Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-02-26

A
show you that the world actually pro-
duced more gold In the twenty years pre-
ceding 1873 than II did in the twenty years
succeeding 1873. will you not then admit
that the value OF gold must have en-
hanced2' The speaker then, by quoting
statistics. proved his assertion to be cor
rect.
DEMAND OUTRUNS THE SUPPLY.
las long as the demand for money out
runs the supply" continued Mr.. Bailey
the value OF 1t must rise. and as the
value OF II rises the price Of property
must fall. That Is a truism in finance.
They tell you that we deny the law OF
supply and demand. We answer that we
are the only men in the land who con-
tinually assert II. My fellow-citizens,
they constantly admit that the supply Is
insufficient. They admit 1t when they tell
you you do not need money in the ordi-
nary transactions Of life. They adj
init. then, that the supply is In
sufficient. You let the conditions OF trade
begin TO draw the gold out OF this coun-
try. Who are the first men to cry out in
alarm? Not the farmers, not the mer-
chants. and not the ordinary business
men. The first men to cry out In alarm
because gold is leaving the country are
the bankers and spectators OF Wall
street They do not enquire why IL Is
going. 1t may be going to pay the ex-
travagant travelling expenses OF those
nabobs who think Europe is better
country to live in. 1t may be going to
paw for those titles that foolish Ameri-
can girls buy In foreign lands. CLaugh-
teri No matter where IL goes, the fact
is that it has gone, and those very men
ask us to believe that the supply Of gold
is sufficient. Now / put the question 70
them: III we have gold enough In TINS
country, then we have gold enough 70
pay our debts to foreign countries, and
why be alarmed? But instead Of trusting
Il TO gold, they rush over to Washington
to restore confidence by issuing bonds 10
get back the gold-a new method, con-
fess, OF restoring confidence, by increasing
your debt. Why do they do II? Simply
because they are afraid for the gold 10
20 out Of the country.
INSUFFICIENCY OF SUPPLY.
1--WE had perhaps, the most remarkable
and forcible admission Of the insufnclency
Of the gold supply about two years ago.
A Secretary Of the Treasury, finding me
gold reserve depleted, desired to replenish
H. Did he take the bonds and offer them
To the world for gold? He did not, pc
cause he knew the sensitiyeness or the
gold market He knew that II ne went
into the open markets OF the world with
the bonds of the greatest government on
earth In his hands, offering 10 buy
$50 100000 Of gold. IL might precipltate Z
panic So he went into dark room, ana
i'm secret conference mOrtgaged the en-
ergy of unborn generations. 1t was also
stipulated i'm that agreement that me
Treasury Department was not TO disclose
the fact that half of that gold was
to be brought from foreign countries.
why that stipulation? That contract was
made with the most expert bullion deal
ers on earth, the Rothschilds Of Liver
pool and Hamburg.
PURCHASING POWER ITS VALUE
IF we turn from this theoretical argu-
ment" continued the speaker, that the
supply of gold is insufficient 20 meet the
demand for it, and therefore the value OF
il has risen. we will find our conclusions
abundantly verified in the experiences of
everyday life. We find that gold VIII
buy twice as much to-day as II old IN
1873 when il was made our standard OF
value The value of money is its pur-
chasing power" said the speaker. De
stroy the purchasing power or money,
and every miser's chest on earth Wculd
be unlocked tomorrow, ana those I'M I'M
happy men would give to little children
for playthings the precious COINS Ior
which they now forfeit their immortal
souls. When / declare that the value OF
money has doubled in the Last twenty
five years, 1 am only required TO prove
that the purchasing power o. Il has u0u-
bIed. DO | need to detain this ,ntelh-
gent audience with elaborate argumt nj
TO prove that to be the truth? 20 ask
the merchant, go ask me LII I,s dn,,,h tIL
upon an average, it will not buy double
as much of the product OF Dis farm as
II would in 1873. But our gOld-s tandard
friends say that while Ii be true tnat
money VIII Duy TWICE. - ~ ~ -
because money is worth double, but be,
cause property Is worth half, ana
they do not seem to understand that they
are simply saying the same thing IN
different way. They say what we mem
is that money buys twice as many COM
modities now as II did in 1873 Not be
cause we have too little money but De-
cause we have too many commodities.
In other words, they allege that the
cause of falling prices is not the uhuSI-
production Of gold, compared 10 the de-
mand for il, but IL is the overproduction
Of commodities, as compared 10 the ue-
mand for them. Is that trueY Have
manufactured goods fallen until they are
only worth half what they used to be,
because more are being produced than
needed? If so, why are you asking the
people to increase the tarin so that we
may increase our factoriesE III our SHOPS
and factories have all overstocked the
market. then the building OF new shops
will only aggravate that evil. Is II true
that farm products have fallen upon an
average of half their former price De-
cause the farmers have been making
more than the world needs 10 consumer
If that be true, then l have an easy and
certain remedy for the evil. II the farm
ers have been producing 100 much,
remedy il by producing less. VIII tnese
men ask the farmers to work less? Why,
they are constantly berating them be-
cause they do not work more. why,
every time a gold-standard man sees a
farmer talking politics, ne sWedrs mat
the farmer would be better on II ne
worked more and talked less.
MORE WORK; LESS WEALTH.
According to the gold-standard man.
the more the farmer works. however, the
worse off he is. Therefore, let him, in
stead of resting every Sunday, work only
every other day and let his crops grow
up in grass If that be true, never again
praise your neighbor for being indus
trious Never tell, as one or MS
virtues. how he rises with the
sun. and follows it through the
long, hot day because that man Is heip-
ing to aggravate the evil OF oVer-produc-
ton. Reserve your praises Tor the man
who goes to bed early and rises late; re-
serve them for the man who revels IN
stead of labors because that man is help
ing to relieve the evil OF over-produeuoh;
If il is over-production that has reduced
our farmers TO this unhappy condition,
what may be expected of the future?
shrink from the contemplation Of the NJ
ture IL IL Is this over-production argument
we must accept Day after day, year al
fer wear. we must stand in hopeless ST.
Hence and watch a brave and free people
sink still further into dependency ana
despair. What will you say 10 that
American citizen who is without employ
ment now but VINO fights the battle or
life bravely in the hope that after awhile
the conditions will improve and new rae
tories will be built to employ the IDLE
labor of the land. How will you recon-
Gle him to his condition when you are
compelled to tell him that instead OF
building new factories to employ MN
you must close some of those alrea9y