The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1896-10-29

products also, and its application there
by becomes common to all the inter
ests of humanity.
1t is in this broad and general sense
that all questions regarding it should
be considered, and not upon the basis
of how much advantage such meas
ure will give an individual or nation
over another individual or nation.
Very much more of the peoples COM
mon happiness depends upon money
than many political economists gener-
ally suppose. Happiness is closely al
lied to prosperity, and generally pros
perity can never result unless it be un-
der sound financial system. Very
few people understand what general
prosperity means. 1t does not mean
vast sums of gold in the hands of a
few inhabitants of the country. while
the great majority struggle for the alb
solute necessities of life. There may
be great deal of money in country
and still be very little general prosper
ity with the common people.
The gold of the world is compara-
lively limited. There is not enough
to pay even the debts of nations, with
out taking into consideration those OF
individuals Take any nation and con-
slider how small is the percentage OF
individuals who control this medium
of exchange, gold, this purchasing
power, money. And even if gold were
equally distributed among the inhabi-
tants of the globe, how much purchas
ing power would each individual have?
AS the purchasing power of the ma
iority becomes restricted, they are
forced to demand inferior goods,
through poverty, which leads to the
: survival of the unfit in the shape of
cheap goods. 1t is the poverty of the
consumers which causes glutted mar
1 ket and depression of trade. Poverty
t of consumers is another way of ex-
: pressing the non-purchasing power OF
= consumers. 'The evil causing depres
Q sion of trade is not production
= but restricted purchasing power
e Finance and commerce are so init
y mately connected that one cannot be
3. treated without the other being, al
# least, alluded to. Commerce is tn
l. simple exchange of something one in
IS dividual possesses for something an
<, other individual is possessed of. Thi
exchange may be between neighbor
y or between nations; it is all commerce
|e In ancient times articles of merchan
n disc were exchanged for articles o
n merchandise, but as commerce in
is creased it became necessary to max
IN use of something that should repre-
st sent value, so that there need not i
Of all cases be an actual transfer of proI
" erty for property. Out of this neces
y, sity have grown all the different mor
er etary devices made use of at variOu
he times in the history of civilization
r. There was time when there was n
1t, such thing as money, but wealth ha
n existence before money was though
re of. Gold can never represent all otht
kinds of wealth, because there is M
re enough of it.
is. So long as country enjoys conti
as ued prosperity under gold standal
he of value, it is all we'll enough, b'
lp- when change comes the nation
M precipitated into conditions which r
cal quire more than it's accumulatiOns
ial gold to meet. The wealth in the for
of gold not being adequate, and 9th
ads wealth not having been used or
on cepted as money, paper representativ
rse of it are. the only substitute. VIII
on. such an emergency arises, the peol
out are involuntarily pressed to the use
ary the principle of representation, viii
ler- is the only scientific thing that can
at called money.
lies The world has witnessed the pl
mi ceeds of the labors of millions agg
ich gated in the hands of the few. II
,m- advantage which one class has p
i've sessed over another cannot long ex
the under the rapid spread of intelliger
of which marks the present generate
in. and it behooves the people to give 9
GUS consideration to any scheme VIII