The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-07-25
EXPOSING THE FALLACIES WHICH
UNDERLIE THE SILVER MOVEMENT

ing the amount of money in circulation,
etc.. etc, per assumption No. l.
. II II II
Let US look at the facts as contained In
official statistics. The circulation of
money per capita in 1873 was S2U57 In
other words. The total stock of money
divided by the number Of men. women and
children in the country in 1873 produces
an average of S20.57 in circulation for each
living person in the country. In 1894 the
per capita circulation was $2l.64. THE
crime Of 1873" consequently. did not de-
crease the circulation. The stock of
money increas sed from sss5.OV0O0O in 1873
rose from zero to S546 1000 The gold
stock increased $lSi. 600. 900 and the silver
stock $ji5,0o0.0o0 and still they say We have
done nothing for silver. During all of
this period the use OF national bank notes
kept declining, falling from $Si7,vvU,O00 In
1873 to SlG1, 900. 000 in 1890 The monetary
after that period caused an
expansion of the national bank note circu-
latlon to s270. 100000 In 1894. There was
some minor changes in subsidiary coin.
and United States notes which need not
be noted. The statistics. therefore. prove
that there has been no contraction of the
the wicked assault of capital upon the
and soulful silver. These facts
dispose effectually OF assumption, No. /.
Il II i
The falsity OF assumption No. 2, that a
double standard Is possible in practice
as well as theory. has already been shown.
both by the experience OF our nation and
the weakness of human nature, which can
not be transformed by legislature. The
experiments of other ma
tions in the history of the world could be
cited by the dozens, II 1t were necessary.
Il Il Il
Assumption No. 3, that the expansion
OF circulation necessarily creates higher
values and prosperity, Is the greatest fall
lacy of all and will not bear u moment S
scrutiny. The free slverites. with either
gross ignorance OF malicious pl,rpCse,
are trying to force upon the people the
delusion that higher prices and higher
values are synonymous. Price, az eX-
pressed in dollars and cents Is no ele-
ment in value. 1t makes no difference
to the laborer whether u days labor has
81 or 81 for it's compensation, IL 1t will
buy the same suit of clothes or the same
pair of shoes. n dollar bushel of wheat
has no more value than a 50-cent bushel,
II either can purchase the same hoe.
Double the price of everything valuable
III ,he "oriu anu as all wouid sun DE
exchanged on the same level of value,
tnat quahty Wouiu remain uhchahged'
ihHatioh Oh prices does NOT
produce corresponding imitation of val
ues. Mohey Is hnereiy u meuium Oh eX-
chahse' possesseu VI s.aoie Naiue' anu IL
matters not Whether u OF y. Is used 10
ehect an eNchahse oi uay lapor loi
a a sH'' VI c.o'"eS VI u oushe' oi "hea'
ior noe II Is conceueu that II tnere ~
iiot sun'cleht circulating meuium III the
lorin Vi money 10 permit exchanges win
iacihty values are contracted II does
not Iol'ow mat wheh tne circulating
lheoiuiIi IL more phah sunieieht values
"m iise' vi .ns coh',aIS' s"Pe'nutS
VI tne CIRCULATING hiediuih Is uisturp-
'"s iae'o''
y u u
l will endeavor to make this plain. The
free silver advocates persistently ignore
the fact that ther Is another medium Of
exchange besides money--namely credit IN
the form of checks and drafts. 1t Is a
matter of statistics that " per cent. of all
transactions are settled in checks and
drafts AMI only ~ per cent. In money. 1t
Is fact which cannot be upset by every
expletive in the dictionary or tones of
printed arguments that the basis of en-
change In and among all highly civil.
lied nations Is gold. This ~ a condition
which cannot be changed except by the
universal cOnseft OF all nations and
It Is doubtful even then whether the change
could be wrought. As u consequence
when gold begins to leave q country in
large volumes, credit Immediately be-
comes disturbed. There Is another law
which would require too long explanation.
dent of finance that a superabundance of
currency expels gold from q country. If
the gold export movement assumes large
credit begins to totter. The
checks ana drafts, which are credit instru-
lnehts, as meuium or exchange. per-
manent effluX or gold eventually destroys
credit, thus 1ncapacitatihg the medium
(hat does w per cent. OF the work in the
aXchange OF COMMONLY. state OF panic
ensues. The abnorInal desire for the ply
sicai POSSESSION or money FORCES 1t from
Men resort to the use Of
checks and drafts perforce again. Gold
Is literally hauled back into the country
again, but VIII not remain permanently
until the redundancy or circulation Is per-
manently removed from the fabric OF ex-
'hanges. The existing depression Is large
nm, caused by the infusion Of too great
an amount OF silver, currency of in
'erior value. TniS unwholesome condition
mas to be cured by loss or gold. and
through bond issues an absorption OF
sreenbacks into the treasury. Under the
Bland law there were coined a1s, l6t, 1913
silver dollars: under the act or 1890 SG,-
'l9.Hs. and 5l,O's.Is3 under the trad dol
ar redemption act OF 1881. without count
ng the uneoined silver bullion acquired
he uncoined silver bullion acquired under
he act of 1880. there was about N2O, ,OOO,-
100 silver injected Into our currency. We
Ire still staggering under this load.
II Il II
As a cure for the free silver disease from
which our nation is now suffering. we are
,sked 10 take more silver I'm unlimited
loses The repeal of the sherman act
,as left us barely conyalescent. The Am