The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-04-29

~ VIII Sei tdAA1y OIlAS great eVllS
upon the country, for it involves the
power to regulate it's value by the in
f1ation or the contraction of the vol
ume, as private interest or greed may
dictate.
1t is matter of momentous import
to our country, and should be we'll con-
sidered. Under such a system, it is an
easy matter to show how transfer OF
the great bulk of wealth of the coun-
try can be successfully transferred to
the possession of few. That process
has in all conscience proceeded fast
enough without any such fictitious aid.
1t is best to call halt, before we reach
the precipice
We have had the use of large vol
ume OF national money-not large
enough it is true, but of enough to show
the American people its economic
value, and to establish regard for it
as the best money in our country, for
many years. Costless and safe, it has
stood the test until as an object lesson
1t threatened the-"vampire''-go
then it was marked for destruction.
fhat question is now fairly before the
people. Will they surrender their Sow
ereign power? The edict has gone
forth that the greenbacks must go, and
the monopoly value of gold be in
creased and perpetuated: Then what?
The Transformation of our government
into a plutocratic form, pure and SIM
pie. A powerful party, with unlimited
wealth behind it. stands committed to
that policy, though there are millions
OF us supporters heretofore who will
not follow it on that line now. Suppose
that the United States were to become
involved in foreign war, and needing
money should adopt the policy of is
suing paper certificates which stated
on their face that they would be re-
ceived at their face value for all dues
and debts to the United States. With
an absolute daily demand by the gov
eminent for money to meet its enor-
nous expenditure daily, and never
ceasing, with unlimited power of taxa.
ton, what money could be better than
the peoples own?
We are not raising the question of
quantity at all, but of quality. Incom.
parably better than any bank issue, ma
tlonal or private, would be the same
quantity of national paper certificates,
the demand for which would be cease
less and limited only by the taxes
levied by the representatives of the
people. Is it reasonable to suppose that
the power to coin paper money is mere
~ a war power? That great people
may to conduct carnage on the field of
battle possess such power. and vet not
use 1t to promote the arts of peace, or
even to avert calamities worse than
war?
Money, the great instrument of asso-
citation. is essential to our civilization,
Credit appliances can be made, and are
made flexible; but the volume of money
upon which credit appliances are based.
should be fixed, and provided by law,
issued by the sovereign power.
e. It almost seems that some people
think that the world was made for
coupon clippers, and that the chief end
of man Is to meet interests on bonded
debts. Such people do not consider
that from industry, promoted by suf-
ficient supply of money, all payments
must come. and that hard times,
caused by contracted volume of
money, is not conducive to the just
payment of debts. bonded or otherwise.
1t is not so much from low prices as
from falling prices that the world has
suffered. When prices are tending
downward nobody will invest money
in property, but money is boarded.
We have given monopoly value to
gold. and there is general want Of
confidence, not in the money existing,
but in the value of all forms of prop
erty which constitutes the wealth of
nations, and money the measure, is ex-
allied not only above all wealth. but
above humanity. 1t is not more credit
appliances-more debts-but return
of that confidence in the value of that
which has in all past ages been es-
teemed as true wealth. and the resto-
ration to its function of the money
we see boarded. That function is use
in the transfer of wealth and competi-
ton for it's possession and distribution.
This will constitute the greatest
benefit to be derived by the restoration
Of silver to its time-honored place as a
full value money metal. But there
must be no surrender of the sovereign
right to coin all the money of the coun-
try.