Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1896-03-21
AN OBJECT LESSON.
Japan Furnishcs an Example of tho I'm
practicabIlIty of Freo silvcr.


practicability of Free Silver.
Col. John A. Cockerill, who has been
in japan for the past year as corre-
spandent of the New York Herald,
writes to that paper from Tokyo con-
cerning the distress and business dis
organization which has come upon that
country through the attempt to main
tain bimetallism with free silver coin
age.
The unit of Jauanese coinage is the
yen. The gold yen is a little lighter
than our gold dollar, and is worth 96
cents; the silver yen is n little heavier
than our silver dollar; the latter con-
tains 412h grains of standard silver,
while the silver yen contains 416 grains
of the same fineness.
OF course, the Japanese law makes
both the gold yen and the silver yen
legal tender, ut the same value. The
government, however, does not hold the
silver yen up to the standard of the gold
yen, as our government holds the
silver dollar up TO its face value. The
result has been that within the past
five years the purchasing power of the
silver yen has deprecated steadily, un-
VALUE ut so cents. The gold yen,
of course, maintains it's value at par, or
96 cents.
AS is always the case in any country
where there are two kinds of currency,
prices have been measured in the
cheaper kind since the two parted COM
pany in value. Values are given in the
deprecated silver yen; the gold yen has
disappeared as money, and is boarded
ns commodity. It's function as cur
rency has been lost
Slowly the prices of goods advanced,
as measured by the silver yen. An
article that cost the buyer one yen n few
years ago now sells for two yens. That
is, its real price remains the same, but
the fall in the worth of the silver yen has
been such that it takes two of them to
buy what one would buy when it was at
par with the gold yen.
AS is always the case, the prices of
everything else adjusted themselves to
the deprecated currency before wages
and salaries did The man who worked
for pay got as many silver yens as be-
fore, but each yen would go only half
as far in buying. In actual effect, wages
were slowly scaled down to about one
half. Now a realization of the real facts
has come upon the people, and they are
endeavoring to obtain raise in wages.
With the gradual decline in value of the
silver yen, business has been demoral-
lied, and japan is now entering upon a
season of depression and hard times.
Col. Cockerill says:
'It has taken the people and the busi-
ness world here quite a time to readjust
themselves, but they are at 1t now with
a vengeance. The penalty of deprecated
- currency is now being paid. For tho last
four months there has been a steady de-
mand upon the part of salaried men for
an increase of pay which would enable
them to live comfortably. AS the purchas-
ing power of money has grown less the
prices of commodities and the necessaries
of life have steadily increased The gov
ernment led Off recently by doubling the
salaries of all its forenign employees. This
has been followed by a number of big
corporations.
"They have yielded to the demands of
their people after the usual struggle. and
this Is the beginning. Wages are every
where being pushed up, and in all branches
where skill is required, men are lying
down on their contracts and begging for
concessions. Bankruptcy confronts thou
sands of honorable business men. The de-
preston is not due in any sense to the war
made money during her war. The gov
ernment is richer than 1t ever was. The
decline OF silver has upset everything,
and great uncertainty attends all busi-
ness enterprise. The first thing that a
business man does in the morning is to
look at the value of the huctuating dol
lar 1t may be worth b2 cents or 1t may
bo worth 40. Exchange fiutters and shifts.
and considerable sums are lost to CONNER
cial men every day II they have foreign
trade relations. Japan could not go to
a gold basis, no matter how much she
tried. That would mean universal bank
ruptcy.
Her general finances are deplorable,
and the condition must grow worse un-
til business Is settled down to the basis
of a 50-cent dollar. Not a business con-
Germ in Japan will escape the effect of this
curtailment of profit incidental to a 81
per cent. increase in salaries and wages.
The man who encourages q silver basis
for the people of the United States by
pointing to Japan as a glorious example
is simply deceiving himself and his coun-
trymen."
The United States has been a gold
standard country since 1853, except dur
ing the war, when we were on n depre-
ciated and fuctuating greenback cur
rency. There is not an obligation in eX-
istence that was not contracted on a
gold basis. The wild theories of the
silver men do not stand the test of actual
practice. Japan is an example of the
truth of the matter. Our people should
profit by that example, and not rush
hcadlong into bankruptcy and an era
of harder times than we now have
Toledo Blade.
National Revenue and Gold Reserve.
1t has been urged in some quarters
that the dwindling gold reserve is due
70 the deficits of our budgets; that, il
the revenue were increased sufficiently
the gold reserve could be maintained
intact There are only two ways by