Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1899-12-03
GOLD-MONEY, : wEIEAT-BREAD
AND BEEF-MEAT.

single gold standard ana OASIS OF
value. and the characterization of silver
and silver coin, utterly avoid all at
temDts to meet the real arguments for
silver coin. Let us enumerate some of
these unmet and evaded arguments:
list. There is the constitutional argu-
ment, founded on the power and duty
of Congress to coin money,-not gold
money nor silver money.-but money,
including both gold and silver coin.
Then the States. not authorized to coin
money themselves, are empowered to
make gold AND SILVER coin legal
tender for debts, but forbidden to make
anything else legal-tender. The stand
ard silver dollars and the standard gold
coins are now legal tender under Fedc
raj Laws and under the laws of all the
States. Suppose Congress pass an act
making gold coin the single standard
| of value. and (of course) the sole legal
| tender? If the act be of force, the
greenbacks and all other legal-tender
Treasury notes lose. their legal tender
quality with the silver dollar. and are
mere promises to pay. Anybody can
refuse them.
| But the States are empowered dis
tinctly by the constituencies make gold
AND SILVER coin legal-tender; and
suppose they continue to exercise this
plain constitutional right, or that one
does or that any single citizen insists
upon his constitutional right to pay his
debts in silver coin7 Could the Su-
preme Court Of the United States hold
the act of Congress constitutional, even
though the citizens State, for herself
and him, had acquiesced in the act and
stricken down silver coin as legal
tender? These are grave questions,
with many implications and complica-
tons. until the constitution be amend
ed. making gold coin the single stand
ard and sole legal-tender. No act of
Congress can repeal or nu1lify the con-
stituton; and though the United States
may make other legal tenders, in ad-
dition to gold and silver coin, she has
no right, nor lawful power, to restrict
legal-tender to silver coin only or
to gold coin only, SO long as the con-
stitution declares that any State may
make gold and silver coin a tender in
payment of debts" as it does.
I'd UD to the act of decentralization
of silver in February, 1873, the silver
dollar was the standard of value, and
to that date all transactions and con-
tracts in money had been made upon
that basis; when, suddenly, without
notice to any but the inner and privi-
| legged few, the basis was changed to
gold, silver metal was demonetized and
| the currency contracted to the extent
of the demonetization, and every adj
vantage, involving untold millions in
debts. values, prices. wages and all ex-
changes. was given to the holders of
gold. This was an incaIculable wrong.
il not downright robbery OF the peo-
pie; and every year that the wrong
continues adds to the losses of the peo-
pie in the demonetized production of
silver, the steady and enormous con-
traction of the popular currency
through this decentralization and the re-
duction of values Of every kind, except
that of money. which, practically re-
duced to gold, has been enormously en-
nanccu, Wnlle It's Nalue ana SOttneSS
have excluded 1t from the general cir
culatlon and exchange of every day life
and business.
These are but two examples of the
arguments avoided by the godites be-
cause they cannot be honestly con-
tested, and because these very argu-
ments for silver, and against the single
gold basis ARE THE. VERY REA-
SONS THE GOLDITES ARE SO UR-
GENT-FOR EXCLUDING SILVER;
r"ecisely as spectators in wheat, or
peer. would IL they could exclude corn,
pork and oil other competing food pro-
duets from the market and give their
wheat and beef tho nonopoIies of meat
and bread. That is the whole matter
in brief; and the people Who are sus-
tanning the spectators in gold are as
foolish as they would be to help PASS n
law forbidding all grain but wheat, all
meat bu, beef, under the cry of the
Spectators that thus wheat Tor fou)
and beef would be abundant for all.
better and cheaper. Monopoly is n
curse to the public; and to give
monopoly Of money to gold Is no whit
wiser than to give n monopoly of bread
to wheat or of meat to beef.
We don't wait to be earnestly re-