Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1897-01-22

that the manufacturing and agricultural
Industries in silVer-using countries are
advancing by leaps and bounds while in
England and other gold-usng countries
they are mostly stagnant and declining. 90
And again we said, page So:
"This effect of the new money stand.
ard of the world upon manufactures and
commerce is so extraordinary and far
reaching that we allow more space to
its discussion. Should present cundi.
tons be maintained, 1t promises to revo-
lutiOnize the trade of the world. And
even already the seeds are sown that
will to greater or less extent produce
this result"
We will add comments of Sir Henry
Thompson, as they are very pertinent, as
follows:
Sir Henry Meysey-Thompson ably
comments on these articles as follows:
Nov, having read these papers,
hope we have all made up our minds
"O) That we do wish the home and
principal seat of the great manufacture
Ing industries of the world-the cotton,
woollen, wOrsted, linen, jute, iron and
steel, machinery, glass, pottery, leather,
clothing and many others-should con-
tinue to be in the United Kingdom, as
hitherto, and that they should be carried
on by English, Scotch, Irish and Welsh
workmen; and we do not wish to see
them banishtd to the soil of India, China,
Japan and Mexico and carried on by
Indian, Chinese, japanese and Mexican
workmen.
seq That, at this present actual mo-
ment, work is being done by Indian, Chi
nese, japanese and Mexican workmen,
which would have been at this present
actual moment in the hands of English,
Scotch, Irish and Welsh workmen. if the
divergence of value between silver and
gold had not taken place, or if the En-
glish government did not obstinately op-
pose any reform of the present monetary
laws.
"(3) That it is certain that our pres
ent monometallic policy must tend to
drive these industries away from the
soil of the United Kingdom and cause
them to be carried on, instead, on the
soil of India, China and Japan.
Now, as the Punishment of these
manufacturing industries would be ire
mendous loss to England and other gold
using countries, let us see if we can find
any advantage which they gain by the
them for this loss.
LET us take first the case of the other
god-using countries of Europe, which
are mostly what are called debtor coun-
tries. 1t seem to me that they are al
most entirely losers by the present mon
etary system and that the attitude of
these countries towards the question
would seem absolutely imcOmprehensi-
bic to any one who lost sight of the fact
that the interests of peoples and of gov
ernments are not always Identical.
Here you have States owing large
sums of money in the form of national
debts, on which interest has to be paid
annually in gold. Every producer in the
country has to lay aside every year a
certain portion of what he produces, in
order to pay his share of the interest on
the debt. How much of his produce he
has to lay aside depends upon price,
that is to say, on whether gold is plen-
tiful and cheap, or scarce and dear If
plentiful and cheap, he has to give little
produce; if scarce and dear, he has to
give a great deal.
NOW if these countries had had. in
stead of paying gold to their creditors,
to pay an annual tribute of so many
tons of lead to one country, let us sup
pose England, the situation would then
have been grasped at once. Everyone
would have seen at once that the pro-
portion of his produce which he would
have to give annually to buy his share
of the lead would depend on whether
lead was plentiful and cheap, or scarce
and dear, and the supply of lead in the
world would have become at once Il
source of interest to every taxpayer.
LII
offer rewards for the discovery of new
sources of lead-suppy and to give sub
sides to lead-miners. Anyone who dis
covered a substitute for the use of lead
would be looked upon as public bene-
factor, while anyone who wasted lead
unnecessarily would be looked upon
as an enemy to his county.
Yet though abundance or scarcity of
the metal in question has exactly the
same effect on the producer, whether the
tribute has to be paid in lead or gold,
what has been the most surprising atti-
tude of debtor-goYernments toward this
question?
mot only have they done nothing to
encourage an increase in the supply of
gold, but they have themselves, gone
into the market, and, setting up gold
standard and coinage, raised the price of
gold against themselves and their own
subjects, by making that scarcer and
dearer which was already scarce and
dear enough.
you will say this was the work of
madmen'; and so it would have been if
it had been done by the people them
selves; it was NOT, however, done by the
people, but by the governments.
"Personally, think foreign govern
ments are most to blame for not having
had the pluck to form an international
agreement for the use of silver and gold
among themselves together with the
United States of America. leaving out
England altogether. However that may
be, cannot help thinking that the dl.
vergence of value between silver and
gold has been almost an unmixed evil to
ali gold using countries outside England.
"NOw let us take the case of England
and try to finu some cOmpensating ad-
vantages for the loss of employment to
her manufacturers and workmen. You
may naturally say, what other countries