Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1896-09-15
TRIBUTE TO ENGLAND.

TRIBUTE TO ENGLAND.
The Debtor Nations of the World Oneronsly
Taxed to Support the Gold Standard.
The decentralization of silver was
conceived and carried out by the cred
itor classes intent on increasing the
purchasing power of gold and thereby
increasing the value of all debts. Just
as gold has appreciated and prices
have fallen, an unjust tribute has been
lain on all debtors, and this tribute
the creditor classes have enjoyed. The
discarding of silver us money metal,
leading to the appreciation of gold and
consequent fall of prices has doubled
the quantity of produce that we must
export in payment of interest charges
to our foreign creditors We are re-
quired to give our foreign creditors
two bushels of wheat and two pounds
of cotton where justice requires but
one. The labor cost of producing cot
ton and wheat has not fallen with the
fall in price, 1t takes as much ex-
penditure of labor and energy to raise
the bushel Of wheat and bale of cotton
to-day as 20 years ago, yet the debt
paying power of wheat and cotton, as
of commodities in general, has been
cut in half by the fall in prices, fall
due not to cheapening of production,
not to any natural increase of conpe-
tition, but to the appreciation of gold.
And this appreciation of gold has been
engineered by the creditor classes with
the purpose Of depressing prices, and
thus doubling the sacrifice of labor,
and the products of labor, which their
debtors must surrender to them in sat-
isfaction of their debts.
Thus, when their debtors have re-
NAMED solvent the creditor classes
have been benefited by the fall in
prices. And in Great Britain the
money lenders of London, or rather
the traffickers in credit are all power
full. To the creditor classes of Great
Britain the whole world is in debt to
an amount estimated by none at less
than $40, 900, 600, 600 and by some as high
as 100000, 100000. Some idea Of the
immensely of the Indebtedness of the
rest of world to England can be found
by study of the trade statistics Of
Great Britain. As we had occasion to
state recently, Great Britain's pur-
chase of commodities for the year 1895
exdeeded her exports to the value Of
R1so, 547, 693 This much more she
bought than she sold, yet she was not
called upon to export any gold in pay
ment On the contrary, she imported
gold to an amount Of &l4, 7aG, 7f5 IN en-
cess of her imports. And why? Sim
ply because the worlds indebted
ness to London on account of
interest payments and freight earned
by British ship-owners from for
eigners and representing interest on
British capital invested in ships and
than offset the immense balance Of
e130, SAT, 693 incurred on account of
purchases made by Great Britain in
excess of her sales. So instead of En-
gland being called upon to export gold
in payment for her tremendous inn
ports of merchandise in excess of ex-
ports the United States and other
debtor nations, failing to export COM
modities to sufficient volume to meet
their Indebtedness in entirety, were
obliged to send her gold for the bal
ance Here, then, we have tribute
of the debtor nations of the world to
the creditor classes of Great Britain of
over 100000, ooo-a sum representing
at four per cent. interest on principal
of SIT, 500, 100000.
Such is the tribute the debtor ma
tions of the world are under to Great
Britain. The further prices fall, the
| greater will be The number of bushels
of wheat, of pounds of cotton and
wool and of other products that this
500, 900, 600 of annual tribute will buy
and the greater to debtor nations will
be the burden of this tribute. The APP
probation of gold which has cut prices
in half has in effect practically
doubled this tribute.
We pay the interest on our foreign
debt to our British creditors by exports
of commodities sold in England The
higher the prices get, the lighter will
be the burdens of our indie btedness; and
the opening of our minis to silver will
! enable our producers to get higher
prices How? Simply because the in.
creased demand for silver caused by
the opening of our minis to silver and
the decreased demand for gold due to
the throwing upon silver. equally with
gold, the burden of effecting our ex-
changes and supporting our credit fab
ric, would cause the gold-price OF
silver to rise until the parity be.
tween gold and silver at the old ratio
would be restored And, just as silver
rose, the cost TO all gold-using peoples,
buying in silver-using countries and
paying with silver, would rise with
the gold-price in silver or silver ex.
change which they have to buy and
send in settlement for purchases made
in such countries.
So, just as silver rose, the British
trader would turn to us to make the
purchases of cotton and wheat and
other produce he has bought since the
demonstration OF silver, in ever-en-
larging volume, from countries in
which gold is at premium as meas
ured in their currencies. Consequently
the price our producers could demand
for their products would increase, anc
| just as the prices received for our ex.
ports rose, the burden of our indebted
ness would be lightened. Thus, BIZ