Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1910-08-12
Gold. Silver. Interest ami Prices.


rushed to completion, and wants au-
| thOrity to issue and sell bonds
to pay for the same If bonds are
issued and interest and principal OF
them will have to be paid. II they
are twenty tive-year bonds, then for
every dollar so obtained. two dollars
! will eventually have to be paid What
is the need of that? If $500, 900, 900
is required. why compel the people
to pay l.0O0 millions extra in taxes
in the coming twenty-five years?
We have s346, 100000 in circulation
in greenbacks. They are doing vastly
more work than any like amount in
gold is doing. They were as good as
gold twenty years ago, when the
money and property values of the
country were not one third their
value at the present day. A new
adjustment of the laws and new
issue of them to the amount of
$500. 900, 900, and every dollar of
the new issue. backed as the present
$346, 900, 900 is, would be as good
as gold. And they would bear no
interest, and with the steady in
creasing revenues OF the country, after
ten years, probably sooner, s1OO, ,OOO,-
900 per annum of them could be called
in and destroyed aid we would not
feef their issue, nor their retirement.
For that matter. their calling in could
begin with the sales OF the first lands
reclaimed, and the billion dollars
which with the bond issue will have
to be paid by the people, would never
have an existence and the men who
pay the taxes would save this billion.
Better still, if Congress would re-
habilitate silver, the silver produced
in this country, and put it in circu-
lation in the form of silver certif-
icates, the money in that form would
do the work, within three months
the oriental exchanges would be re-
stored to their old place and our ex-
port trade with half the world,
which is now lost, would be resumed.
Within the year silver would be just as
good as gold the world around, and
our trade relations with the myriads
of the orient and with South America,
would be better than any other ma
tion would have.
If the people would only under
stand that nothing ever lessened the
value of silver in terms of gold. ex-
cept the withdrawal by legislation of
recognition of it as primary money,
they might be more reasonable. The
writer heard an educated eastern
gentlemen say: The reason people
cling to gold as their standard of val
ues. is becauseits value never changes,
never huctuates. When told that
it had fallen 30 per cent. in value
in the last'fffteen years, he became
half indignant. Taking a 500 piece
out of his pocket, he said: lis not
that $50. the same that it was fifteen
years ago?'' "Oh!" was the re-
ply; " l can buy your $50, with half
the potatoes. eggs, or. butter or ap-
pies or any other food. or with half
the land that l could twenty years
ago."
He insisted that what was given
him as test was unfair, that com.
modities might rise, but the gold re-
mained the same. When asked how
the commodities would fare, were
half the gold in the country thrown
into the sea and the mines closed
down, he was obliged to admit. that
the effect would be to lower prices,
but still insisted that $50 in gold
would still be $50.
He did not know that when silver
was demonetized (which was throw.
ing away half the worlds money).
gold was at once inflated. as meas.
ured by the worlds products it was
at length inflated 100 per cent. That
is, it required two bushels of pota-
toes or apples. or two dozen eggs, to
buy as much gold as half their
amount bought fifteen years before.
! But interest-bearing securities did
not depreciate. The country and
people owed vast sums which they
had t" pay in gold. 1t made three
fourths OF them bankrupt.
Now the business is reversed. So
great has been the influx of gold
that it has fallen in value, and with
it SO have interest bearing securities.
For instance, IL in 1872 man gave o
note Tor SIX years at per cent. per
annum. for say $1,000, the interest
and principal when the note fell duo
OF course amounted to 81, 800. II,
when he gave the note. he could have
covered the whole sum with seven
teen acres of his land, when it fell
due it required quite thirty-four
acres to pay. it. and under forced sale
fifty acres. Now, had he given the
same note six years ago, he could
meet it now with half the land or
half the products of the land, COM
pared with their value when he gave
the note. Which shows. that gold is
just like the eggs we eat at breakfast.