The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-04-09

|
dlsoouraging market. From 1874 to 1894
was not the epoch of our great labor saw
| ing machines, nor Of the most profitable
development OF our railroads. In that
tlme we have reached and been compelled
to abandon vast areas or arid land only
oulsivatibls by irrigation. In that time
our great railroads have been for the most
part reorganizing, contracting and arrest
ing their extension.
The fact Is that from the close of our
| great OWL war to 1879 when, having re-
sumed the use Of specie currency, we
began TO feel the effects of our impolitic
| legislation against silver, the occupation
Oh FARMING lands, the extension OF rail-
ways the establishment of manufactur-
ing plants had been most active and
rapld, the very conditions which should
nave brought on production and
covering low FIN !. OF tbs prices OF commodities,
aho yet the reverse was true and there
had been In our country and the world
an enhancement of prices.
| The only way to determine whether
money is in excess is to observe the gen.
eral levei of prices fo- nlerchantable COM
M mo % Very great inorements Of silver
or OF gold, and their ready conversion
| into money by free-coinage cannot act
dlsastrously upon values or upon the re-
| latlon OF debtors and creditors until they
begin to affect general prices. Over-pro-
auction is impossible SO long as this
symptom Of danger has not shown itself
Coined money, having been fixed upon
| first by convention ultimately by law RS
a symbol of abstract value-that ID value
In any puTchasable thing-can have no
Intrinsic val ue of its own. Its only
| value is in the phrchaseahle things it will
| buy As money determines the value of
commodities SO necessarily commodities
determine the value of money. II COM
modities are in excess money is dear, if
money Is In excess commodities are dear.
Ehe quantity of active money in the
world in relation to the quantity of pur-
chaseable commodities always determines
their prices and conversely, the quantity
OF purohaseable commodities fixes the
value of money. In this scale however
must be placed not only circulating coins
put all paper representatives Of coins,
but there must be- excluded as we'll ali
inactive boards of coins and bullion, and
all reserves if you have already reckoned
circulating notes, bills or checks to the
payment of which they are pledged. AS
this volume of active money is both the
measure and the legal equivalent of all
saleable commodities, the value and price
of each Is always determined by the guam
tity of each in relation to the other, and
in no other way.
To talk about the intrinsic value Of
money as measured by gold, to call sill
yer dollar, that is clothed by law with the
attribute of legal tender, "a fifty cent
dollar" or "a cheap dollaro or "a dis
honest dollar" Is az irrelevant as to talk
about its specific gravity, or it's electrical
conduotivity.
Surely the coincidence between the price
OF silver bullion and of merohantable
commodities in all stages of their mutual
decline, was something very remarkable
and would have suggested ssto any mind
not distorted by prejudice, the relation
|; of cause and effect.
| a Of no do
cline in general prices with consequent
paralysis Of industry, and decline in pros
| perity are still more remarkable. If one
could get over the queerness that the COM
mercial disaster began In 1874 when the
heaviest legislative blows were inflicted
} on silver, and attained it's climax in
1894, just after all palliating and mitigat-
ing expedients had been definitely aban-
doned, how can he account for the unique
phenomenon, that the punishment seems
to fall upon the gold-standard countries
alone, while the silver standard countries
not only escaped, but entered upon q
} career OF singular prosperity? England,
Australia. Canada, and the United States
ali strictly gold standard countries
complain of chronic depression, of hard
times the fourth year of which shows no
signs of mitigation. Germany, France,
Austria, 1taly-all too on gold basis,
but maintaining large silver oircula-
tion and freely using their large stocks
J of silver as a reserve for their paper cir
culation-have suffered less. Mexico,
Argentina, India, Japan. even China are
permeated with enterprise. and under
the stimulus Of free silver ara entering
vigorously into competition with Europe
and the United States, not only in tho
production OF wheat and coutop, but in
the whole range of manufactured pro,
ducts.
Surely since the terrible plague that
fell on equally obstinate and pig headed
Egypt, when the Lord smote all the first
born in the land from the first born of
Pharoah. that sat on his throne, unto the
, first born of the captive that was in the
dungeon, and all the first born of cattle !;
while against any of the Children of Israel
n OF dog moved his tongue against man
or beast, " there never has been world
calamity 40 strictly, so pcetically dis
criminate, In its vengeance.
6. E. TALBOT.