The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-01-30

was a curse to the country: but the Re-
publicans said that they would not under
take to restore silver except by the as
sistance of other nations, the assistance
of England, which was being profited by
reaping an enormous harvest out OF the
gold standard and which, of course,
would not consent The Democrats said
that we must run our own affairs: we
must have an American policy and we
will walt for no other nation. Inc cleo
ton went against US.
After the election in 1896 there followed
two years of great drouth on several con-
tinents, and almost total failure of crops
on three of the worlds great continents,
while here we had abundant crops. The
result was we were called on to feed the
earth. That created temporary demand
for our stuffs in excess of the usual de-
mand. 1t lifted certain things above the
ordinary price level. 1t gave our farmers
a moderate degree of activity. and pros
perity for two years, and there were good
diately said why you see this comes from
the gold standard" but, when We come to
EXAMINE THE FIGURES
given out by the treasury department.
Those figures tell us that during those
several years we increased the volume
of money in our country-we increased
the amount of gold in our country by
over $3.50, 1000, 900 There have also been
great gold discoveries. you will remem-
her, and the result of lne two was to
increase the amount of gold in our coun-
try by nearly 40 per cent. Now, accord
Ing to our theory, that should have raised
prices. And 1t did create a temporary
activity; but you cannot build nation S
prosperity. my friends upon the calam-
ity of other nations. Last,ayea they
again had good crops in those countries
where there had been failures. The re-
suit was that this temporary lifting of
our cereals above the general price level
was over. Wheat is now again so cents.
Other
portion. Cattle and sheep are yet a lit
tie up. because that same drought had
reduced the worlds f1ocks and reduced
the worlds herds. 1t takes a little longer
to stock up with cattle and sheep than
1t does to raise crop. The time is near
at hand, however, when the cattle and
sheep will also range on the same price
level
Now we find that gold has already be-
shipments during the last few months,
business, fall in prices. shrinkage and
panics In the East, and failure. That, in
brief my friends, is the history of our
monetary experience down to this day.
through congress bill which throws off
the mask-no longer makes any preten-
sion to maintain broad money basis,
but proposes to establish permanently In
this country the English monetary syS-
TEN. a system which is not a good sys-
TEN for a producing nation and debtor
nation, while it is a splendid system for
money-loaning nation In that bill
which Is now pending they propose to call
in the silver dollars that are now In Cir
culation in our country-several hundred
millionsHand redeem them in gold
MEANS MONEY SHRINKAGE.
That means a shrinkage in the volume
of actual money in the country. They
backs that are In circulation-sever
hundred million-redeem them in gold
and retire them. That means a shrink
age in the volume of the actual money
basis is to be made still narrower. We
find in the last few years that the basis
as it is can be manipulated. A few great
banking houses. can manipulate money
it at will. 1t Is proposed to narrow that
basis still more, and it is proposed to
have the government give up a function,
and that is the function or issuing mon
ey, CT whatever shall pass as money,
and surrender it to the corporations.
Surrender to the corporations the eX-
elusive privilege of issuing paper that
shall circulate as, money, putting this
of the land. The greenbacks carried US
through our great war They have sus-
tanned our country. They are to be re-
tired because the bankers do not like
them. With silver in circulation and the
greenbacks in circulation, 1t is harder to
manipulate the money of the land, the
basis is not narrow enough to suit them.
Now it is proposed to wipe them all out
and place the industries and enterprises
of this country at the absolute mercy
of the few great banking houses of the
country.
Now my friends. during and subsequent
to the Civil war, when we were on what
they called the paper basis, you heard
a great deal about Our wheat market.
We did not export any goods to speak
of, because it was not necessary. The
purchasing power of our farmers and peo-
pie was so great that they could CON
sumo everything we made. Even after
the panic of 1873, when we got down onto
the coin basls-the worlds basis
at that time of prices, even when the
farmer had to sell his wheat at S110 a
bushel. his purchasing power was so
great that business men prospered, the
bankers prospered, the railroads pros
pered. Our home market still consumed
nearly all the goods we could make. But
we have passed on and In the last year or
market
POLICY SHAPED ABROAD.
The home market is not what 1t was
once. We are hearing something now
about seeking markets abroad Why?
people today is only about one-half what
it was years ago, in proportion to popu-
lation. We are getting onto a lower
basis all the time. We are exporting
goods, and we are proud Of our exports.
What do we find when we examine the
exports? Years ago. when an English
bondholder took out his thousand-dollar
bond and took off a coupon for one year $
interest, we will say $50 that coupon
would only buy him about forty bushels
of wheat. Today when that bondholder
gets out the same bond, If he has not
sold it, and takes off a years coupon
$5c-those $50 will buy him pretty nearly
100 bushels of wheat. Who has proffted
by this? The bondholder or the man out
here who raises the wheat? But that is
not all. BY controlling these large finan-
cial establishments English interests have
been enabled to dictate the policy of our
government. They have dictated our
laws and have shaped our economic pol
icy,
At the close of our great Civil war oul
$1,000, 100000, At that time a little over
1000, 100000 bushels of wheat, or a CORE
spending amount of other farm products
would have paid off the whole national
debt. We have paid at that debt thirty
five years and more, a whole generation
of Americans have paid at that debt We
have paid the interest every year with our
products, and we have been reducing our
national debt, and yet today, after we
have paid for thirty-five years, it will
take just about as much wheat or as
much of other farm products to pay what
is left of that debt, as 1t would have taken
TO have paid 1t all at the close of the
war. Why is this SO? Because the dollar
has been kept dear, and the policy has
been pursued which has cheapened prop.
erty in the markets Of the world.