New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-08-14

he increased. while the value OF them Is de-
creased at the same rate the prices reip"'n
fxed lust as the pivot on which scale DeaIp
Is balanced remains fixed no matter now h"'.
one end Of the beam goes up ana the o'her emu
down. Free silver will send one end OF the
beam. the number OF dollars, up. II VIII sehd
the other end. the value or edch doilar' "o"n
The nivot in the centre the actual price received
will remain fixed
Rut whit is meant by the value OF the dollar!
Does not every dollar consist OF one hnhdreu
cents. rs the Federal money tables IN our
school arlthmetlcs tell us! Thcoretlcaily' yes
Practically. no The value Of a dollar OF OF any
other coin is determined by It's purchasing pow
or. by what It will buy in the market. suppose,
for example yoI are buying sugar, ana you hhu
that with one dollar you can buy just twenty
pounds Then twenty pounds of sugar Is lne
value of that dollar. Suppose you have another
coin called a dollar and purp0rting 10 contain
a hundred cents: but because OF the metal OF
which II is made. or for some other reason no
market-mnn will sell you more than ten POUNDS
OF sugar for It. Then ten pounds or sugar Is 'he
value of that dollar And when you are buying
sugar Won are lust as well Off If you have one
twenty-pound dollar in your pocket as though
Won had two ten-pound dollars So while the
farmer might receive more dollars TOT every
thing he sold under free coinage OF silver, the
value of those dollars would be lesscned, so that
he would have to pay more OF them ior every
thing he bought He might get ten cents III
stead Of five cents pound for his cotton pu'
he would have TO pay ten cents instead OF I'VE
cents a pound for his sugar. He might get
dollar Instead of fifty cents Dlshei TOT his
wheat but he would have 10 pay dollar IN
stead of fifty cents yard for his cloth ana car
net He might get 500 instead OF 500 Tor
cow bat he would have to pay 500 instead Oh
$40 for n wagon So he would gain nothing by
the circulation Of half-prce dollars; neither IN
prlccs received n)r in ability 10 purchase. The
increased ease Of paying off his mortgage need
not be discussed: partly because only minority
of farms are mortgaged. anyway. and they
for n small fraction OF their value, and partly
because farmers are generally honest men. who
do not want 10 repudlate half or their honest
dobtS-as they would do II they repaid for n GER
tain number Of hundred-ce dollars an equal
number of ffty-cent dollars.
on the other hand. the farmers would lose
heavily by free coinage. That would be partly
because tho prices of thlnsr they buy would go
I'D far more rapidly than The prices OF things
they sell The farmer sends his produce 10 mar
kot and has 10 be- content with what the mar
kotman will pay him He goes TO the sior' to
buy things and has 10 pay what the store
keeper charges He would find in this case that
while theoretically they ought TO change In the
same ratio. the latter would put up prices far
more quickly than the former. that he would
at once have TO pay a great deal more for every
thing he bought. but would only after con-
siderable time get more for what he sold. Nor
would that be all Farmers are thrifty folk.
great many of them have money "out AZ IN
terest" in savngs-banks or elsewhere or have
their lives insured or in some way have made
provision for "a rainy day They have made
such investments in dollars worth hundred
cents each Free silver would repay them dol
lar for dollar. but in dollars worth only fifty
three cents zach That is what the election OF
BRYAN and the success Of his principles would
mean TO them Let every intelligent farmer
strike the balance Of no profits and heavy losses,
and see if he can afford TO vote the reputation
tolyn