The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-10-09

} the quantity of money, but also tn
rapidly of it's circulation affects prices
The level Of prices varies as the sup
ply OF money multiplied by the mum
per OF exchanges which it accomplishes
IRIS Is Dut a eorollary to the PROPOSE
ton that only the money which is seek
ing exchanges measures value
Cfeolt also has been regarded a
| exerting an influence in this direction.
man with a credit of a thousand dol
lars ana an equal amount of money VIII,
buys a farm for 1000 creates demant
with his credit as well as with his none.
Wnlcn tends to enhance the price O
1t is said that the perfection of tn,
credit system -dispenses with the neces
slty of money. 1t is true that in times
OF puoyancy and confidence prices MAJ
be raised and business conducted simply
by an extension or exchange of credit
however, 1t IS a foundation of sand. Sucf
prices are fiuetuating and unstable Suoi
business mas insolvency ever staring i
in the face
Credit is good substitute for none,
until CONFIDENCE is impaired and liquida
ton IS demanded 1t is then found Il
be worthless. The essential quality of be
ing a lawful tender in payment of debts
is lacking.
EXAMPLE FROM HISTORY.
Some examples taken from history may
De given of the effect of an increasing OIL
diminishing supply Of money upon prices
In King Solomon's time the navy OF
Tarshish brought gold and silver from
the Iartessps and the navy of Hiram
brought gold from Ophir and THE King
stones. ! Kings y, q.
And the king made silver and gold in
Jerusalem as plenteous as stones. III chr
Such superabundence of money ought
according TO some modern financiers to
have brought the people of Israel to the
very depths of financial abatement and
misery.
Not So 1t is said that these people at
tanned their acme of prosperity in the
days days of King Solomon
| $50 King Solomon exceeded all the
kings of the earth in riches and wis
DOM | Kings x, %,
| Jerusalem was most glorious. Trade
and commerce fiourished. All other ma
tions were proud TO do her homage and
pay her tribute.
The seat of wealth the center of power,
her people We're pre-eminent for their adj
Yancement in all the arts of peace and
war. for their civilization, prosperity and
| wisdom.
The greatest glory of Egypt seems to
. nave been coincident with IL not caused
by the great output of gold from the
. plains of Nubia.
1t is remarkable how the commercial
prestige and glory of the nations of
! antiquity seem to have Synchronized with
| the possession of the great gold and sill
Yer mines of Snain.
There seems to be little doubt that King
| Solamon's navy of TarShiSh which re-
turned after periodical voyages Of three
years each, bearing gold and silver visit
| ed the river in Spain anctently known as
| Iartessus but now known as the
/ GuadalGuivir.
These mines next came into the possess
| sion of the Phoenicians. Carthage next
| succeeded to and held them for two cen
, she was mistress of the seas sand pre-
sided oyer the deStinieS of commerce
Rome followed and held them while she
retained ara the mastery Of the world.
The mining of gold and silver at
ancient Attica was at flood tide in the
| age of Pericles. The smelling works We're
at Ergasteria, 10 miles from Athens.
The scoria from these ancient works
has recently fsince 1870 yielded more
than 5000, 600 to a company of French
and Italians working it over under a
lease from the Greeian government.
Jacob. in his history of the precious
metals, estimates that the amount of gold
ana silver in Rome in the Augustan was
8 500 go COO. That after mat. time 1t
ed TO but ene-eleventh OF that quantity.
A MIGHTY AGENT.
The distinguished historian. Sir Alex
ander Alison, very justly observes: THAT
two leading events which have occurred
in the history of, mankind have been di-
rectly brought about by successive con-
traction and expansion of the circulat-
ing medium of society,""
THE fall of the Roman empire so long
ascribed, in ignorance, to slavery,
reality brought about by a decline in the
silver and gold mines of Spain and
Greece. And 50, as if evidence had in
tended TO reveal in the clearest manner
the influence of this mighty agent in hui
man affairs. the resurrection of mankind
from the ruin which these causes had
produced was owing to the directly OBJ
posite set of agencies being put in opera
ton
Columbus led the way in the career of
renovation: when he spread his sails
across the Atlantic he bore mankind and
its fortunes in his bark.
The annual supply of the precious
metals for the use of the globe had tripled
before century had expired; the price
rupled. The weight of debt and taxes in
sensibly wore off under the influence of
that prodigious Increase; in the. renoya-
ton of industry the relations of society
were changed, the weight of feudallsrn
cast off. the rights of man established.
Among the many concurring causes which
summation. the most Important, though
hitherto least observed, was the discovery
of Mexico and Peru.
From the discovery of America until
1640 it has been estimated by the most
competent statisticians PiXley and Hay
that the precious metals had increased
until their quantity was six times greater
than at the beginning of that period; that
during the same times the level of prices
advanced but 200 per cent, thus confirming
the principle hsrenbefore alluded to. After
1910. while the supply of the precious
metals was greatly Increased, prices re-
NAMED uniform. thus showing that the in
crease of population. business and wealth
was sufficient to absorb the entire supply
of money.
At the beginning of this century the
Spanish-American revolutions led to the
The result, coupled with the demonetiza-
ton of silver by England in 1916, is of
great significance.
EFFECT OF CONTRACTION. :
In-1S22 Mr. Atwood in speech in parlia-
ment declared that there had been an
average fall in the prices of the great
articles of commerce of % per cent, that
the fall was universal, embracing every
article of industry, every branch OF COM
In the work of sismond, published in
1927. it was declared that "a cry of dis
tress is raised from al the manufac-
turing towns of the old wrOld and all
the fields Of the new world re-echo it,
In 1880 Earl StanhoDe said that the de-
preston had been, continuous and uni
versal since 1916. that in ten years gen
eral prices had fallen 6S per cent.
In 1924 Mr.. Clay wildly portrayed the
distress in this country, saying that the
values had fallen more than 80 per cent
In 1S43 Miss Martineau said 1.-THE depres-
die. and a multitude lowered to a state
of sickness and irritability from want of
food"
The elimination of distress was reached
in 1S49 In that one year the persons in
receipt of public charity in the British
Isles We're 4,250.060 in number. Every
seventh person was pauper and public
charge.
Prices had. by this time, according to
c. F. Bastable. professor of political
economy in Trinity college. fallen two and
one-half times.
But q new epoch was at hand. The
gold discoveries constituted the bow of
promise which had its fulfllment in adj