Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1899-02-28
AWAKENING THE GIANT.
We Arc Maintaining Money Stand
ard That Gives the Chinese Mer-
chant an Immense Advantage.

ard That Gives the Chinese Mer-
chant an Immense Advantage.
More than one-half of the human
family reside in India, Chan, Japan
and the adjacent islands. The civilza-
tons of those countries are the Oldest
in existence. Population outran food
supply in those countries many CEN
turtles ago and the struggle for con-
tinued existence among the teeming
millions of Asia is the most narrowing
tale that history records. For thou
sands of years every increase of popula-
ton entailed additional sacrifice and
self-denial on the part of parents If
they would save the lives Of their Off
spring.
When, as occasionally happened,
partial failure of the crops occurred,
itmeant the death of millions from star
walton. Under such severe conditions
only the children of sound bodies and
strong constitutions survived. The
weak ones all persisted. Thus the stern
law of the survival of the fittest de-
veloped race capable of subsistence
on about one-fourth the amount of food
required by the people Of Europe and
America.
The Asiatics, while inferior to the
European or American in physical
strength, are greatly their superiors in
their power of endurance. This is par
ticularly true of the Inhabitants of
China and Japan.
Napoleon after having killed OF the
flower Of the manhood of France in
wars to crafty his ambition to become
the master of the world, seeing that the
source of his supply Of soldiers was ex-
hausted, is said to have realized that
the end of his career must soon come,
and, rejecting on the power of num-
bers In war, is credited with casting his
eye toward China and contemplating
her hundreds Of millions of population
and to have exclaimed: "There Is the
giant of the world, but she Is asleep and
should never be awakened"
The giant of the east that has slept
through centuries has been rudely
awakened by the greed of the worlds
creditors who are forcing gold stand
ard upon the civilized nations, but upon
awakening we find not war power
such as Napoleon had in his mind, but
an industrial power that thrusts upon
the world far more serious question
than that of war itself.
The demonstration of silver severed
the ligature that held the two metals,
gold and silver, togetheras one money
"a single standard for the world; COM
posed of two metals-a bimetallic
standard. Under bimetallism the fuc-
tuations of exchange between nations
was never greater than it is now be-
tween the nations that have adopted
the gold standard. Then, as now,
whenever the rate of exchange ad-
vanced to the point where 1t was profit
able to transport the metals from one
country to another, movement of the
metals Immediately took place and the
equilibrium Of exchange was thereby
restored.
But the closing of the mints of Amer
ica and Europe against silver destroyed
the bimetallic standard and divided the
world into two monetary hemispheres,
making money the metal of the west
ern world and silver the money of the
eastern world.
The par Of exchange between the
metals at the ratio of 1871 ounces of sill
yer to one ounce Of gold that was
maintained by open minis to both
metals alike now disappeared. The
legal ligature that bound them to-
gether as one money being cut there
is left no regulator Of exchange what
ever. As the silver from our mines was
shut out from our mints, and had to
be handled as merchandise and was
thus forced to be sold az merchandise
to be transported thousands of miles
to Its final market at the mints of Asia,
1t necessarily fell below it's former mint
price. Under the influence of increas-
Ing adverse legislation the divergence
from the former mint price Of the two
metals has been great, causing ex-
change on silverusing countries to cor
respondingly fall, and in silver-using
Countries corresponding advance in
the price of gold exchange.
The effect of the fluctuations of ex-
change has Injured exclusively to the
benefit of the silver standard countries
and to the detriment of the gold stand
ard countries. It's effectin this country
was first felt in cutting down the price
OF cotton and wheat The loss to the
American farmers alone from this
cause each year exceeds many times
over the value of the combined product
OF our gold and silver mines.
The losses we have suffered in the
past through the fall in silver exchange
Is as drop in the ocean compared to
the evils that are sure to follow If BIZ
metallism is not restored.
We have walked the industrial giant of
the east. We are putting labor-saving
machinery into the hands of the China
man in. China, and are maintaining q
money standard that gives the Chinese
manufacturer, in addition to the advan-
tagess of cheap labor, an advantage in
the exchange on money of 100 per cent.
Silver Knight-Watchman.
The Danger of Militarism.
49,