Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1896-08-06
GOLD OR

- SOOA 00O4 IA
discussion and much mental wor-
riment to honest citizens if some
competent authority would des
eide of-hand the vexed question
of finance, in a way to satisfy
the wayfaring man once and for
all. What is needed is nothing
more than a prophet inspired by
some mysterious power to fores
tell precisely what the none
tary magnates of the world will
do in case the United States Cow
eminent, within the next year or
two should decide in favor of
the free unlimited coinage of sill
yer dollars.
It is a very simple require
nent. Almost ANY fool" as the
popular phrase goes, could an
swer it off hand. And there is
the trouble. Any fool could, and
can, and does; but 1.-The wise man
h~esitates," '']ost in thought"
When angels, conscious Of anger
lie, Limitations, tread the un-
knowa paths in fear, those who
are not confirmed in wisdom
rush in boldly; but some of US,
who know that we are not angels
and trust that we are not fools,
hesitate to decide in a minute on
a question which experienced
men do not feel themselves ca
pable to settle without debate or
consideration.
We believe that it is agreed
by both parties. the angels and
the fools, that if the United
States Government should decide
to admit the free coinage of sill
yer, the result would be an inn
mediate influx of silver bullion to
our national mints, everybody
possessing such bullion being ca
ger to exchange ffty-three cents
worth of the same for a nominal
hundred cents in the shape Of a
silver "dollar." Granting that
proposition, it is not extrava-
CANT to suppose that the value of
bullion would advaLce consider
ably, nor uncharitable to imag-
inc that even the most case
hardened "gold~bug" would for
the moment condescend to take a
flyer" in the silver saturnalia
and exchange a few tons of So
cent bullion for 10O>cent coins.
Aud then? And then, we
think, the price of the bullion
would advance a few points; and
then, a few more; until finally it
came very near the point of par
ity. Such an advance would
surely occur if the commodity in
demand were copper, or lead, or
iron; and why not in the case of a
more precious metal?
We do not say that such an
advance would make any of those
metals money; but even gold
would cease to be money if by
any chance it ceased to be worth
its face value on the market.
Suppose, for the sake of argu
ment, a not unsupposa5le condi-
ton, that the output of gold
from the mines of the world
sf 1u-d suddenly happen to ex
c0ed that of silver. The redis-
covery of King Solomon's mines
would in a twinkling upset all
established standards of value,
and send the advocates of "sound
money" in hot haste to demand
the demonstration of the yellow
coin. There is no especial sane
tity attaching to the gold stan
ard. Id is convenient because
it is scarce, and that is all. The
wealth of the nation does not lie
in the safety deposit vaults. but
in the unmined riches OF the
prairies, forests, mountains, seas
and lakes, the coal, the corn, the
fish, the timber, the only real
wealth of a nation.
Let the campaign of decency |
go on. Let the scurrilous con-
troversialist be sent to the rear.
The people want argument and
will resent abuse from eitherI
side.
There is not going to be any
sectional warfare in this cams
paign, for the good and sufficient
reason that the common people
of the East are as determined as
their brethren of the West that
there shall not be. Silver or
gold. high tariff or low tariff. are
not questions on which to array
any section of the country
against another. Whoever at
tempts to make the financial
question a sectional question is
an enemy of the country; andl
pretends to settle a y ap-
plicated financial question boom
to East or West, North
or South. is an enemy of East, |
West, North and South, and
should be so regarded.
North Carolina Republicans
cono-lo1 Tho ror;no+;on h. +Lo |