Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1898-11-04
THE BOY AGAIN.

IllJi.
Pa-Of course am, | have no
sympathy with rcpudiators.
Boy What is that? DENY says
that the gold standard is cxtortion for
the people and is running the coun-
try, and nothing but the free coinage
OF both gold and silver will put things
right.
Pa - Who is Deny? Reputation
would be to pay our debts in a cheaper
money and that is what free coinage
means.
Boy-Demy's pa is Il Bryan Demo-
crat and we call him DENY for short.
Would it be right to pay debts in a
cheaper money.
Pa-No, it would be cheating the
creditor.
Boy-Has Port Rico the gold stand
ard, pa?
Pa-Not yet, but under the stars
and stripes, it will have to be put Oh
gold basis.
Boy-Will that increase the debt of
the Porto Rico people.
Pa-Of course it could not be done
without.
Boy - How much would IL man
owing $1,000 in silver have to pay if
gold basis in Port Rico.
Pa-Why the difference in the
values, about $3.50 dollars.
Boy-Would that not be cheating
the debtor? That looks like Demy's ex-
tortion.
Pa-The people might not stand it,
all at once; there might have to be a
compromise, by scaling down the debts
some.
Boy-Was there Il compromise in
this country when we went OH a gold
basis.
Pa-No, the effects were not felt for
long time very seriously, and the peo-
pie were able to bear it.
Boy-Then all the debtor class in
tho U. S. have had to pay more than
double.
Pa-That is the natural conse.
quence of the rise of gold above silver.
Boy-But what has made the gold
rise above silver.
Pa-Supply and demand of course,
that rules prices.
Boy-Then there must have been a
large increase in the supply of silver
and decrease in the supply of gold.
Pal suppose 60; you can find out
all about it from the mint reports. |
have not troubled to study the ques-
tion.
SECOND EVENING.
Boy-I looked for the relative pro-
duction of gold and silver and find
the proportions were for 400 years,
25a tons OF silver to of gold up to
1850. Since 1850 there has not been
half that much. The increase in sill
yer production since 1860 has been
only about 600 per cent. while that Of
gold. since 1850 has been I,5OO per
cent. Why, pa, gold ought to be cheap
and not silver.
Pa-There is greater demand for
gold.
Boy DENY says: Free mintage
makes the demand.
Pa-Well the people found silver
was getting down, so they stopped
using and minting it.
Boy-Measured by our ratio, silver
was : per cent. above par in 1872, the
year before decentralization and it had
been much lower for Is years, running
from 1921 to 1888. 1t was 700 per
cent. lower in 1913 than in 1872. 1
should not have thought the people
would have been afraid of silver at 2
per cent. above par.
Pa-Well, very likely not, the COM
mon people do not understand finan-
ces, | ought to have said the tinancier.
whom the people trusted as experts to
do their business. The common people
have no money of their own. And they
could not have employment without
the bankers money. Surely the bankers
have a right to dictate the returns for
the use of their own money.
Boy-Then the gold standard was
brought about by the banking classes
to protect their own interests.
Pa-Wcll, the American people be-
lieve i'll protection and if the moneyed
men who are the back bone of the ma.
tions are not protected who should be
pray?
WHEN the war came on" said Mr.. |
at Bushnell, ILL.,, "there
were 100000 volunteers within sixty
days" Very true, inquiries the U'orld, |
but whye Would not $4,000 at the
outside have been enough? And did
not Gen. Scotield warn YOU that So !
900 were as many as could be handled
without needlessly imperilling lives
and health?
THE number of voters registered at !
New Whatcom is l,30S. !