The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-05-14

used the same money meGaL as them
selves?
1t is all folly and nonsense to talk
or write such twaddle. If the United
States had not entered into the infa-
mons and nefarious scheme with Eng
land the Europe to rob labor of One-half
of it's just earnings, silver would have
long since been remonetized. And if
the United States will now withdraw
from that conspiracy and go to the
unlimited coinage of silver, Is to 1, the
civilized world will follow suit within
three years. But should we be mis-
taken in all we have said, and one of
these good results should come to pass,
how could this country be damaged by
the experiment of unlimited coinage
16 to IL
Should we try the experiment and it
should prove a failure, the law would
be repealed before we could be greatly
damaged. If the monometallists
theory is correct it would, beyond all
doubt, prove a failure, and then the
WO44A 4O "O 0A4NO4 44h "OOAO No
satisfied and surrender. But if they
are all wrong, as we verify believe
they are, and are all into the con-
spiracy to buy labor and the products
of labor for fifty cents in the dollar,
or for half value as we verify believe
they are, that fact would be demon
strated to the world, and the world
would at once go back to the use of
silver as a money metal.
A question of so much Importance
and one upon which the people are
divided, and one freighted with SO
much good from one standpoint and so
much evil from another standpoint
ought to be settled, if no other way
seems probable, by experiment. By
low prices for the last four years, the
people of this country alone have
lost in the price of labor and the pro
ducts of labor more than eight hun
dred millions of dollars annually,
making more than thirty-two hundred
millions of dollars forathe four years,
besides the shrinkage in all other val
ues to an amount far in exces of ten
billions of dollars.
It takes two dollars worth of labor
to day, OF two dollars worth of the
products of labor today, to pay what
one dollars worth would have paid
five or ten years ago. One thousand
pounds of lint cotton six or ten years
ago would have paid a debt of one
hundred dollars.
And this is not because cotton is
worth intrinsicly less, but because gold
and its equivalent has appreciated in
value. measured by silver /, 900 pounds
of cotton or one days labor is worth as
much as it wa five Or ten years ago;
measured by gold it is not worth half
as much and will not go half as far in
the payment of debts contracted ten
years ago.
Gold and silver we're upon the same
footing up to 1870 in Europe, and up to
1873 in America. And not until the
law-making power in Europe and
America began to upset the parity of
the two metals did anyone on either
continent ever dream of silver going
out of use as a money metal. In fact,
when the decree went forth to murder
silver, because it was the poor mans
friend, it's commercial and money value
was greater than that of gold. Legis-
lation alone destroyed silver. as it can
destroy gold or any other industry.
Then the law and dictation of the bond
holders, bankers, annuitants and cred
itors decreed against silver in favor of
gold, the shock was felt all over the
world, and gold began at once to ap-
preciate in value, and all other things
began to fall in value OF prices, thereby
accomplishing the great object and
purpose of the conspiracy; and from
that hour to this, gold has continued
in season and out of season to appre-
ciate in value and every other com
modify, including silver, has gradually
deprecated in price or value, as com
pared with gold.
This of itself is enough to satisfy the
most skeptical that the law denounc-
ing, ~disgracing and dishonoring silver
is the great leading cause of the uni
versal fall in the market value of sill
yer and of all kinds of commodities.
If you measure the value of wheat,
cotton or labor by the bullion value of
silver, you will see that neither has
fallen or increased in value, but re-
mains about the same as thirty years,
or twenty years, or ten years ago. Buff