The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1908-02-20

The infamy OF the assault upon
Mr.. Bryan and upon the contributors
grows In thought the more it Is con-
sidered.
There is no principle or rather we
should say axiom In political. econ
omy more sound than that prices adj
vance and recede In the precise ratio
that basic money increases and de-
creases In a country.
Since before the first page of his
tory was written aud gold had been
basic money. They we're the only
two metals fitted for the purpose be.
cause lhev alone possessed the only
needed requisites, namely, lustre,
malleability, indestructability, den
sity the only difference between
them being the different degree Of
density and the fact that all the
avarice of man had never been able
to acquire enough Of both metals to
serve mems needs for money.
After mints were established, their
relative value was established as
nearly as possible by the amount Of
labor required to produce each which
was about IL to |. All the silver
poured into Europe from Mexico and
Peru from A. d 1900 to A. ID. 1900
could not beat silver down more than
4 or Az points and the coinage of
Great Britain stood at Is to l, that
of continental Europe at l5ls 10 /.
Our own government finally estab-
lished it at 16 to and so sensitive
was the worlds market that our
small coins had TO be underweigbted
to prevent their being bought up and
shipped abroad, silver at Is to | was
more valuable than gold. Silver was
discovered on the United States In
1859. When the great war came on
the gold OF California and the gold
and silver Of Nevada, steadied the
credit OF the nation through the an
guish, the faintness and the fear OF
that second birth. But In the up.
beayal gold in the east went into hid.
ing and the government has to issue
paper money to meet it's awful ex.
penses and to sell bonds to cause men
to let money 90. The bonds were
sold at discount, the paper currency
fell before the war was over to below
40 cents on the dollar. With this
paper currency passing at par with
the government these bonds were
bought at discount The war over
the first move was to have the in
terest on these bonds paid in specie
(silver or goldl.
The next move vas to have the
principal of the bonds paid In specie.
The bonds we're in great part draw
ing $3.50 per cent interest. This
meant that the bondholders were
thenceforth to receive in specie
double interest and principal for the
money they had paid for the bonds.
Hut even that did not satisfy theiI
avarice. In 1873 the bonded indebt,
edness amounted to more than 81,
200, 900, 900. Then few OF those
bondholders conceived the idea OF
doubling the interest and principa
once more. The then comptroller OF
the currency drafted an innocent
looking bill purporting to better reg
ulate the currency, and two or tire,
senators and representatives pushed
it by stealth through the house ant
senate and 1t became law. Eaci
one of those men received princel,
rewards from the interest gatherer
of New York City.
The nation at large had no realiza
tion that by that act silver bad beer
reduced from basic metal money t,
a commodity until silver began I,
fall in value as compared with gold
But with it every other form Of prop
erty except interest bearing secur
tiles payable in gold fell In the sam
ratio. Then a storm arose in ant
out of congress to have the wron,
undone, but that New York press
faithful as IL always is and has been
rushed to the bondhol1ers' defens
and raised the cry: "Would you pa
debts in light weight dollars, thougl
the truth was self-evident that silve
had seemed to fall solely because it
function as money had been denie
1t by legislation. At that time tn
government, the states and cities
the railroads and people owed quit
one-third as much as all the propert
OF the republic amounted to.
The fight to restore silver went o
for twenty.three years. Once
nearly won, but was beaten back b
the then secretary Of the treasur,
All the time the press that alwa,
does the bidding OF the capitalist
worked necessarily against restori
tion.
In the meantime the property
the country bad, measured In gol'
shrunk so per cent In value even
silver had hundreds of thousands
men had been made bankrupt, whi
millions more owed about as mut
as their property would have so
for. Then to nelp a willing pres