The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1898-02-18
Effect of Free Coinage.
fRs Sidney nal.l

that purpose; because the gold dollar re-
deems it and, therefore. really the mon-
ey of fiual payment. just hike the case of
O check on the oank for gold on deposit.
This position need not be argued because
all gold standard teachers admit 1t to be
true. 1t isa fact therefore. thai the
gold dollar is the only real money We
have to pay our 10 billion dollars OF
public and private debt.
Free coinage OF silver dollars, with
full legal tender power OF l6 to l would
Of itself make all OF our present volume
of silver dollars standard money in COM
petition on their own basis Of value.
with our gold dollars for paying all our
public and private debts, because. the
unlimited free coinage would render
Intellectual their redemption at gold
do lars valus. Il would Instantly place
ali our dues on the basis Of value OF the
silvsr dollar aud practically change ouf
coinage syetem from the gold money or
coinage system Of 1873, without any
statute changing back our coinage unit
Of value to the silver dollar. A law too,
simply changing our unit of value from
the gold dollar back to the silver dollar,
like i, was from 1872 to 1879. would have
:he came eff.c.. 1t would make ali our
half billion silver dollars standard mon
Nv. ON their own basis OF value IN com.
petit,co with gold as legal tender. 1t
would redGca the demand for gold,
therefore, to tha extent of over 10 bile
lion dollars is legal tender.
The effect OF this reduced demand for
gold as legal tender for debts in this
nation would be to cheaper gold most
heavily. It would be the vastest sudden
decrease OF demand tor gold ever known
in history. and, of course. on the Law OF
reduced demand gold must cheaper,
like wheat or ony other article Of human
use. But gold bullion is the worlds
standard, or measure, oil property val
ues. That is to say. the gold price is
the bed rock price. When gold cheap.
ems the gold prices of all other property
values rise. When gold is hish proper
ty is low. When gold 10 low property
ie high. Free coinage Of silver. then.
would suddenly raise the gold prices oi
all our property. ''in muscle and on
shelf" most heavily. 1t would raise
them, By mathematical demonstration,
over one fourth. By . IN ,rsi demon
stration, il would double those golj
prices, By cheapening gold bullion one
half
| A mathematical demonstration, in
economic sbieace, is the rarest possible
feat of logic. Bat such is ,hs case. upon
conceded facts OF history. as to the edec;
Of American free coinage in raising on,
gold prices Of labor and property lover
one fonrth." Let us see.
/, In June 1898. between the fret and
18th, the laws of Austria Hungary and
East India demonetizing oyera billion
dollars of standard silver money. went
into operation. The increased demand
thereby, for gold in those two empires,
as legal tender, was 81 billion adoilars,
as shown be recorded statis.ics On June
26, 1898, silver bullion fell TO g. centa an
ounce against 81 cents on June and
for two years prior. That Is, gold rose
from "a to up to 80 to l, and all prop
erty fell suddenly % per cent over what
it had been tor two years prior to June
l, 1893. 1t made the greatest crash in
values ever known. It bAnkrupted the
nation, including Harvey Scott and most
Of PortIsnd's heavy property owners.
OF course reduced demand OF 81 billion
dollars wsuld cheaper gold u. Since
eur reduced demand on free coinage
would exceed 81 billions, gold would
fall over q fourth. This is q mathemat
ieai demonstration.
Il is q moral demonstration that . re-
duced demand for gold of 10 billion dol-
lars as legal tender would cheaper it one
hall of course. gold could not cheaper be-
low its normal, which is The value it has
Q) from use Ia the arts and sciences and
(2)srom use as the exchange money be-
tween nations under the laws Of COM
merce, which neither xerxes nor King
Carte ror U.eIe Sans Congress can
change Bot allowing for the great in.
crease IN gold output as reducing its nor.
NAL vaiue 0. 1873 and allowing for all the
cross current- OF commerce, it is moral
that American free coin
age would cbeapen gold about onebaif
aud double the gold prices of all the pro.
ducts OF human labor in muscles and on
self in factory, field, and farm. tbis sudden
rise 10 our values would not make rui.
nous in the commercial nor tine indus
trial world as claimed by tie gold bug.
The sudden fall in 1898 did not hurt the |
money lender, but il ruined all the COM |
merciai a3d Industrial world, including |
the editor Of the chief organ OF the gold |
money standard here. The sudden ad-
dltion OF thirty billion dollars to the
wealth OF tl.is nation. difused through |
every hamlet, would not hnrt the com
mercial and industrial world, any more
than Klondike nuggets hurt the finder.
It would be the most glorious Chinook
that ever struck o iroZ+n people. Ie
would be an icy blast for the man who
owned no'bing but gold bonds. Yet
with bis furs, and robes, stolen from his
victims since June %, 1893 lin fact since
Feb IL. lS13-ne could weather the blast
and escape the poor house where thous-
ande oil our people are nov.
II may be objerted that it would TOUT
side OF ihe boards convened by the Tel.
Ter resoluiions) be Tepudiated as to
some l8 billions OF other debts public
and private. If the silver dolla.s on it's
bullion basis, were worth lees ihan 100
cent? in gold aud should pay off those
debts in silver dollars Bet II the mas.
ses said 80 niilion- Of bestowed wealth
and redemption fron ruin caused by the
gold money standard within their reaeh J
"a little thing like thai" would not stop
them, any more than il aouId crowd
OF desperate KlondiKefs. Still the gold
contracts ol Shy ,ock would have TO be
paid ia gold or elfe in silver with
nrs,um added and mort of thu m are