The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1897-04-30
The DIFFERENCE
what Might Have Been UndeF
Double Standard.


Double Standard.
A correspondent has suggested the I
question of what the difference is be
tween the. times we are having now and l
what might be were we under laws
fayOring a real bimetanism.
In the first place, says the Minneap- |
oils Press, in answer to this question, I
it is necessary TO give the reason for the /
failure Of prosperity to return.
Since supply and demand regulates /
the value of money tits not strange that
money is constantly increasing in value
when it is remembered that the per
capita circulation Of money is steadily |
decreasing. Not only is the capital
circulation decreasing, but the volume |
of money is steadily decreasing. Money |
is destroyed in a thousand different /
ways, it is carried out of the country /
by tourists, it IS lost and shipped abroad |
to pay the tremendous interest charge |
on American securities held in Europe. |
Then there is almost a complete cessa-
ton of the manufacture of money by |
the government. True, there have been |
silver dollars coined since the repeal of !
the Sherman act, but this has been done /
to use up the stock of silver bullion
which had been accumulated while that |
law was in force; that stock is now
practically exhausted and the coinage
of silver viii cease when it is used up.
There is no law permitting the gov
eminent to buy silver for coinage, and |
hence the crop of dollars will be a fail |
ure from now on, and they viii in
crease in value faster than ever under |
these conditions. Meanwhile the popu- |
lation is steadily increasing and a con-
stantly increasing supply of money is
demanded to keep pace with the in
crease Of the population.
We see the effect Of the increase in !
the value of money in constantly falling
prices, and month after month it takes
more of commodities to buy a dollar. |
When a man knows to a dead certainty, |
therefore, that money invested in prop
eTty can't be taken out again except az
a loss, he will refuse to invest his CAPT |
tai, and this is just the trouble with
business at the present time. This
country is cursed by a falling market
in everything but money, and men of
good business judgment never did and
never will invest their money on fall
ing market. In these times money
grows and fattens in idIeness and men
are content to let their capital lie idle
because it is profitable to do so.
But supposing a free coinage measure
to have been passed. The first thing
done would have been to stop paying
gold for greenbacks long enough TO
break this endless chain which troubles
gold standard men. This would have
stopped the drain on the gold in the
treasury.
With a prospect for a greatly in
creased price for silver, every silver
mine that was ever profitable would be
in full operation at the present time
or ready to start up, This would make
demand on the manufacturing indus
tries of the country to furnish supplies
needed in the mining districts, and they
would also be running on full time,
giving work to thousands OF idle men.
Moneyed men would have been facing
the prospect of cheaper money, which
would mean that their cash would be
falling rapidly in purchasing power,
and before it reached the bottom they
would have been climbing over each
other to get their wealth into a prop
erty form, while men with property
would have been anxious to hold it, as
it would be rising rapidly in price. The
papers would have been filled with adj
yertisements for real estate, instead
Of advertisements of lots for sale at
your own price" All delinquent taxes
would be paid. The air would be full
Of business projects and schemes for
the employment Of idle capital. Since
money could be invested proftably,
men would refuse to loan it except at
rate of interest which yielded a return
equal to that promised by investments
and rates of interest would therefore
rise to the. legal limit.
A given piece of property would COM
mand twice as great a loan as at pres
ent aud Ioaners would loan close up to
the value of the property. This years
crops would bring double the price that
will be received for them, and the farm
ers would already be preparing to spend
the surplus which they would hold
after fixed charges were paid. They
would be in the market for things
which they cannot afford now, and this
would stimulate the manufacture of
those things and in turn give employ
ment to more idle men.
Space viii not permit us to point
out in detail all the changes which
would take place, but when once a man
gets into his head the fact that supply
and demand is the ruling factor in bust
ness and that it controls the value of
money just as certainly as il controls
the price of commodities he will soon
reason the whole problem out and be-
come an ardent advocate for an in
creased supply of money, and incident
ally for the free and unlimited coinage
of gold and silver.