Mexico weekly ledger., 1896-10-29

chasing power, nor dishonest because
it has little purchasing power. 1t Is
not size or weight or the lack of them
that makes a dollar dishonest. 1t is
change, and change only, that makes
money dishonest and unsound.
1t is assumed that If you always put
the same amount and kind of material
in a dollar you will keep its value uni
form. This assumption is as foolish
as to believe that because the mater
ial in a 36-inch bar and in a 4O-inch
bar is the same in kind and weight the
bar is the same in length. Length is the
important thing in yard sticks and is
not determined by the kind and weight
of the material composing the stick.
Value is the important thing in dol
lars, and the length in the yard stick;
the material composing it is not the
controlling factor. II the number OF
bushels of wheat in existence is
doubled it will affect the value of
wheat. II the number of dollars in
existence is doubled will 1t not affect
the value of dollars?
The value of dollars, then is, deter
mined by the supply of dollars and if
you want to keep them of uniform
value You must keep the supply up to
the demand.
1t is said that improved methods of
production increases the supply of
products, and that increased supply
forces down the price. This argu-
ment is unsoupd to the core. Every
new machine that is built, every addi-
tional bushel of grain that is pro-
duced, every addition made to the
business of a country is a growth in
business and demands more money,
and it is the duty of the government
to supply this imperious demand by
furnishing more money. It's as much
the duty of the government to supply
the demand for money o~ccasioned by
increased production as it is to meet
the demand occasioned by increased
population.
When the population of q nation in
creases or when the production of a
nation increases the money should
increase in like proportion, and this
system gives to the man who borrows
money to-day the benefit of improved
methods. He is in the business and
the luck of finding improved methods
is his luck and not the past producers
luck, who made his money in the days
gone by and got the benefit of the i'm
provement in his age.
SO, then, an honest dollar is a dollar
that is changeless-that will say SO
much labor or SO much products are
of the value of 81 in '73 and of like
value in 1888 and 1898.
See how a change in a measure acts.
I rent a farm from you and agree to
pay you in bushels, at a time when a
bushel denotes four pecks. Before
payday comes the law changes the
bushel and it contains six pecks. I
am cheated, / am robbed, I am swim
died. / rent another farm and agree
to pay in dollars. At the time I make
the contract the supply of money is
such that one dollar will buy four
pecks of wheat, but before payday
comes the supply of money has been
80 contracted that 81 will buy six pecks
of wheat and I must sell my wheat to
get the dollar. Is not the latter trans
action as shameless, as upjustifiable a
swindle as the first? Certainly.
Deos the gold standard give us an
honest dollar, one of unvarying
puscharing power? England and Ger
many are gold standard countries and
under the gold standard prices of all
products have fallen alarmingly since
'73. The same amount of products
that in '73 would bring 81 will now
only bring less than go cents. The
purchasing power of gold has in
creased 662s% in % years-an annual
increase of 2k&.
The downward fall of prices in the
United States has not been so great;
for from 1873 to 1887, 35 millions of sill
yer trade dollars were issued; from
1878 to 1890 the Bland-Allison act put
owe s40O, 00O, 900 into circulation, and
the Sherman law, from 1890 to 1898,
put over $3.50, 000, 900 of new money
into circulation, and partially prevent
ed the natural, acute contraction of
the currency; yet, in 's1, the American
producer only got 90 dollars for the
same amount of produce that in 1873
would have brought him $137, and at
the present time prices are much low
er than in '91.
In 1898 we stopped adding to the
currency by coming silver dollars or
issuing silver money,except subsidiary
coin. The currency of the century has
been gradually contracted since 1873.
In '96 there is 1885 a head less money
in the country than In '92, and 1884
less money in circulation than in 1872.
For the year ending July 1, 1896, the
currency had been contracted $1.s1
per head.
During those four years we fell short
$3.50, 900 900 in our own money supply.
At the same time, for the purpose
of keeping money, we issued and sold
bonds which, with interest added, calls
for $500, 200, 900.
Is it possible there is q citizen of the
republic that Is in favor of a system
of finance that will cost the people
$500, 600 900 in four years to prevent
the country's currency from contract
ing more than $3.50, O0O, 900. YETI that
is the delusion that gold Democrats
and Republicans are fighting for.
Under the gold standard the cur
rency is bound to contract for we can
only add about s6o, 600 900 per snnum
from the coinage of gold and the an
nual interest we must pay to foreign
ers is s2o0, OOO, 600. And during the
last four years, though We sold bonds
to bring gold here, yet we shipped
out ears, 600 900 more than was ship
ped In, and as we coined only about
aCq0 nna mn wo incraaaed the currancv