The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1898-05-25
HONEST DOLLARS.
BY William ]. Bryan.

What is an honest dollar? You
hear a great deal about an honest
dollar. but you don't get many
definitions of it. or. rather. you
.dsn't often get definition of ii
ON those who talk about it most.
You ask one of the advocates of
the gold standard what he regards
IAN honest dollar, and he will look
wise-because the advocates of the
gold standard as rule looks wise
and be tells you that by an hon
est dollar he means sound money.
Well, you ask him what he means
by sound money, and he looks a
little wiser-if it is possible for
him to look wiser than he ordina-
rily does-and he says that by
sound money he means an honest
dollar. And it is hard to get him
out of the circle.
Bot if you get him out and get
him to define it, you will get this
iifinition: That an honest dollar
or sound money is money which
when melted loses none of its val
ne. Now, that is what they call
.:the melting pot test" You take
the melting pot test away from the
advocate of the gold standard and
he has nothing left. The melting
not test is his test for determining
whether a money is sound or
dollar honest.
1 want to show that that deini-
ton is not correct. That defini-
ton leaves out of consideration
the most important thing in dol
lar. Why, according to that def
milton, purchasing power is imma-
terial. Let me illustrate:
Suppose that all the nations in
the world should get together and
decide upon the gold standard and
agree upon our dollar as unit; and
then suppose as soon as that was
done the nations decided that we
had too much money-decided to
gather together 80 per cent. of all
the money in the world and sink
it in the ocean.
What would be the result? We
wonld still have an honest dollar,
because if you melted it you
wouldn't lose anything. But if you
owed debt and started out to get
the money to pay it you would
have to surrender about 100 times
as much of your property to get
the same amount of money, but ii
would be honest, because if you
melted the dollar it wouldn't lose
Suppose that, instead of con-
tracing the currency, you expand
it. Suppose that after you had
agreed upon the dollar as the unit
and gold as the standard, some
body should find enough gold to
make hundred times as much as
we have now, what would be the
result? j
Why, every dollar would be hon.
,st, because if you melted it you
would not lose anything. But if
, man owed YOU a thousand dollars
md he paid you and you started
put to spend it, it wouldn't buy as
much because there would be SO
many dollars then. But ii would
De honest according to the defini-
ion given by the advocate of the
gold standard.
l say advocate of the gold
standard" 1 hope you will let me
Use shorter term-let me say
and then explain that
don't mean it In any offensive
sense. When 1 say goldbug
lon't mean to criticise the man to
whom the name applies. L don't
deny him the night to be that.
When I say goldbug use the
term with the all the friendly feel
ing that characterizes the gold
bug" when he calls me an idiot or
a lunatic or something of that sort.
The definition given by the gold
bug omits the most important thing
in dollar purchasing power.
The definition given by the "gold-
bug" does not include the purchas-
ing power, and, therefore, whether
the dollar buys much or little, it is
an honest, dollar. provided you. can
melt it without loss;
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