Iron County register., 1899-08-17
The Cause of Free Silver.

O1 L1C04C Tux
purchasing power of money and thus
enrich themselves by plundering So
Qsety- The money lenders saw their
opportunity to profit by the general
wreckage and distress that would fol-
low in the train of falling prices and
| universal bankruptcy. These two pow
| erful classes are responsible for the
train of evils that has come upon the
world during the last quarter of a GEN.
tury, and that has wrecked the for
tunes of SO many enterprising and de-
serving citizens of all nations and ac-
counts for the unprecedented eoncen-
tration of wealth into the hands Of the
| few.
The evils that must follow in the
| train of the single gold standard have
but just commenced. The fall in prices
that has already taken place within the
last 20 years hes been mild compared
| to that which must take place in the
| future if this mad policy of restricting
the standard money of the great COM
mercial nations 10 gold alone is adhered
| to.
| In 1898 the creditor combination had
| arranged to extend the gold standard
/ to Austria, and it became necessary for
them to secure four hundred millions
of gold for this purpose. President
| Cleveland, who was elected to his high
office at the instigation and through
the support of the gold combination,
| threw open the treasury vaults of the
United States, and, contrary to law,
surrendered the option of the govern
ment to pay its obligations in either
gold or silver and allowed the gold COM
bination to raid our treasury. The
bankers seized upon this opportunity
to create a adevastating panic that swept
more than one thousand millions of
wealth into their Golfers and prostrated
the business of a nation.
The panic of 1898 did not proceed
from natural causes, but was purely
an artificial panic resulting from the
manipulation of the gold standard and
conspiracy between our administra-
tion and the bankers CT New York.
The long period of distress that was
sure to follow the terrible crime of
1898 was relieved by extraordinary and
unusual conditions that are not likely
to soon occur again. The United States
was blessed with bountiful harvests
and famine prevailed in nearly all other
countries, causing an unprecedented
demand, which advanced prices for the
products of American farms. This un-
usual condition prevented a further
export of gold from our shores and
turned the current in ollr favor. Fol-
lowing this came an increased produc-
ton of gold from the klondike and the
American mines, which augmented the
money supply and brought relief to the
American people.
The action of the British Indian COM
mission in determining to force India
to the gold standard, coupled with the
new demand for gold from Japan, has
increased the strain upon gold and will
cause all the great finafcial institutions
of the world to adopt stringent meas
ures to retain their reserves of that
metal. The result is that already Eu-
rope is paying premium for gold ard
is removing it from this country in
spite of a favorable rate of exchange,
and the prospects are that the exodus
of gold which has set in will continue
for an indefinite period. Normal crop
conditions throughout the world will
deprive the United States of the adyan-
tage that it has enjoyed during the past
two years.
In addition to the foregoing the
United States has entered upon a mad
career of industrial combinations
which are capitalized at four or five
times their actual value. This water.
ing of stocks and insane movement of I
combinations in restraint of trade is
sure to cause an artificial advance of
prices through the power of monopoly
and to check exports from the United
States and invite imports. Added to
this our people are visiting Europe in
enormous numbers and spending large
amounts of money abroad. Next year |
the Paris exposition will attract three |
or four times the number of Americans
that usually make foreign trips and |
cause the expenditure of a vast amount |
of American money in European cap |
itals. So that the prospects of the sill |
yer question becoming acute in the |
United States and cutting prominent |
figure in politics again at an early day |
is an assured fact.
America being a debtor nation, so
long as an administration is in power |
that viii disregard the law and sur
render the option to creditors the
United States will have to stand the |
brunt of the burden of the new demand
for gold to supply Russia, India and
Japan.
1t is time for the business men,
farmers, professional men and all other
classes who do not live by lending
money and who do not thrive upon the
general wreckage of society to open
their eyes to the dangers that are be-
fore us. They should remember that
rs time and tide wait for no man, the
laws of economies cannot
be disregarded without paying the PEN
atty. 1t does not require great mind
TO comprehend that with constantly
increasing population and expansion
Of business and credits that prices must
continue to fall to the injury of all
producers and to the benefit of all cred
tors so long as money continues to
row scarce and dear. Free institutions
n the United States cannot survive ie
he gold standard is continued as per.
nanent policy.-Nationa Watchman.
Gold for India.
The new demand for gold to supply
india and Japan viii absorb the an
1ual product of the mines for many
Tears, and make drain upon the
stocks of Europe and American besides.
The gold standard means falling prices
md universal bankruptcy for wealth