The Negro world., 1900-04-14
CIVILIZATION AND MONEY.
Progress Ha. Away. Followed the
Production Of the Precious Met
nIs-siIver Decentralization.

day, to the conclusion that every pre-
teding civilization has come into exist.
ence with productive mines and dis
appeared with their exhaustion. This
Is because the volume of money has
been limited TO the supply of gold and
silver. Prosperity and progress as in
yariably follow an increasing supply
of money as night follows day; and
poverty aud want have always fol
lowed the exhaustion of gold and sill.
yer mines. Mining for gold and silver
during the / 400 years preceding the
discovery of America was an unknown
industry. The property Of what was
once the Roman empire was gradually
drawn together by the deathly grasp
of contraction into feudal trusts. A
few feudal lords rioted in luxury
while the great mass of the people be-
came serfs and were sold with the
land.
Gold and silver from the new world
revolutionized the old, and In 30 years
after Mexico and South America com.
menced pouring cut their treasures a
Luther appeared. and all Europe was
in the throes Of reformation. The
new money gave new life and created
modern civilization. For 300 years and
until the commencement of the pres
ent century the product OF silver,
with a little gold, continued to flow
without cessation. Then the Spanish
American wars interrupted mining,
and Europe suffered financial depres-
sion for nearly half a century. In the
United States the money famine was
less disastrous than in Europe, be.
cause the great Mississippi valley was
open TO all who would come and make
a home. When the supply Of public
lands was fast being exhausted. and
when Europe was in the throes of rev
olution. the gold OF California and
Australia came 10 the rescue and cre-
ated an era of prosperity throughout
the world which had no parallel In pre-
vious history.
The cupidity OF the creditor class 10
enhance the value of money and OBJ.
legations payable in money induced
Europe and America 10 cease printing
legal tender upon silver and TO print
II upon gold alone. The demand for
gold was so increased by this legisla.
tlon that in 20 years an ounce Of gold
would buy as much property in gen
eral MS two ounces Of gold would have
bought In 1870. The United States OBJ
tained partial relief from this drastic
contraction by the Bland-Alison act
Of 1878 and the eo.ealled Sherman act
Of 1890, by which over s500,O0o,OOO Of
new money was printed on silver and
put in circulation. The repeal Of all
laws for coming silver into money
took place In 1903, and thereupon the
business Of the country was paralygcd.
In the last four years, according TO the
director Of the mint. there has been an
output from the mines OF the world OF
over thousand millions of gold.
This enormous and unprecedented
output of gold has reduced It's pur-
chasing power. or. what ~ the same
thing, has enhanced the price OF prop
erty, The worEhlpers of gold call at
tention 20 the fact that the country Is
more prosperous now than II was three
years ago. and argue that the gold
standard has accomplished this result.
They overlook our large war eNpendi-
lures and the fact that while the sup
ply of gold was shrinking prices were
falling, and that prices did not cease to
fail until the supply Of gold was great
ly augmented. II they would give this
matter little thought they would sec
that u Is the quantity and not the quail
ity of gold which has given prosperity.
because the quality OF gold during all
our years of adyersity was the same as
II now Is. The check In the fall of
prices and The advance already gained
by the new supply Of gold proves the
contentious Of the silver men. They
never pretended that there was any
thing in the quality of silver that would
make good times, but they did contend.
and do now contend. that an increase
in the volume Of money il what makes
good times. and that silver would ac-
complish that desirable object as well
as gold.
viii not elaborate. but win defy any
one to give an instance of great pros
perity In any country, In any age. when
there was not at the same time an In.
creasing supply Of money. and | also
defy anyone TO name a time OF pros
perity when there was a shrinking vol.
ume OF money. The Limitation OF the
supply OF lcgal-tender money to the
commodity gold creates n huctuating
measure of value. II the gold standard
had been adopted ON the discovery of
the precious metals In the new world
the feudal trusts would not have been
disturbed by the output OF gold. Won
Humboldt, the best authority we have.
tells us that from the discovery OF
America until 1903, a. ounces Of silver
were produced TO one of gold. and We
know. rs a matter of fact. that nearly
all the gold that Was produced during
that period was found In combination
with silver. II silver had not been used
as money the silver mines OF the new
world would have remained untouched
and very little, II any, gold would have
bten produced. II Was the silver min.
irg OF the new world which quad.
rnpled the amount of coin in the civil.
ised world during the first hundred
years after the discovery OF gold and
silver in Mexico aud South America. Ii
was silver mining that enhanced the
price of property during that same cen.
tury more than 200 per cent. increased
the land holders of Great Britain from
$4,000 20 100000. made tenants, land.
lords and Kerfs tenants.