New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-06-28
THE MONEY CRAZE.

The fog in many minds about the silver ques-
ton Is hard to understand. The dishonest greeu
of the debtor who wants to pay debts with
cheaper money than he borrowed can be uh-
derstood without difficulty. but not many men
are of that class. The soreness of the farmer,
who sells his wheat for less than the actual
cost and goes from year TO year with dcpfecl-
ating property declining strength and growing
debts. is not incomprchensible, though he ought
TO know that cheap Western land and cheap
TRANSFORMATION all over the world have more 10
do with his trouble than cheap silver Inc
rray-baired politician, who has preached 1or
thirty years against 1.-THE money power i'll des-
nerate enaeayor to gain success for his party
and office for himself and has ended BY DeleV-
ing his own assertions is a person better uli-
derstood by everybody else perhaps, than d!
himself But what can be said of the working
man who wants his wages paid in cheaper
money or the depositor in savings-banks VINO
wants his deposits reduced one half in value!
4 leading Democrat explains the trouble III
his State by saying that the wOrkingmen there
snnpose the &c to l. platform to mean that
they are to have SIG for every 81 they earn.
Another begs The Tribune to explain for the
enlightenment of the ignorant, that Sl4 III sill
yer. which most workingmen earn in week,
would make about a pound-an ugly Load TO
carry in the pocket-and that if the man had
20 nay q debt of 81 1884 he would be obliged TO
Ing 100 pounds in silver coin to meet it, But
men of common-sense are aware that the silver
coins would not be used any more than they
are now if the currency were debased to Sill
| YER standard Paper notes would be used, as
| they are now, but would represent less value
| The silver theorst and the silver demag0gue
| insist that the currency would not depreclate;
that free coinage would lift silver to Its nom
nal value in gold; but they know better Ex-
| cept mine owners, nobody would nave the
slightest desire to get silver coinage II he dld
| not believe it would make prices higher-tha'
| is. make money cheaper
That is the root of all the rant about the
debtor class the money power, the extornol
of the goldbug. the oppression of the people d!
cutting down the quantity of coined money il
use. The theory Is that prices have been TN
duly depressed by making money scarce EN-
| ployng only gold to do the work which goio
| and silver both used to do. If there is any
truth whatever in this theory, it follows tha'
| silver coinage would give cheaper money, ana
consequently, higher prices. The farmers sc
imagine or they would not listen to the delha
gogue Altgeld. who tells them that hfiy-cen
wheat is product of silver RECOMMENDATION
But making money cheap would make wages
buy less of everything. 1t would make ever!
| dollar OF savings in banks or building associa
tons or insurance companies worth less TO th'
men who had labOred to provide against want
1t is the one incomprehensible thing that some
men who have savings are trying to make then
| smaller: that men who have wages are trying
| TO reduce them; that men who have claims
against building or insurance companies are
trying to cut them down. When Bank Presi
dent St John argues for free coinage of silve
men thoroughly understand that he has no 1dei
| that the debts due his bank would be pald ii
deprecated money. The banks know how Il
protect themselves. The lOudest advocates
free silver at the West are the very men wh
have been most careful TO put into every mort
gage and every loan the proviso that paymen
shall be in gold coin. But can anybody tel
why wage-earner or n deposltor III Il savings
bank should want cheap money!