The Forrest City times. [volume] (Forrest City, Ark.) 1871-1919, 1896-09-04

| not circulate as money, ana between lSb6
and 1870 the paper money In the country
was reduced by more than one-half and
there followed corresponding fail in
| prices. This produced the panic of 1879
| during which time prices fell from the paper
| money basis down to what was then called
| the specie basis. This was local to this
country and did not effect Europe. The
years of ruin and disaster following the
mic of 20 were the result of the con.rac-
ton of the currency by the government
This resumption of specie payments by
| the government was on the basis of gold
and silver. These two materials had done
| the business of the world since the dawn of
civilization. For 200 years their relation to
each other was established nnd was prac-
| tically uniform throughout the world I'm
fortunately for mankind, the moneyed
classes of Europe conceived the idea that Il
would be to their interest to make money
dear and property and labor cheap. Dur
ing the decade following the war our peo-
pie had become the great debtor people Of
the earth. Not only had the government,
the states, the counties and the cities is
sued bonds, even most of the farm and
city property had been mortgaged. The
great bulk Of all of this indebtedness was
held by the English money-lenders The
interest on this vast debt had to be paid
by the American people in one form or an
other. Either In the form of taxes or In
creased charges on the railroads or In
creased prices of articles purchased. but
farm products and for labor, our people
were able to pay this vast interest and
yet have surplus left which ena bled them
to supply themselves with the comforts
and even luxuries of life, and we had what
was then known the great American
market. Our farmers were prosperous and
all other classes were prosperous. This
was when we had silver and gold. AT that
time the London bondholders had to take
the interest on two $1,000 bonds to buy
horse or to buy 100 bushels Of wheat and
they concluded II they could wipe out half
of the money in the world that the interest
on one 81, 600 bond would buy horse and
would buy 100 bushels of wheat, and buy q
correspondingly increased amount of any
other kind of property. and this 10 what
they accomplished.
In 1873 they got our government to by law
demonetize silver, stop its coinage, deprive
1t of its legal tender functions and reduce
1t practically to the basis of token money,
and between that year and 1880 they got
nearly all the governments to take similar
steps, so that silver was no longer a pri-
mary or redemption money, but occupied
the place practically of token money. and
as the amount OF silver dollars In the world
was Just about equal to the amount of gold
dollars in the world 1t followed that when
silver was demonetized and its coinage was
stopped, that thereafter the work which
was formerly done by gold and silver to-
gether had to be done by gold alone. The
number OF people who had to have gold
were doubled, its Importance was doubled
and 1t necessarily followed that its pur-
chasing power was doubled, so that there
after a gold dollar would buy just twice
the amount of product, twice the amount
OF property. twice the amount of labor
that 1t formerly did. on the average.
According to the great law Of finance
which have just named, this Is what had
to follow and you know from bitter ex-
llri hat tic to II a f1ll-
The selling price Of all property when taken
on the average, the selling price of all
products when taken on the average was
reduced by just one-half. So that wheat
went from one dollar to fifty cents and all
other farm products were sold in proper
ton. The selling price OF everything which
LABOR produces was lowered, but nothing
that the bondholder held was lowered.
The debts all remained the same. The vast
sums of interest TO be paid every year
manned the same. The taxes, if anything.
were higher, and the fixed charges, call
ing tor cash payments, remained the same.
Thereafter IL took everything that the
farmer could scrape Sogether to pay the
liked charges, and in many cases he could
not DO IT. His purchasing power was de-
stroyed and that universal paralysis which
have already described ensued. Former
iy there was added every year to the vol
ume OF money that existed in the world,
not only the amount of gold that was
mined, but also the amount of silver that
was mined, less what was used in the arts,
ana as the population kept on increasing
constantly and as il was necessary that
the volume of money should be enlarged
every year to keep pace with the increase
OF population in order that prices might
not fall, the world depended upon the in
crease TO be derived from both metals be-
ing about equal in amount. But since the
demonetzation OF silver there is added
each year only the gold that is produced,
| less what Is used in the arts. In other
words, the annual addition now to the
stock OF money is only half what 1t used to
De, while the annual increase III population
| Is much greater than II used to be. Conse-
quently prices must go on steadily failing
little year by year
The great BODYBUILDING classes of Europe
now md that one-haif of the interest on
their bonds will buy as much labor and will
puy as much property all of ii used to
buy. Naturally, they want to continue
that condition of affairs. The attempt to
| maintain this gold standard has involved
| the American government in such diff
euitles that during the last three years
$zo0. 900 of bonds have been issued, max
ing that much more of a bond for the
American people to pay interest on and
ultimately TO pay off. A year and half
ago small crowd of New York specu-
lators, with j. Pierpont Morgan at their
head. made upward of SIC. 200. 600 in a couple
of weeks out of the government In a small
bond transaction. Do you blame Morgan
and his associates for wanting to continue
that condition OF affairs? do not But 1
do blame the representatives and so-called
leaders OF the American people who I'M
der one preteXt or under another pretext
are helping to perpetuate a policy which
shall furnish a perpetual harvest to bond
sharks.
We say restore silver to where II was
Coin 1t free you do gold. Restore II to it's
legal tender qualities, and just as soon as