
could produce only about forty million
dollars per annum, and. therefore. with
Tree coinage II would require more than
hIteen years to put silver dollars in tine
place of the gold we now have and give.
back 10 the country the same amount
OF metallic money now existing Bu.
IN the meantime, We would have a depre-
Glazed standard of value with nominauv
higher prices-afte- the first collapse was
oVer-On account OF the reduced purchas-
ing power OF the dollar. and at the same
time we would have for a long time fewer
collars 20 pay with. Common prudence
would dictate that. when any considerable
change is TO be made in our monetary
system, some provision should be made
IN advance OF the actual change for a
gradual transition from the old 10 the new
order or things; transition period should
be. provided for SO as 10 aVoid, as far as
possible, sudden disturbance OF bust
ness and contraction OF the currency;
but the advocates OF free coinage have no
such purpose. They propose to make Il
sudden and revolutionary change in the
standard upon which all existing contracts
values are measured. and let the conse-
quences take care Of themselves.
But suppose the change is made, and
that the business affairs of the country
have been finally adjusted to the new
standard, what viii be the effect on our
domestic trade? The prices OF all things
viii be ncminaliy incrcased-that is TO
say, it will require a greater number Of
dollars TO purchase a given amount of
any commodity than il required before.
There appears 10 be a singular delusion
in the minds OF some upon this sub
ject Many good people appear TO think
that in some myterious manner, which
no one has yet attempted to explain, the
government, by legislation or otherwise.
can increase the prices of the things they
have TO sell without increasing the prices
of the things they have to buy. If there
is any financial necrOmancy by which this
one-sided increase in prices can be ac-
complshed, our free coinage friends ought
TO explain it TO the people. The plain, ev-
ery-day common sense view of this sub
ject is the only correct one. If prices are
increased solely on account of an Increase
in the volume Of circulation. or on ac-
count of a depreciation of the currency,
without any change in the relation be-
tween the supply and demand of the COM
modities to be exchanged, the increase in
prices will necessarily affect all things
alike If, therefore, the farmer or plant
er receives d greater number of dollars
for his crop of cotton or wheat be VIII
be compelled to pay a correspondingly
greater number of dollars for his agri-
cultural implements, for his groceries.
for his clothing. and, in short, for every
thing he purchases. Consequently, his
profit. If he has any, will bear about the
same relation TO his expenditures that it
bears now-that Is to say, II he now makes
a profit of 10 per cent he will make
profit of no more than 10 per cent. then.
Now, il is out of the clear profits of his
business that he must pay his debts, and
II therefore remains to be seen how much
benefit he would ultimately derive from
a nominal increase in the prices
of commodities. He cannot control the
prices of the commodities produced by
him TO the same extent that other produc-
ers can control the prices of theirs, and it
may be that the prices of the hings he is
compelled to buy will be increased in much
greater proportion than the prices of the
lhings he has to sell, and if so, he Will be
d loser instead of a gainer by the change
1t is contended, however, that prices of
commodities have fallen since 1873 and
that this reduction of prices has made it
more difficult 10 pay debts now than II
was then. 1t Is true that the prices of
some things have fallen, but it is equally
true that the prices of some
things have increased. 1t is not
true, however, that our people owe any
debts contracted far back as 1873, but 1t
may be that some of our great corpora
tons which issued bonds before that date
still owe them, but they have all been
refunded at a low rate of interest, so that
our free coinage friends need not be dis
turbed on their account. The fundamen-
tai proposition of the advocates of free
coinage is that all values are measured
and all prices are fixed and regulated by
the amount of redemption money in the
country, and that the amount of paper
currency or credit money, as il is some
times called, such as bank notes, govern
ment notes, and other circulating media.
exert no influence on the values or prices
of commodities. Having dogmatically as
serted this principle, they proceed without
further argument to the conclusion that
the legal characterization of silver in 1873
and the legal establishment of the gold
standard of value at that time are the
causes of the alleged decline in the prices
of commodities in this country, and then,
upon the theory that high prices for the
necessaries of life would be blessing to
the people they appeal to the consumers
of agricultural and manufactured pro-
ducts to unite with them in the effort to
secure the free and unlimited coinage of
all the silver that the owners of bullion
may see proper to present at the minis.
their first proposition, their conclusion
that the decentralization of silver reduced
prices is founded upon the assumption of
a fact which cannot be established. They
have wholly failed to allege, much less to
prove, that silver actually constituted amy
part OF the redemption money in use or in
existence in this country before, or at the
time of that legislation. If it did not,
then it is clear that its legal demonetiza-
ton. did not and could not in fact reduce
the amount of such money in this country,
and therefore cannot have reduced prices.
1t is weli known personally to every gem
tleman i'm this audience who was old
enough to know what was Transporting in
1873 that there was not a dollar of silver
ALOSS OF $50, 600, 900 II!