The record-union., 1897-07-09

pot test, my friends, is no test at
all. l have heard people say that a
gold dollar was always worth 100 cents.
Why? Why, because the law says that
cent is the one-hundredth part of a
dollar, and therefore a dollar must be
100 cents. And when people talk of
the melting pot test they ignore the
fact that the melting pot test can only
be tried successfully when the law gives
free and unlimited coinage to the met
al; the melting pot test ignores the one
important thing in a dollar. What is
the important thing in dollar? Moth
ing but its purchasing power. A dol
lar is Of no value until it leaves you,
and when it leaves you its value is
measured by it's purchasing power.
The test of honesty is therefore found
in the purchasing power and yet the
melting pot test ignores it entirely.
According to the gold bug definition
no matter whether the dollar buys little
or much, no matter whether there are
few dollars or many dollars, just SO you
can melt a dollar without loss, it is
an honest dollar, according to that
definition.
If you could increase the volume of
currency until we had one hundred
times as much money as we have now
1t would still be honest money if you
could melt it without loss If you de-
crease the currency until we only had
only one dollar where we now have one
hundred it would still be honest money
according to the gold standard defini-
ton because you could melt it without
loss.
l lay down definition of an honest
dollar. 1 say that an honest dollar
would be a dollar whose average pur-
chasing power is the same yesterday,
to-day and forever, and that is the only
Kind of honest money there can be.
If we had that kind of dollar then
L would pay my debt in dollars which
would buy the same as the dollars bor-
rowed. If dollars fall in purchasing
power you would call them dishonest
admit it. But if dollars raise in pur-
chasing power 1 charge that they are
also dishonest, anad you must admit
that. (Applause).
What we want is stability in pur-
chasing power What we want is
dollar which WILL as nearly as possible,
buy the same on an average year af-
ter year.
Now, my friends, of what advantage
is that sort of a dollar? Why. when
you have a dollar whose purchasing
power remains substantially the same
you have a dollar that does justice be-
tween borrower and lender A dollar
which treats all classes of society alike,
dollar which brings to no one an ad-
TO
that kind of a dollar then when crops
are large prices will be lower, but low
er prices and larger crops will bring to
the farmer substantially the same re-
suit that he would have obtained from
smaller crops and higher prices If
prices We're on a level then the farmer
compensates himself one year for the
loss which he might suffer another
year. But if prices are falling year
after year there is no compensation. If
dollars are rising year after year then
the money owing and the money chang
ing claSs-the holders of fixed invest
ments-gain year after year an advan-
tage which their contract does not call
for, and the debtor suffers an injury
which is unjust to him. What is the
result? Why, you gradually transfer
the wealth produced by the many into
the hands and pockets of the few.
What is the result? The result is that
the holder of the mortgage takes the
farm and the farmer becomes the ten
ant. The result is that landlordism in
creases and tenancy increases. af
firm that there is nothing that will
threaten the existence of our nation so
much fhn oE
and tenancy among the people. CAP
plause).
Let me illustrate the effect Of this
changing standard: Suppose some
young man with a young wife starts
out TO build a home. They save some
thing from their labors. They have the
laudable ambition to own a home. They
find piece of property worth $4,000.
They save up a thousand; they pay
thousand down and give a mortgage
for the other thousand, and they start
out to earn enough money from that
farm to raise the mortgage and own the
home free from incumbrance. NV
friends, of all the classes in this coun-
try there is not a class which deserves
more encouragement at the hands of
Government than the class of home
builders, and there is nothing that an
peals to the patriotic citizen more than
the humble cottage where true loving
souls are starting out to form the unit
OF our society and to bring civilization
to a higher ground. (Applause.)
Suppose that when that mortgage has
been given a few people get together
and decide that the dollar does not buy
enough; decide they want a dollar of
the largest purchasing power; decide
to make the dollar buy twice as much
as it did before? How can they bring
about that result? BY quietly con-
trolling the currency they can make
dollars dearer, by making dollars
scarce, they can make dollars so dear
that each dollar viii purchase twice as
much of the products of toll as it did
before. But what is the result? Why.
when this farmer sells his crop he finds
that it takes twice as much of his crop
to buy the same number of dollars.
When the dollars are twice as much
in purchasing power he finds that his
taxes don't go down, but that it takes
just twice as much of his crop to pay
his taxes. He finds that his interest
does not go down, but that it takes
NHASC oS hluCH VI HiS crop 10 pay MS
interest, and when the taxes and in
terest and fixed charges refuse to fall
he finds that it is impossible to make
payments upon the principle, and what
is the result? Why, when he wants
the mortgage extended he is told that
land has fallen in value because the
crops have fallen in value; he is told
that his farm is no longer good Sc
curity for thousand dollars. He can
not go elsewhere to borrow a thousand