The San Francisco call., 1896-08-08

MONEY OF THE RICH.
Philadelphia Inquirer.

One of the great arguments OF the Populists
is that gold is the money of the banks, the
money-lenders and the wealthy classes. Even
if this were true, is the best money any too
good for the wage-earner? Should he be con-
tented with dollars worth only half dollars?
"Ohp' cries the Populist, 'but the capitalist
holds the money and corners it. 1t is capital
against labor" We deny it; it is not so. Look
at the facts.
Capital, for instance, has built the railroads
Do few capitalists own these roads? BY no
means. Stock is held in small quantities by
thousands upon thousands. Trust funds for
widows and orphans are invested. Besides,
these railroads employ q great army of men
for the capital employed-the capital sccumu-
lated and paid in by the thousands of in
vestors--wilere would we be as a country and
what would these employees do for living?
Every mill is run by capital. When mill
closes its doors does 1t bring joy? Is there a
general jo.lifcation over the downfall of the
employer? Or is there not grief in many q
home? Does 1t not mean untold suffering? {?
When the mill is working on full time there is
happiness in the home of the employe. and yet
every mill. every railroad, everything which
gold money, not OF the few but of the people
the money in which they are paid or its equiv
alent.
In 1895 the savings panks held 81. .S44, ,357,-
600 in deposits. Who owned these deposits?
The rich man? No. Savings banks are con-
Quoted for the benefit of those in moderate
circumstances, as are dlSO Inc Du1lQlng ana
loan associations There is $3.50, ,000, 900 in
vested there These investments build the
poor man his little home. They represent so
much gold, and yet the Populisrs tell as that
gold is not the poor mans money.
1t is. Under the gold standard we have prac-
tical bimetalIisH. We carry as much silver as
we do gold, and the promises OF the Governments
to maintain the stsndard make the silver dol
lar equal to the gold as money. The free silver
theory obliterates these promises and relieves
the Government from all responsibility to
maintain silver st q parity with gold. The
silver miners take their bullion to the mints
and receive stamped dollars in return. The
Government instead of acting as banker
and maintaining its credit, simply acts as a
coinage agent. 1t does not buy silver. 1t can
not buy. What would it buy with? With the
flood of white metal dumped at the treasury
doors where would 1t get all the money to pay
for all this bullion? Under free silver 1t
merely coins into money bullion sent to it by
the owner. With no Government credit back
of these silver coins they would become valu-
able only at the market price for the bullion
they contain.
What. then. would happen? Instead of be-
ing paid in money equal TO gold the railroad
and mill employees and every man on salary
would receive silver dollars worth only their
market value as bulliun--now about So cents.
The gold, or the equivalent of gold. deposi ed
in savings banks and building associations
would not be returned to the depositors. The
return would be made in these half-doller sill
yer dollars, and sharp and sure disaster would
| follow,
That is what change Of policy would mean
and there u absolutely no other outcome.