The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1896-04-16
GOLD DEMoNETIzERs,
A Gold Standard Senator and His Ideas
What Ahout a EInnd Of RoIaa


What About Flood of GoIdF
Senator Caffery, of Louisiana, is one
of those gold standard persons that
have profound contempt for the ig-
norance of the free silver lunatics So
confident is Catfery that the cause of
bimetallism is foolishness that he has
never thought it worth while to EXAM
inc into the merits of the question. It
must have been very humiliating to
him, therefore, when in attempting TO
enlighten the ignorance of certain be-
nighted senators he had his own ipno-
rance exposed. While Caffery was
dwelling upon the divine immutability
of gold, Senator Daniel asked him a
question concerning the movement for
the demonetiSatis of gold in Europe
after the California gold discoveries
and its actual demonstration in some
countries. Caffery replied, in sub
stance, that Daniel didn't know what
he was talking about; that a fellow by
the name of Chevalier had tried to talk
up a movement of that kind, but that
no European country had ever demone-
tized gold Several senators were
promptly on their feet to tell Caffery
that 1t was the senator from Louisiana
that didn't know what he was talking
about; that Germany and Holland had
both demonetized gold at that time.
Caffery looked helplessly about the
chamber, hoping that somebody would
come to his relief But no help came,
and Caffery said: 81 stand corrected"
If Mr.. Catfery's knowledge OF the sub
ject he was discussing had not been of
the shallowest kind, he would not have
needed to be corrected.
Senator Gallery should know, too,
that the very people who for years
have been sneering at silver and laud-
ing gold have already begun to take
fright at the highly-colored reports of
the prospective output of the gold
mines and to suggest tho necessity of
closing the mints to the free coinage
of gold. We quoted some time since
from leading financial journal in
England which expressed grave appre-
hension that the increase of the gold
supply would seriously unsettle values,
that is to say check the fall of prices,
and that the abandonment of the gold
standard mIght become necessary. We
never hear from these sources any note
of dissatisfaction so long as "values
are unsettled" by falling prices They
want money that is growing dearer
and harder to get every day. This is
atri:iurly illustrated by two editorial
articles that recently appeared in the
same iasue of Harper's Weekly, lead
ing representative of gold standard
ileGs. One of these articlea deals
with the 'rising tide Of gold"
II declares that If estimates now
made are realized, by the year 1900
the world viii have trebled its gold
production within the present decade,
md that there viii he such a monetary
imitation as the widest populistic
dreamer never dared to entertain. In
view Of this awful state of affairs Har-
per's Weekly propounds this momen-
tous questions: 'If the output of gold
reaches $500, 900, 900 by 1900, will it be
possible for the nations to keep their
iuints open to the free coinage of
goid?' We can answer that if the
boudholders and those who enjoy fixed
incomes find that the gold standard
means rising instead of falling prices,
they viii not hesitate if they have the
power to demonetize both gold as well
us silver. This possible fall in the
value Of gold and rise in the prices of
commodities presents n condition that
Is full Of terror to our contemporary.
But in another article it describes a
condition that is just to its taste.
Speaking of the absurdity of attempt
ing popular" gold loan instead of
operating through syndicate, it says
that gold is a commodity that few
persons have or have the means of get
ting, except by legal tenders from the
vaults of the government itself The
number of possible competitors for the
opportunity to sell gold, other than its
own, to the government is small" In
other words, gold is scarce article
and the great body Of the people have
none of it and can't get it. 1t can be
supplied only by few wealthy cap
italists in the great money centers
This makes it very desirable money
standard. What the country needs is
kind of money that can be controlled
by few and kept out of the hands OF
the people. But if this slide of gold"
should continue to rise, the horror of
the situation is that the supply would
get too big for the financiers to control
and the people might get some of it
ATo,,,,Nl,,o y,aroso1 Ayyao1