The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1895-01-10
THE QUESTION OF THE DAY.

Business, to be sale, to be possible on
any basis other than gambling, absolute
~ demands that the unit of value, or
money, shall be steady. Gold is now the
unit of value, the only money of final re-
demption. Is there sufficient supply OF
gold? In ether words, is there enough
to maintain prices? Or, which is the
same thing, is there enough gold to keep
its own value steady? We know that
there is not. 1t is truth now generally
admitted, because evident to all save
those who absolutely decline to see, that
gold has increased enormously in value
and the result has necessarily followed
that all prices are correspondingly low
cred.
Business prosperity depends on the
maintenance of prices. Poor prices" is
just another expression for stsgnation and
loss. Good prices mean activity and
proft. Nowadays the bulk Of business
transactions depend on the future for
their completion. Bargains are made in
which one party gets something at GER
tain definite price, and agrees to pay
in whole or in part at some future date.
1t is clearly necessary that when the day
OF payment comes the money he has to
pay shall be of the same value as it was
when the bargain was made. II not, he
has to pay more than he bargained to.
As gold is steadily land inevitably so
long rs gold monometallism exists ris-
ing in value, it follows that all creditors
are making an unjust gain at the expense
of their debtors, and that business on a
just and fair basis is impossible. Can
any state of affairs be worse than this
Is such condition to be endured?
Silver has always maintained its value
relatively to all other things except gold
mot only when it was redemption
money, but since it was deprived of that
power and use. Since that deprivation
its gold value has fallen in sympathy
with all other values; and the reduction
by one-half Of the redemption money OF
the world has had its natural and legiti-
mate consequence in the appreciation in
the value of the remaining money OF re-
demption by about one-half.
The contention of the gold owners, the
money owners, now is that if we restore
to the degraded half OF our money, its
full money function, then the other half,
the gold half, will leave us. II this DO
30, still We are bound to do it, first be-
cause it is the Just thing to do-the right
ing of a great wrong done to the people
10 their constitutional rights. and in their
right to have their property and their
labor protected as to its value.
That it is also the wise thing would APP
pear from the following considerations.
If our gold left us We should get for it
silver, and at the enormously high value
at which gold in now held we should get
CORRESPONDENCE enormous premium on
it. We would thus have considerably
more primary money than we now have,
and it would be money OF the kind which,
under all conditions, has fairly measured
the value OF other things, and which will
always continue to do So This is proved
by the cases of Mexico and India. Silver
prices have remained steady in these
countries. The products of human labor
measured by the money of these silver
countries have steadily held their values
Silver as a measure OF value has proved
itself to be ideal money. Surely this is a
more just and scientific monetary basis
to be on than gold monemetallism, with
its wildly rising standard.
Again, the absorption by America OF
much of the worlds silver (ii we got it,
would increase the value of silver in the
worlds market. The addition of Amer.
lea to the silver using countries would
tend greatly to restore the equilibrium
between gold and silver. The history oil
the Latin Union is good warrant for this
belief.
But, after all, Why speculate on what
might happen if our gold left us? Even
il the world could dump its silver on US
and 90 give us $54 per capita OF silver
money-for it would take all the silver
coin and bullion in the world to give uI
that per capita-we have it absolutely in
our own power to stop the efilux of gold
In the first place, we can aud SHOULD
protect our gold as European countrie,
do. There the export OF gold is discour
aged and made difficult. Even in free
trade England gold is protected. II
America everyone is encouraged to tax,
our gold, and this in the face of the wei
known struggle on the part of othei
nations to set gold.
But again, if we still found that ou
gold was leaving us, we could reduce tn,
quantity Of gold in the dollar, so that i
it was wanted for export it would have t.
be taken at parity with silver, and a
our own ratio. This would be a thor
oughly scientific and just regulation tn,
matter. II is the method we have before
adopted and it answered the purpose. II
would be effective; and its justice will bt
evident when We reflect that il would
simply be taking from gold the absolutely
unjust advantage which legislative en-
actment has given it. Ii would be put
ting gold in the position it formerly occu
pied, and still should occupy, relatively
to all other things. And such action