Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-11-30
MONEY OFTHEMASSES
SILVER DOLLARS TOKENS OF
GENUINE PROSPERITY.
When They Circulate Freely Among
the People Business Conditions Change
for Better-Hard Job to Get Them
Back Into the Banks.

More than three-fourths OF the peo-
pie of this country use silver coin for
their daily and weekly business trans
actions, and it is attested by those who
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 a
gold coin that is not incumbered with
view upon it for some public or pri-
vate debt in the shape of principal or
interest and that all gold coin is I'M
der the dominion or control of the
creditors. True, we make showing
Of free gold, and we read in the news
papers Of its being here and there,
sometimes man may receive a golG
coin or a small 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 it came, to wit, the Golfers of
the banks, to be by them distributed
to certain, well-known central loca-
tions, to be again sent out and manip-
ulated when profit can be made
upon 1t. 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-
tion, can have no free egress and in
gress because it is 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 130 millions
OF dollars, and with this all our COM
mercial transactions, both great and
small, must be carried on. OF 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 1t 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 60 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, Il
can take five silver dollars to the store
and buy just as much goods, wares
and merchandise as l can for a five
dollar gold piece" That is quite true
so far as certain things are concerned,
but when it 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 silver stand
ard. Yet we can buy as much in Mex
leo with Mexican silver dollar as
we can buy in the United States with
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. II. Robinson, in Living
Issues"