The herald., 1896-08-30
A Republicans Views

| the union army from April 10, 1861 to 1871,
and am now pensioner for wounds
received in action.
| make these preliminary statements
tc show that l am not lacking in patriot
ism. / am anxious to perform my po-
litical duties and obligations, with con-
! the Americap people.
As Republican 1 have always been
| bitterly opposed to the demonetization
Of silver. principally for the reason that
in my opinion it has done great harm
to the large majority of the American
| people. and has benefited only small
minority. besides the small minority
benefited had already sufficient to buy
necessaries, comforts and even luxuries
OF life, whereas those who We're injured
by the law had to struggle.
believe a law to be bad law unless
majority of those who come under its
supervision are benefited. The finan-
ciers of England demonetized silver in
1916. when no coin was in circulation in
the Kingdom and none had been in cir
culation for fifteen years, neither did
any come in circulation till five years
after.
ii1iiNS btic tN IL tlltClS were Iiot lell iii
after resumption of specie payment,
about 1920, when business was prostrat-
ed, values of real estate dropped GO per
cent. Thirty-siX thousand Englishmen
bought up all lands IL, the kingdom and
own them today. Archibald Alison, the
English historian, describes the effect it
had in England in the following forcible
language:
Everything turned to the profit of
capital and the depression of indus
try, and so strongly were the interests
magnified by these changes intrenched
in the legislation that the cause of hu
manity seemed hopeless. Every effort
OF industry, every triumph of art, every
Increase of population tended only to
augment the general distress. because it
enhanced the disproportion between the
decreasing circulation and the increas
ing members and transactions of man
kind, and prophetic wisdom resting on
the past and musng on the future could
anticipate nothing but a decline and fall
similar to that of ancient Rome for mod
ern Europe.
In the United States as in England
silver was demonetiZed when no metal
was in circulation; owing to this fact the
American people were not on guard. Its
baneful influences were not felt till after
resumption and the contraction of the
currency.
Then values commenced to recede,
affecting everything that grows from the
soil and everything that is produced by
labor, excepting only such things as
are controlled by trusts. The price of
lands, too, have receded in value where
not otherwise affected by local condi-
tiOnS. Upon careful estimate it has been
found that the farmers of the United
States alone have lost more by falling
prices of crops and land than it cost the
American nation to crush our great re-
bellion.
But the average monometallist claims
that the law of supply and demand reg
ulates prices: that the dollar is worth
100 cents today, as it was twenty years
ago, and has nothing to do with prices.
The earths surface has not increased,
yet lands have receded in value, not
only in the United States but in Europe
as we'll. where the gold standard has been
adopted.
In 1894 in Germany a commission of
eminent men investigated this silver
question. They say:
We consider 1t proved by science and
experience and partly. in, fact, by admis-
sions of prominent adherents to the gold
standard, that the power of gold TO pur-
chase has risen since the general eX-
tension of the gold standard of 1878, is
still rising today, and will continue to
rise"
Mr.. Griffin of-En gland one of the great
est authorities on finance now living,
who is a gold standard man. said in 1855:
That the fall of prices throughout COM
pass so general as that in which we now
see them falling is to be referred to an
elevation in the purchasing power of
sold is generally and might say univer-
sally admitted"
L quote these authorities because they
are of high order and are as applicable
in our country as in any other country
which is under the baneful influence
of gold standard Upon investigation,
however, do not see how we can help
arriving at the same conclusions.
We have two metals of nearly equal
volume and value to be used as primary
money, pay national and private obliga-
tions and redeem all paper money
Hail of that primary money was de-
monetized, and the duties and obliga-
tions of the whole fell upon the other
half. The supply of primary money has
decreased about one-half and the de-
mand is increasing with an increasing
population. business and wealth. hence
the gold dollar has been, is now. and will
continue to increase in its purchasing
power, in accordance with the natural
laws of supply and demand. This brings
us to the beneficiaries of this law. Those
who reap a harvest of dollars, holders
of notes, bonds, mortgages and all Sc
curities that bring in dollars are bene-
liltd <AllcduS lut IdTlleF mas TO raise
two bushels of grain to pay the same
amount of taxes and debts that he paid
fifteen years ago with one bushel AL
ready the man that crop money can
buy as much with one dollar as he could
with two dollars fifteen years ago. But
says the gold man, Russia and Japan are
now getting ready to go on gold basis
and the balance of the nations will soon
follow. Would that not make gold still
dearer and products lower and thereby
intensity our distress?
The gold standard man says silver is
worth only SO cents and it would be folly
make it worth 100 cents.
They measure the silver which was re-
jected as primary money by the gold
which was retained as primary money;
in consequence OF that retention they
make no allowance for the enhanced
value of the gold IF we take the neces-
stiles and commodities Of life as basis
of value we find that the purchasing
power of gold in it's bullion values has
increased much more than the bullion
value of silver has decreased. In 1873
the exyore price of wheat was $131-
one ounce of silver bullion. $129. In 1896
wheat 54 cents-silver bullion 64 cents.
Silver bullion holds nearly the same
relative value to all other cereals. is 1t
fair to measure the value of silver with
gold? If the purchasing power of gold
increases and you treat silver as COM
modify, then measure your silver bull
lion with your inflated gold and there
"a ant in Gil Ixn