The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1899-10-14
MONEY AND PROSPERITY.

he cOnIroillHR cUHuiIlUn Ol PROS
perity is found in prices. When prices
are rising industry and production are
stimulated, giving employment and
wages to labor aud profit To all legi-
innate enterprise. Under such con-
| dition productioo moves towards
| maximum, aud if this conditlo1 be of
| long duration IL brings the entire
| energies of a nation and people into
! full play in the PRODUCTION and di5tri-
| button of wealth At such times
money is never to be found in iGle
boards at the great money centers, be
cause money is losing its power to COM
| mand other Jhings in exchange and
| cannot be protitably boarded, while on
| the other hand profit is certain If
money is prudentll invested in legiti-
nate enterprise. Bus if prices are
| falling enterprise becomes the uDer-
| ring road to bankruptcy. If period
of falling prices be long drawn out,
| bankruptcies and failures will become
| the rule and successful enterprise the
exception. Under these conditions
| money will accumulate in vast hordes
in the bank vaults at the money cen
ters. and although the rates of interest
may rule low, the fall in prices through
an increase of the purchasing power of
money itself will defeat its profitable
use in productive enterprise and gen
81 e L H.
rule with labor unemployed and dis
tress universal among all classes, ex
cept bond holders, money lenders. aud
salaried Officies. At such times mort
cages eat up the equities of debtors
while the burdens of taxation grow
more oppressive and burdensome.
There has never been in the worlds
history a period during which the
human race made advances in civili-
zatiOn and wealth, and the masses of |
the people constantly rose from lower |
to higher level, except when the
money supply was increasing. The
roCuctiveness or non -productiveness
OF the mines unerringiy mark the
periods of advancement or retrogres-
sion among all the nations aud peoples
as far back as We have records.
Money is the unit of price. Prices
are expressed in numerals and frac
tions of the money unit. Price is an
expression of the reiation.of the money
volume 10 the articles bought and
sold in the worlds markets. The mum.
Der Of money units that can be made
of gold is dependent upon the quantity
of god in existence. The number of
additional money units that can be
added to the worlds volume of money
each year depends upon the yearly
output of the gold mines. The same
is true of silver. The only test OF
suffi ;iency of money Or an adequate
annual increase of money supply is
found in price levels. II in the abb
sence OF wars that susp" nd production
and disarrange trade, or the absence
of famines or pestilence that likewise
create abnormal market conditions,
the general price level is falling, it is
evidence that the money supply is in
adequate and insufficient. If, on the
other hand, under normal conditions
the general level of price is firm or ad
vancing, no complaints will be heard
of an insufficiency of money or the in
of supply.
So great is the influence of money
supply that if all other conditions ex
ist favorabiy to the highest efficiency
in production and money supply is in
sufficient, falling prices, curtailed pro.
duction, enforced idleness Oh the part
of labor, increased bankruptcies and
general hard times will be the prevail
ing conditions.
From time immemorial until 1873 all
the gold and silver that could be ex-
tracted from the mines went into uni
versal use as money. The fact that
some nations made their coins of gold
alone and Others coined only silver
caused no disturbance whatever go
long as one or more commercial
nations freely coined both metals.
What the conditions have been since
1873 is fresh in the minds of all. Ar
gument should not be required to con-
vince any reasonable mind that con-
1itiOns would have been better had
here been no curtaiiment in the
supply of money.