The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1895-06-28
The Natchez Democrat and Free Silver
Refrain

Editor Democrat-star
| beg leave to submit the following
comments upon au article copied IN ronr
last weeks issue from the Natchez Demo
crat
at is the burden Of the song OF the free
silverltes that with the free ana imi
coinage OF silver the people VIII ne aOie 10
because with the great food OF money that
will be placed In circulation under unlimited
coinage the price of silver is bound Ia be de-
preciated. and in the ordinary transactions
Of life they will get more OF It,
The foregoing paragraph contains an
unlonnded accusation of wholesale dis
honesty hurled at the advocates of free
silver, and in making this accusation
the Natchez Democrat misstates, unii-
%tentionally no doubt. the position of lis
opponents on the financial question.
Now, | deny that The adversaries of the
gold standard either wish to, or that they
can. discharge their indebtedness in fifty
eeui dollars ; or that the unlimited coin
age of silver eau depreciate its price.
What the friends of the white metal do
claim, and justly, is that payment OF
obligations shall not be eXacted IN money
whose purchasing power is, through arti-
fetal means, constantly increasing; IN
other words, that the debtor shall not be-
forced to pay more than his debt. While
the debt, measured in tine number Of dol
lars, may remain the same as when first
incurred, the purchasing power of tho
dollar, ever increasing under the present
system OF gold monometaliSm, does give
q relative increase to the burden OF debt
q do not rcfel to cash transactions Into
which the question OF time does not en-.
ter, but to what are termed deferred
payments') That the ever progressive
appreciation OF money involves II relative
Increase VI debt. is readily understood
and felt by the planter who, having bor-
rOwed q thousand dollars when cotton
was quoted at 10 cents. must pay the loan.
principal and interest, in cotton OF to-
DAYS value. The measure Of his Obliga-
ton in dollars is unchanged. but meas
ured in cotton it has doubled, and exacts
for It's liquidation twice the number of
bales it required when tho loan was Ell
fected.
Now, rs this condition. IN which the
creditor Is enabled to exact more than
his dine. is claimed by the silver advocates
to be the direct and designed results OF
The demonstration of silver. the charge
If dishonesty cannot he justly cast upon
the mar who is willing to pay his debts
in valne received, but should rather rest
upon him, who, through cupidily, en-.
deavOrs to maintain Il monetary standard
which enables him to demand more than
value given. What more questionable
proposition could be made than this, that
the lender should demand principal and
interest in an appreciated currency that
represents dOnb!e the amount of the orig
inal loan' All debts, public and private
must he paid in property OF some kind
whether in the products of the soil, thu
workshop, the factory or simple labor
and when we take into consideration til,
enormous bonded debt hanging Owe
the nation, the prMlucels, on who's,
shoulders mist ultimately fall the bur
den Of payment, have the right to insist
in self-defcpse, upon the reversal Of q
%tinancial system, the effect of winch is IA
constant and progressive addition to the
weight of deot and taxation.
To further quote our Natchez friend
"With the great food of money that will
be placed in circulation under unlimited
coinage the price of silver is bound to bt
deprecated" 1deny that the unlimited
coinage Of silver will bring on a great
flood of money. or that it will effect in.
iuriously the price of silver. True, tn,
volume of money will be increased and
pdri passa, the value of property of al
kinds; bnt there is not in existence silver
bullion sufficient TO cause anything like
an abnormal flow of money, much les
an inunlation.
That the reconciliation of silver woult
lessen the value. when its present depre
ciated condition is the direct result OF its
decentralization, is not borne out by TIT
principles of economies. 70 lcmonetiz,
silver would give it more extended use
and to give to any commodity a more OK
tended use, is to create II greater demand
for it.. aud thereby enhance It's value
And this is just what was done for gOl'
" hen it was made the sole morey of ina
payment to the great dctriment of al
those who are not, IN the words of Mr.,
Carlisle, "ldle holders of idle capital"
EDGAR HULL.
Pascagoula, Miss, June %. 1898.