Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1896-10-29

not find the wherewithal to comfort his family and to
provide for his natural wants he becomes 4 desperate
man. To say that he is a poor citizen bu- feebly ex-
presses 1t. Such a condition creates a loss OF prlde.
When the Information comes to one, accustomed to the
ownership of a home, that he is to lose that home after
years Of toll, and that information is conveyed to such
O persons wife and family who have worked hard ana
shared the tolls and troubles of the husband and tather
and all this coming upon them in some manner mex
plainable, there comes with 1t sadness, sCrrD" ana us
tress. When tens Of thousands in distress are multiplied
into hundreds OF thousands, then there is mat general
feeling that comes as If some great chloroformins proc
ess had settled down upon the nation. In the MIDST
of 1t all we hear the cry of the creditor: PAY N honest
dollars, maintain your credit as a people, Inc people
redouble their energies. They are all honest 1hey want
TO do what is right, whether real or seeming, but the task
of producing enough property to purchase the enhanced
dollar is too great, and they finally surrender their pos
sessions into the hands of their creditors.
The result is terrible in Its consequences to the Amer
lean republic, as like selfish laws have been 10 all former
republics. The census bulletins show thit tehahry
in this country Is increasing at an alarming proportion,
disproportiOnate with the increase in population anu
that those renting homes in the city OF Ne" 1orA
are now "a per cent. of the whole-and tins cohuluoh
rapidly sweeping westward.
With this alarming increase in tenantry, Win lorelSn
creditors now the owners of millions of acres Of our lands
and billions of dollars of our debts, with an alarming III
crease In the number of inmates in our penltentaries'
Jails and insane asylums, and an alarming increase III
the number Of suicides, disproportionate to the increase
in population. all portendinG the breaking down OF our
civilization, what do the men on the other she Oh tniS
question say in reply to it?
THE ACT OF 1873.
They say that the Bland-AIison act OF 1878 restored
the legal tender character of the silver dollar.
The answer is this:
That act did not open the minis or restore the debtors
option. 1t nominaIly restored the legal tender character
OF the silver dollar, but in fact did not do so. 1t pro
vided for It's legal tender except where otherwise pro-
vided In the contract" Such a provision delegated 10
the individual to say what was legal tender money,
whereas, before the government had dictated what was
legal tender, and provided for it from both metals. The
act of 1873 was taken advantage of by the money lender
to food the country with notes, bonds and mortgages,
payable in gold. and since then billions of dollars of our
debts have become payable in gold money by written
contracts. The act of 1878 carried the act of 1873 from
statutory law into the written contracts OF the country.
They were afraid the act OF 1913 might De repeated ana
they wished to cloak themselves under the constitutional
provision providing against the impairment of the obi
cation of contracts. The act of 1878 is worse than the act
of 1873. The debtor, as Il rule, has nothing to say when
executing a note. The creditor, as L rule, can dictate the
terms Of the note. The act of 1873, though
presumably restoring the legal tender of silver, gave to
the creditor the option as to which OF the two moneys
he was to be paid in. When the creditor has The option he
demands the dedrer of the two metals, and ehe dearer ii
gets the more apt he is to demand it. Mis forces the
commercial parity of the two metals apart, whereas, be-
fore 1873. the debtor had the option, gave it to the weaker
metal, if either was, and thus maintained them at d
parity.
LARGE COINAGE OF SILVER.
They say tlref las been a larger coinage o. silver since
1873 than ever before.
The answer is this: Under a redemption monetary sys-
TEN, the quantity of representative money issued, should
not exceed in volume the quantity of redemption money
In the country. Not in the national treasury, but in the
nation, among the people; for, it is presumed that if the
government needs it, it can borrow it from its citizens.
When a nation borrows from the people of a foreign ma
ton, it is only a question of time. if long continued, when
it will cease t. ? ot sar as snfh on nation; "a IanrescOtot,ve
money is issued, il shakes confidence in the ability of
the government to redeem it, and general confusion and
unsoundness may be given to a financial system thereby.
-.t. H. zDou r-, -Al,ool tn Ia no.ition Of ron |
resentative money, the issue of any quantity of it in the
form of representative money had no effect in building up
our stock of primary money. Since 1873 the government
has purchased silver, and coined 1t into a representative
money. There is no Judgment displayed in buying Il
costly metal to coin it into token or representative money.
It would answer the same purpose to CON our token
money from lead, tin. nickel, or other substance. So
long as 1t is redeemable in gold, or made subsidiary to
gold, the issuance of any quantity of it will not restore
the foundation of our financial system. Npplausel
EXPLOITATION OF SILVER AND COLD.
They say that under bimetallism, when there is a diff
ference in the commercial parity Of the two metals at the
legal ratio, of one, two or three per cent the cheaper
metal will take the place Of the dearer metal and the
latter will be exported to foreign countries.
The answer TO that is this: If we are not in debt to for
.,pu countries at such a time, it is true thai most of our
silver, II at a premium of three per cent. over gold, as it
was Just prior to 1878, is shipped to foreign countries in
exchange for gold at three per cent. premium, and the
gold S added to our our stock of metallic money. But
this .oes not lessen the quantity of metallic money in
this country, but, on the contrary. increases it by the
three per cent. premium obtained for our silver. Where
prior to 1873, we received from foreign countries three
per cent. premium on our silver, we are now selling it to
foreign countries at 80 per cent. discount. (LonS APP
plause) Last year we sold to foreign countries mt Il free
coinage valuation, 49, 100000 worth of silver for about
E3S, OOO, 900, whereas under blmetalHc conditions QSI2,
we would have received about ST 100000 for it.
II we are in debt to foreign nations after an exchange
of products-a balancing of exports and impOrts-we set
tie with them In gold or silver. Under bimetallism we
ship them in settlement the dearer metal, if either is,
aud keep the other metal for our own use as money.
Either answers our purpose for primary money. Under
these conditions, prior to 1873, when gold was the dearer,
we shipped them our gold, and when silver was the
dearer, say, as it was just prior to 1873, at n premium of
3 per cent, we shipped them our silver, and with each
dollar shipped. we settled a dollar and three cents worth
of debt. tCries of Good, Goodr' and applause) As it is
now, with each dollar shipped we settle only 80 cents of
our debts.
Thus we see that the dearer metal leaving us is to our
advantage, and not to our disadvantage. In the first in
stance-where we are not in debit does not lessen the
quantity of primary money among us, but rather ill.,
crea SOS II In the second instance, it enables us the more |