The Goodland republic., 1898-11-25
GOLD STANDARD sOPHIsTRY.
Ingenuity and Cunning Of wealthy
Fund-HOIdera In DecefTfnE and
TIetImizinE the People.

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scarce and dear employ all the artifce
! that ingenuity and cunning can invent
for the purpose Of deceiving and VIC
timizing the people. They embrace
! among their ranks many men of great
/ intellectual power Their wealth af-
fOrds them opportunities and leisure to
I cultivate their minds and study human
nature. The result is that they become
adopts in the use Of ingenious and so
/ phistical arguments that exert a pow
erful influence over the thoughts and
actions OF a large class Of shallow
minded but very PretentiOus men. The
| terms sound money, - honest money
etc, are used to appeal to and PIacate
the moral sense and elude investigation.
The term ''best money" appeals TO the
pride and aspirations Of our people,
who desire the best Of everything that
is obtainable.
But the advocates Of the gold stand
ard do not stop when they have turned
to an account these higher attributes
of human nature but 60 further and
apply their articles to the lower and
baser passions as well. The argument
that the movement for the restoration
Of silver as a money metal is in the in
terest of silver mine owners is calcu-
lated TO excite envy. the most Perverse
and ignOble trait Of human nature,
against the owners Of silver mines on
the ground that his product is being
especially favored by law, suggesting
to the mind at the same time that the
balance Of society is being injured in
order that the owners Of silver mines
may make additional profit. In this
connection, however, they forget to re-
mind the people that gold mines are
the private property Of individuals as
well as silver mines. In making this
appeal to the baser passions an insult
is offered to the intelligence OF the peO-
pie, the presumption in the mind of the
party advancing the argument being
that the lower or baser passions are so
much stronger than our intelligence
that the deceptive argument made will
have the effect Of controlling our
actions in favor Of a policy that benefits
them while it Injuries the balance Of so
ciety.
They do not remind US in this cOnnec-
tion that gold and silver alike have en-
jOyed the same rights and privileges as
money metals from time immemOrial,
and have constituted the worlds source
of money supply. They do not suggest
to US that when the silver miner is dis
eliminated against by having his prod
uct excluded from the mints that the
gold miners product is enhanced there
by, and that so far as the question ap-
plies to mine owners it is between the
owners of gold mines and the owners
Of silver mines, as the government or
people, in their collective capacity, are
not the owner of either the gold or sill
yer mines. They do not make any com
plant because the silver miner has been
deprived OF the privilege that his prod
uct has enjoyed from time immemOrial,
because this might suggest that the
owners Of gold mines were receiving
Unmerited favor at the hands Of the
government.
So far as the miners are concerned,
the balance of society who are not en-
gagged in mining. have no special in
terest in the question, because the gold
mines and the silver mines alike are at
the present time as they ever have been
in this country. private property. The
question that affects the people is one
of immeasUrably greater Importance
than discriminating in favor Of or
against the product Of any individual
class In the nation. It is a question of
money supply which affects the pros
Perity Of the entire country, the value
OF our property. our ability to pay
debts and taxes. and for our labOring
people involves questions of continued
employment at remunerative wages.
The appeal that comes to US in the
shape of all these ingenious and sOphis-
teal arguments emanates from those
who own the great debts against the
nations and people Of the world. They
are interested to give money n larger
/ power to command other things. They
understand the way to do this is to
make money scarce. and in order to
/ make money scarce they have cOncen-
/ trated their efforts throughout the
world to procure the outlawing of sill
yer and the closing of the mints against
I it, thus restricting the money supply to
/ gold alone.
During the IS years since the work Of
I demOnetization was started the gold
/ of the world has doubled in value. that
/ is, every ounce Of gold in existence will
/ now exchange for double the amount Of
/ other things in general that II would in
/ 1873. Therefore all the debts that ex-
/ listed IN 1873 are now worth twice as
much to their present holders as they
/ were at that time. The property Of the
/ people measured against money 10 pay
/ debts Is at the present time worth only
/ One-haff as much as II was in 1873. Thus
I through the force of law closing the
/ mints against silver the fund-holding
/ classes have doubled their wealth and
/ plundered society TO the amount Of the
/ gain they have thus made.
/ This is not all, however. During this
! process of falling prices bankruptcy
| has overtaken the industrious and
i brought ruin to the most worthy class
OF our people. The last so years have
been years OF strikes. IOckouts. sud
labor riots, and are marked by a con
| centration of wealth unparalleled in the
| history Of the world. until to-day grave
/ and serious problems. unknown and
( unheard Of before. are at our threshold
for settlement The questions Of mon
opOly and trusts. and the powerful com
biBatiOns Of capital, menace popular
! government and the rights Of man In