The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1896-10-22


answerable-Debts of This Country
increasing at the Rate of 2I-2 Per
Cent. Per Arnum-Can the PeopIe
Stand if?-A Few Plain Facts For
Voters to Think Upon.
Following is an argument from the
pen OF Professor Edward A. Ross, who
is publishing book entitled, "Honest
Dollars. The author holds tie pro
fessorshlp of political economy at the
Leland Stanford University, but during
the summer has been lecturing in the
department of sociology at the Uni
verslty of Chicago. Professor Ross is
graduate of the University of Berlin,
and obtained a degree of doctor OF
philosophy from Johns Hopkins Uni
Versl'y. In 1892 and 1893 he was
secretary Of the American Economic
Ass)clatlon. He says:
TIE vital question now arises:
Have We at the present time an honest
Collar or have-we not? This can <be
ascertained by examining the actual
course OF prices. The conclusion is
unavoidable that in gold standard
countries the fall of prices IN the last
twenty-three years has been about 40
per cent. e., that the purchasing
power of a dollar has increased about
OF per cent. If this appreciation were
uniform it would be equivalent to an
annual increase in the value of the
dollar about 2 q Per cent. OF course
the movement has not been at all reg
uiar. In periods of prosperity prices
have gone Oh level, only to crush
down suddenly whenever a commercial
crisis arrived. 1t is therefore fair to
assume that as the gold standard has
behaved in the past SO Will it in the
future, that if the gold dollar has got
2H Per cent. more value every year
since the world passed to the gold
standard It will continue to appreciate
z 3 per cent. in the future. | shall re-
turn 10 this later.
In the United States the course OF
prices has not 50 clearly revealed the
vlclousness of the gold standard be-
cause we have pumped silver into our
currency from 1878 TO 1898 and by
thus avoiding the European scramble
for gold have eased the pressure OF our
Prices.
The census OF 1890 shows that the
farmers Of the country groan under a
mortgaged debt Of oo,ooo,o 1000
With the present standard they must
expect that burden to increase about
S2S,ooo,ooo every year.. G., for every
year the debt runs an extra S2S,ooo,
900 worth of farm products will have
to be sacrificed in order to overcome
the annual increase in the difficulty O
getting dollars to repay with. Beside:
TINS, ali extra S2,ooo,ooo of produce
will be needed to meet the annual in
crease in the interest burden. Think
how many patches must be put on The
clothing, how many dresses must bt
made over, how many toes must &C
cold, how many farmers wives 90 in
sane, IN order TO raise that more thar
$50, GOO, 900 wrung out of the produce
by II e gold standard. American rail
roads are bonded for about $1,000,
| 900, 900, SO that every year 81 IS 900,
900 worth OF freight and passenge
business earns for the bondholder, aud
rot for the owners. Our public deb
Is over s., 900, 900, 900, SO that abou
iS5O5, ,oOc, 900 represents the annual IN
crease in the amount of burden on TIT
tax-pal e.s. | cannot take up the othe
items OF debt, but the whole of j
comes TO $40, 900, 900. The golt
standard means that this two seventh
OF our total wealth IS loaned out anl
earn .ng for It's owner besides his legItl
mate interest an unseen ll!egit!mate IN
tcresC OF : !. per cent. And yet speai
not or statue books Of usury Th!
means q total OF S5oo,o0o,ooo affected
by the annual dishonesty of the go!(
standard. OF course some individual
are beth debtors and creditors and tn
-, per cent, appearing on both side
OF the ledger Is Cancelled. If this ap
tDIes - une-tenth OF the whole, thl
leaves Us II, average Of S45o,ooo,o ,oo'
worth of property that will, year b
year, be uniustly transferred from tn
hand 0! The producers into the Golfer
t5. the creditors. Such is the bill "
iaie laying for The luxury OF the gol'
standard. Is it worth the costo Mus
sc =, on .sclimblng up the COLDER
stair" with this enormous burden q
debt on our backs?
This, then, is the size Of the sllve
question, 50 far as it Is 4 question c
! Justice. Keep the gold standard ant
men impose upon the producing par
of the people an annual tax that
more than one half OF the revenue {
the Federal, State, city, county an
township governments OF the Unite
States.
1t is not hard to show that falling
prices injare the productive power o
the country anu lS1u ~
waste. The modern business ma
makes heavy outlay for land or ma
chinery or labor or raw material, an
il is often months, or even years, befor
. the sale OF the finished produce, irot
which alone these costs can be reco'
cred. He ventures this outlay, assun
ing tina, the price OF the product WI
continue in the future as much as it h5
been in The past, unless some speci;
factor enters in. But, under reglm
Of falling prices, his calculation alway
falls, tor The proceeds of the product d
r, not suffice 10 cover costs and leave
= profit. Ii the downward tendency
, strong. not only does the business ma