The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1896-10-23

AA oSe Va SAC DA1ClSA
passed in the year 1874, SO years ago,
requires the Bank of England to pur-
chase all the gold presented to it at
three pounds, seventeen shillings and
nine pence per ounce. That fixes the
price all over the world, less the cost of
transportation to London. So that it's
price is not governed by its intrinsic
value, Tut by an act of parliament; and
this makes it in that sense fat money. |
Money is the creature of law. The |
material of which it is made is not
money until made so by law, whether
lit be gold or silver or paper. The gov
ernment or the banks issue their notes |
to circulate as money. These notes
have no intrinsic value. Their being
money arises from the fact that their
issue is authorized by law, the promise
to redeem them in coin, and, in some
cases, the making of them legal ten
der. So that it is the operation of the
law which makes money, and not the
material of which it is composed;
though gold and silver are recognized
las more suitable material out OF which
to make money than anything else.
II gold and silver bullion were money,
why the laws of this and other coun-
tries defining the degree Of fneness Of
the metal, the amount of alloy in the
coins, their weight and the value of
each coin, and making them a legal
tender?
/ The falsehood resorted to by the gold
standard advocates has for it's object
to deceive the American people into
voting for policy by which one-halt
of the standard money of this country
was stricken down, thus reducing the
volume of the money which fixed the
values of all the, other property, from
$7,500,00O,o00 to $3,25O,O0O,0OO; and
making corresponding reduction In
property values; paralyzing industry,
arresting enterprise, rendering agri-
culture, the controlling industry of this
country, unproi!table; producing an
amount of financial distress never
, before known in this country,
and causing tens of thousands
of men to be denied employment
md their families to suffer for the want
of the necessaries of life, and causing
those who still have work to work on
short time, and filling the country with
itramps. All this wrong and suffering
in order to increase the value of bonds
/ and other credits and money in the
! hands of the rich while sinking the
great mass Of the people, the working
people, the common people, the real
creators of wealth, deeper and deeper
| into Il $oh
VIII the people allow themselves to
be deceived by such device into helps
Ing to perpetuate the gold standard
policy, and to put themselves into q
condition Of financial slavery to the,
money changers and aristocrats of;
America and Europe?
The man who talks about b0-cent dol
lars shows his ignorance on the subject:
pr, II he is not ignorant, that he is at
tempting by falsehood and fraud to de-
ceive others to their great injury.
You may inquire what influence Z
think the free and unlimited coinuge'
ct silver ct the ratio ct 1e to will have
on the purchasing power of gold and
silver money. If such coinage shall in.
crease the volume Of circulating money
the effect will be, to the extent of that
increase, to raise the prices of commod-
tiles, and in the same proportion to re-
duce the purchasing power Of money.
Stated In another way, 1t will make
property dearer and money cheaper in
proportion to the amount Of the in
crease Of the volume Of money. And
this is the reason why the plutocrats
so earnestly oppose free coinage. It. is
their policy and to their interest to
have dear money and cheap property
and labor. While it is to the interest
and should be the policy of the indus
trial classes who make the wealth of
the country, who have sufficient sup
ply of money to stimulate enterprise
and industry, and make the country
prosperous and the people contented
and happy. And by restoring silve: as
a part of the standard money the de-
mand for gold will be esomewhat reduced,
and it will, to that extent, be less va]ua-
BILE as compared with the property of the
country. But the free coinage of silver
will cause no serious disturbance to the
business Of the country.
JOHN H. REAGAN.
When did the millionaires and money
changers of New York become ths
champions of labor and higher wages