The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1896-09-17

! portant than its functions as a medium of
exchange. Our exchanges aggregate sixty
thousand millions Il year, but our money In
circulation Is only fifteen hundred millions.
The bulk OF the exchanges is effected with
checks and other instruments of credit.
But though money itself Is not exchanged,
all exchanges are measured In the dollar
unit of value. and the security aud safety
OF the whole volume depend upon the in-
tegrity OF that dollar unit, just as the safe
ty Of every sale of cloth depends on the
integrity Of the yard unit. Iou can make
a yard stick of wood o" OF Ivory, but they
must have the zane length. You can make
a dollar of gold or silver. but they must
have the same value. You sell cloth and
measure the quantity in yards; you pay
and measure the amount In dollars, and
whethe" you measure in half-yards, called
yards, or In JO-cent dollars, called 100
cent dollars, the transaction Is equally
fraudulent and dishonest. Our existing
standard of value is the 1oO-cent gold dollar;
free silver coinage would make our standard
the 50-cent dollar and that is the reason
why II would be a crime Of reputation.
dishonor and disaster.
must educate the people that govern.
ment fiat cannot make money. The govern
mehr stamps, weighs and certifies, but does
not create. Money is OF two kinds-real
money and representative money. Real
money has intrinsic value equal To its face.
Representative money is a promise TO re-
deem in real money. The gold dollar is real
money, because IL is worth 100 cents,
whether coined or melted. The paper dol
lar Is representative money because 1t Is
simply a promise to redeem In a real dollar.
Its value Is not In the stamp, but in the
fact that the sta1!p pledges a real dollar
behind 1t. The present silver dollar is part
ly real and partly representative. 1t has
80 cents worth of value and As cents worth
Of faith-faith that the government will
fulfill its pledge of keeep'ng it at parity
with gold. The proposed silver dollar under
free coinage would be neither real nor rep
resentative. 1t could not say even with the
paper dollar, 4 know that my redeemer
liveth,' for there would be no redemption.
and without redemption It's value would
sink to its bullion value Of 81 cents. We
want neither cheap dollars, nor cheap men,
nor cheap presidents. We must educate
the people that political independence Is
one thing and. independence Of the laws
of trade and nature is another. The most
puerile and grOtesque idea even of the boy
orator is his repeated and pet notion that
because this country declared political in
dependence of Europe In 1776, il ought to
declare an independent monetary standard
in 1896. He seems 10 think that we ought
to have a distinct American measure of
value, because We have a distinct Ameri-
can measure of liberality."
An " VIII represent Bryan
1--WE can have American geography be-
cause our rivers and mountains and glorious
fields, with their rich haryests. are our own;
but we cannot have an American arithmetic.
because two and two do not make five. and
fifty does not make 100 in the United States
any more than IN Europe. We can nave
an American political economy, because 20
lltlcal economy Is partly a matter of con-
dltionS, and our conditions are different
from those of Europe: but we cannot have
an American algebra, because algebra is not
an experimental, but An exact science. Y
In algebra represents the unknown quantity,
and thus 1t represents Bryan after the cleo
ton. and not even the y rays will be able
to discover his scattered and shadow re-
mains. A distinct American measure Of
values. Why not have n distinct American
measure of length? Why not have an Amer
lcan yardStick, different in length from the
English yardStickE This talk of an indie
pendent measure shows a callow and shall
low mind. Do we not want commercial re-
lations with Europe? Do we not seek to
extend our trade? Then why do we not
want a common medium Of exchange?
Above all and beyond all, we must edu-
cate the people that national honesty and
individual honesty are the best policy.
The nations and individuals cannot close
out with the world on one transaction and
quit. They must keep up the account, and
for every act Of fraud they Will pay double
the next time. We are against the emigra-
ton of good gold and the immigration Of
bad blood. We are against the outflow Of
good circulation and the inflow Of bad citi-
zenship. We find communism, revolution
and anarchy no more attractive and no less
dangerous when urged by the rhetoric Of
Bryan. than when enforced by the bomb Of
AItgcld, or the pitChfOrk OF Tillman. We
must teach the unceasing lesson Of patience
and rcctitude lnd must urge the people to
maintain the national honor, as sacrcdly
as they maintain the national life, and to
be no more ready in 1896 10 cut in two the
standard of value which IS the basis and
measure Of all business security than they
were in 1861 to cut in two the Union, which
Is the basis and measure of our national
greatness and glory. We are met at the
home Of tn" great patriot and statesman,
the boy soldier and the man orator and
leader, who, by an unerring choice, Is htly
made the stapdard-bearer in this second
mighty battle for national safety and well
fare. Let Us go from his enkiudiing pres
ence and his glowing words with fresh in
spiration and renewed strength for the
campaign OF education"