Iron County register., 1899-04-13
The Cause of Free Silver.
IRELAND UNDER THE CURSE.
The Geld Standard Is Gradually
Starving the People of the
Unhappy Island.

The recent meetings on the subject
of the overtaxation of Ireland which
have been held in Dublin and in various
| provincial centers, have given clear
| proof that Irishmen do not intend to re-
main quietly under the burden of ex-
cessive taxation, writes A. Gore Cuth-
bert, in the Mississippi Valley Demo
| crat.
When parliament meets, il is certain
| that our representatives will use their
utmost efforts to induce the govern
ment to recognize our just claims to
some Tightening of this burden. There
| is one aspect of this great question
which is often lost sight of. Our only
money now is gold-silver and copper
being merely tokens used to represent
certain quantity of gold. Taxes must
be paid in gold OF its equivalent in
goods. Irish taxes are paid in agricul-
tural produce, since she is an almost
purely agricultural country, and for
the last 25 years, produce has been
fetching lower prices in the market
every year. At the present day a SOW
ereign will purchase twice as much
produce as it would have purchased 25
years ago. Every Irishman who pro-
duces and sells anything knows this.
but not many know why the sovereign
has gone up in value, and why the tax
payer has to give two barrels of oats
or potatoes, where formerly he need
only give one, to obtain the money with
which to pay his taxes. The holders of
rplI haxinCr Hnnn ha
petition of silver as money by closing
the mints to its free coinage, are now
forcing producers to give more and
more goods every year in exchange for
the gold with which their taxes must
be paid. Anyone who considers this
question for moment will see what
cruel injustice is imposed by the sin
gle gold money on a producing country
such as Ireland.
Money has almost disappeared from
among the people, and we are resort
ing to the eXpedient of barter that has
always prevailed among barbarous and
uncommercial nations. Silver and cop
per constituted the bulk of our circu-
lating medium until they were degrad
ed to the level of mere token money.
and these have now become so scarce
that it is practically impossible to con-
duct the ordinary transactions of the
day on a cash basis. Credit or barter
are our only alternatives, and those
who have no commercial standing, like
the great mass of the common people
in this unhappy island, r'ust content
themselves with the latter. This places
them at the mercy of the traders. who
demand even a larger proportion of
their products or labor than the natur-
al low level of limited currency justi-
fies. The condition falls with special
weight on our producing and laboring
classes. Of course living is cheaper,
but the standard of exchange has risen
to such heights that the laboring man
can scarcely reach it, and gaunt hunger
stalks where plenty should prevail.
1t is but repetition of history. Men
are still living who remember the
wretched condition that prevailed in
the United Kingdom from 1916, the
date of the demonetization of silver by
the Liverpool act, until relief came
from the discovery of gold in Australia
and California. Why will governments
curse their people in this way when the
law of finance and its effects on COM
merce are as clear as the light of day?
1t cannot be from lack of knowledge,
for the lessons of history are too plain
to admit of misconstruction. During
the disastrous period that I have just |
wages sank so low in the |
manufac turing districts that they bare |
ly sufficed with the great bulk of work |
ers, especially females. for the support |
of existence. \ serious insurrection |
broke out in 1920 and 1912, both in |
England and Scotland, as well as Ire |
land, ostensibly for political purposes, |
but mainly occasioned by the general |
distress among the manufacturing |
operatives, as was decisively proved by |
their entire extinction when labor |
again received a remunerative return. |
Farming capital in the agricultural |
districts was during this distress every
where grievously abridged-in many |
places totally annihilated. Ireland |
during the whole period was in state |
of smothered insurrection; and for the |
last four years convulsed the country |
by the fierce demand for the repeal of |
the union, which was only prevented |
from breaking out into open rebellion
by the continued presence in the island
of sc. 900 armed men, between the reg
ular forces and armed police.
What was it that made this effect?
It was the contraction of the currency,
which was unnecessarily made to ac-
the resumption of cash pay
ments by the bill of 1919, History
as ain repeats itself in the oppression
and hardship of the poor, caused by
the scramble for gold consequent upon
so many of the nations adopting that
standard. 1t is no difficult matter to
decide who are benefited by such con-
The money lenders, the usur-
ers. those who profit by dear money
the Rothschilds and their agents-these
are the ones who are responsible for
the dire distress that prevails among
the industrial classes of all gold stand
ard countries. Accident did not pro-
duce these terrible conditions. They
we're carefully planned and prear-
ranged, and their purpose was the en-
slayement of the masses of the people
TO q grim and determined plutocracy.
BimetaIIism or Barbarian.
From a financial point of view the
japanese were better off when they