The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-06-01
AN IMPORTANT QUESTION.

From a very small beginning Mr..
Carnegie has accumulated a fortune which
he counts by the tens or millions. 1t was
his right to do that; besides, the public
admires a man who makes a great sue
cess in any laudable enterprise, and. gen.
orally speaking, his advice is worth listen
ing to when he does not depart too far
from the field in which he achieved sue
cess. But Mr.. Carnegie makes a great
mistake when he assumes that fortune
has an inherent understanding of every
thing in all fields of human action which
it confers upon its owner. knowledge
does not come that way. A man may
make a great deal of money in the iron
business, for instance, and still know very
little about the science of government or
the philosophy of economics.
Hence when Mr.. Carnegie says that "the
dollar of the Republic should mean a
dollar in gold, worth its face in all parts
of the world" he shows very distinctly
that he knows a good deal more about
converting iron ore into finished product
and gathering in the accruing profits in
dollars than he knows about what 1t Is
that makes dollars money. This becomes
all the more apparent when he says that
all other economic questions should be
subordinated to the work of establishing
the gold dollar as the standard of values
and money of redemption. Mr.. Carnegie
is q creditor in the commercial world, and
if he could have his bills receivable paid
in money that is always at a premium,
but which he receives at par, he would be
the gamer; but, as an ethical proposition,
it is faulty at both ends and in the
middle.
Why Mr.. Carnegie is so interested in
having our dollar worth its face in any
part of the world" is clear enough, From 90
to 81 per cent of the entire trade and traffic
of this country is with our own people. 1t
is easy enough, too, to understand why
England should adhere to the gold stand
ard. Her trade is with other nations.
She exchanges finished products for dol
lars all over the world. and if dollars that
are at a pre- MUM come to her at par she
secures an additional profit, besides
the advantage which she secures from
paying for raw material in money that
comm ands premium. Great Britain and
Mr.. Carnegie know that so long as the
gold standard can be maintained there
vii be scarcity of money and that their
debtors will have to pay them in dollars
that rule at a premium.
But here in the United States, where our
commerce with the outside world is only
from 8 to per cent of our total business
trans actions, it is really of no consequence
whether Europe, Asia and Africa like our
monetary system or not. The point for
4r
culating money be equal to the require
ments of producer and consumer, with it
always ct par, or shall we hold it far
enough below sufficiency to keep it above
par? If it were kept above par the great
middle class, which is all of so per cent OF
the population, would have to pay the pre-
MUM, thus decreasing the commodity
purchasing power of their labor. If the
volume were sufficient to meet all de-
mands. the business of the country would
be done with dollars ruling at par, which
would give the creditor no advantage over
the debtor.
Mr.. Carnegie belongs to class of pro.
duGers who are TO the industrial world
what the monev-Iender is to the financial
world. The people are obliged to have
money anu Jney are ODllgeu 10 nave the
products of industries that are owned by
the Carnegie class. The money-Iender
wants a premium on his money and a
high rate of interest for its use. The Car
negies want pay for their commodities
in money that commands a premium
because of its scarcity, SO that they will
have double profits on their products. By
making gold the standard of values and
redemption money, the money-lender and
the Carnegies would be masters OF the sit
uation. By the free and unlimited coin.
age of silver at the old ratio the volume
of money would be expanded to where il
would rule at par without variation. Then
no individual or com b1ne could be master Of
the situation. The question, then, which
confronts the people and is waiting for the
people to answer is, Shall the silver dollar
be reinstated, that there may be a sufi-
Glen! volume of money to do the bushes:
of the country, or shall so per cent of the
population be obliged to continue to pay a
premium in addition to high interest ra ties
for money by limiting our circulating
money medium to gold dollars?
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