The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-07-08
THE MEANING OF IT..
Why England Favors Gold Mono
metalism.
SHE GETS OUR PRODUCTS FOR
HALF PRICE.
That Accounts. For the Milk in the
COcoanut.

From Philadelphia American:
The demonetization Of silver was con-
ceived and carried out by the creditor
classes intent on increasing the purchasing
power Of gold and thereby increasing the
value of all debts. Just as gold has ap-
preciated and prices have fallen, an un-
just tribute has been laid on all debtors,
and this tribute the creditor classes have
enjoyed.
The discarding Of silver as money
metal, leading to the appreciation Of gold
and consequent fall Of prices has doubled
the quantity Of produce that we must ex-
port in payment Of interest charges to our
foreign creditors. We are required to give
our foreign creditors two bushels of wheat
and two pounds Of cotton where justice
requires but one. The labor cost Of pro-
ducing cotton and wheat has not fallen
with the fall in price. It takes as much
expenditure of labor and energy to raise
the bushel Of wheat and bale Of cotton to-
day as twenty years ago. yet the debt
paying power Of wheat and cotton. as OF
commodities in general, has been cut In
half by the fall in prices, fall due, not
to Ncheapening Of production. not to any
natural increase Of competition, but to the
appreciation Of gold. And this a,pprecia-
tion Of gold has been engineered by the
creditor classes with the purpose Of de-
pressing prices, and thus doubling the sac
rifice of labor, and the products OF labor,
which their debtors must surrender to
them in satisfaction of their debts.
Thus, when their debtors have remained
solvent, the creditor classes have been
benefited by the fall in prices And In
don, or rather the traffickers in credit, are
alI-powerful. To the creditor classes OF
Great Britain the whole world is In debt
to aH~amount estimated by none at less
than SO, 900, ,00O, 900 and by some as high az
$40, 900, ,OO0.0O Some idea of the immensity
Of the Indebtedness of the rest Of the
world to England can be formed by
study of the trade statistics Of Great Brit
ain. AS we had occasion to state last
week, Great Britain's purchases Of COM
modities for the year 1895 exceeded her
exports to the value Of f130, ,547, ,693. This
much more she bought than she sold. yet
she was not called upon to export any gold
in payment. On the contrary, she Inn
ported gold to an amount of f14,736,715 in
excess Of her imports. And why? Simply
because the worlds Indebtedness to LON
don, on account of interest payments and
freights earned by British ship owners
from foreigners, and representing interest
on British capial invested in ships and
Offset the immense adverse balance Of
f13O,547,693 incurred on account of pur-
chases made by Great Britain in excess Of
her sales. So, instead of England being
called upon to export gold in payment for
her tremendous imports Of merchandise In
excess Of exports the United States and
other debtor nations, failing to export
commodities to sufficient volume to meet
their Indebtedness in entirety were obliged
to send her gold for the balance. Here,
then, we have tribute OF the debtor ma
tions Of the world to the creditor classes
Of Great Britain Of over 500, ,000, ,000-a
sum representing at per cent interest on
- principal of 81, 500, 100000.
Such is the tribute the debtor nations Of
the world are under to Great Britain. The
further prices fall the greater will be the
number of bushels Of wheat, Of pounds OF
cotton and wool and Of other products that
this $7CO, ,OO0, 900 Of annual tribute will buy
and the greater to debtor nations will be
the burden Of this tribute. The apprecia~
ton of gold, which has cut prices in half,
has in effect practically doubled this trtb-
ute.
When our foreign creditors are ready to
voluntarily diminish this tribute by aid
ing in the restoration Of bimetallism with
view to checking the fall in prices, then
Mr.. Whitney tells us it will be time enough
for us to think of restoring bimetallism.
But when may we expect the British gov
ernment controlled as 1t is by the creditor
classes to cooperate in the restoration Of
bimetallism? When will these creditor
classes voluntarily abandon a policy that
so long as their debtors remain solvent en-
riches them?
Surely it is folly to wait for those who
benefit from an appreciating dollar to CO.
operate with us in restoring bimetallism.
It is true that, in the long run. the Inn
moral is often the inexpedient, and that
gold monometallism, II persisted in. will
end In the ina bility Of debtors to pay either
interest or principal. But the creditor
classes of Great Britain will never advo-
cate bimetallism until they have succeeded
in confiscating the property of their debt
ors. Then, as owners OF property, their
interests will be in restoring bimetaljism
and raising prices; but not before. If we
wait upon Great Britain, we will walt un-
| til the property Of our industrial classes
has been confiscated by foreign money
| lenders; until our producing classes have
been bankrupted and reduced to poverty,
misery and despair; and until the foreign,
| bondholder, who now lays tribute upon US,
| has given place to a foreign landlord.
ready to lay tribute upon us in his new
| role.
rrnnv cnNNOrr nv pEr rODn