The broad ax., 1899-12-16
MONEY or rHE MASSES.

More thar three -fourths OF the peo-
pie CT this country use silver coin fur
their daily sai weekly business trans
actions. and 81 is attested by those VINO
have made the observations that the
same is the case in England. Germany.
France and other countries. Moreover.
We know positively that there Is not
gold coin that is not incumbered with
4 view upon t for some public or prl-
vate debt in he shape of principal or
interes: and that all gold coin Is IN
der the dominion or control OF the
creditors. True. We make a showing
Of free gold, and we read In the news
papers Of IT'S being here and there.
sometimes 4 man may receive gold
coin or a snail quantity Of gold coins
but he must quickly change them into
silver to satisfy his necessities, and
the gold drifts back again to the source
whence 1t came. to wit. the Golfers OF
the banks. to be by them distributed
to certain, well-known central loca-
tons, to be again sent out and manip-
ulated when a profit can be made
upon IT, This is the natural effect OF
the gold standard-the Capitalization
and control Of gold money. to be used
as an export or import and for specu-
lative purposes. Not so with silver.
which, being debased by demonetiZa-
ton. can have 10 free egress and In
gress because II is a base metal and Is
confined to the uses OF the people In
their daily and weekly transactions
We have in the United States in actual
circulation in silver dollars and sub
sidiary silver only about 1S0 millions
of dollars, and with this all our COM
mercial transactions. both great and
small. must be carried on. or course,
we have silver certificates OF paper ex-
ceeding 400 millions of dollars, but
they are not money because they are
redeemable in silver dollars. which
latter must be retained in the treasury
for their redemption There is no
paper certificates representing our
subsidiary silver. that is actual coin
which Is used in thousands upon thou
sands OF transactions, and It is the
only money that millions Of people
ever see or know anything about In
spite OF its great necessity we have
in circulation less than so millions OF
dollars OF subsidiary silver, although
the country now requires an amount
exceeding 225 millions in the author
ity OF the treasurer Of the United
States. This is a curious reason for
the hilarity OF certain statesmen who
delight to repeat over and over again
that the silver question is dead. In
stead OF being dead it is very much
alive.
But" says the average citizen, 81
can take five silver dollars to the store
and buy Just as much goods. wares
and merchandise as | can for a FIVE
dollar gold piece" That is quite true
so far as certain things are concerned.
but when 1t comes to imported or
protected" goods. wares and mer-
chandise. the difference between gold
and debased silver turks in the price
that must be paid. The situation is
the same as in the republic OF Mexico.
whose medium Of exchange is entirely
silver. Mexican money is all token
money coined. in private account ac-
cording to a standard fixed by the
government, practically a silver stand
ard. Yet we can buy as much in Mex
leo with a Mexican silver dollar as
We can buy in the United States with
a United States silver dollar, notwith-
standing the actual fact that two
Mexican dollars can be had in ex-
change for one United States silver
dollar.-C. H. Robinson, in Living
Issues"