Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1919-07-02
FROM Is 2ooCENT DOLLAR s. s. s5
TO "A 80 CENT DOLLAR INA sE
QUARTER OF IS CENTURY
Editor Wi1lmar Tribune:

Editor Wf1lmar Tribune:
Preparatory to moving out of our old
we have lived for quarter
Of CENTURY have been compelled TO 80
London Times from 1886 and The Will
mar Tribune when it was wee little
money power Of the panic days Of Grow
er Cleveland. In looking here and there
through the first columns Of the Trt-
that has taken place since then in our
monetary system, or rather In the SO
called standard Of value the dollar. I
q 1o these eeosi il "Reminiscences and
reflections and SO I satsdown and began
to write. Now whatever may say Is /
Or party past sor present Il know well |
enough that q. man Of my age cannot |
understand the present era, he can only
wondering at the present panorama that
now unfolds before him;
Our complaint in 1894 was that we
had q 200 cent dollar-.judging by it's
purchasing poWer-exchange value and
that is Of course the only real value of
a dollar. A dollar whether Of gold,
raiment, nor an ornament, but simply q
token to exchange for something to eat
and wear. In 1894 dollars were few,
small and the demand for dollars was
great. because We were all in debt and
needed dollars to Pay it WITH 18th; and SO 80
exchange value was great and goods
Butter was from 10 to IS cents
pound, oats 20. to rs and wheat so to
rs cents a. bushel. The best kind of a
cow sold for less than 20 dollars; hogs
were from 3 to cents. In Wi1lmar
SON had an ad. stating. what one dol
| lar would buy of the different necessi-
| ties of life as follows:
20 pounds granulated sugar
10 pounds .Apricots
~ pounds Peaches
IL pounds Prunes
l. 20 pounds RaisinS
Is pounds Dat Meal
/ 20 pounds Rice
! pounds Tea
20 yards IF bingham
z pairs Of overalis
| 10 linen Collars
| white Shirts
! silk Neckties
| l suit of Underwear
IL BARS of Gentlemen's Hose
! In other words as compared with half
dozen years later we had then zoo
clover the debtor class was practically
deal of the creditor element. Of the
| nation that populiSm protested.
gan to mine and South Africa to in
crease its output of gold and this re-
MO doubt would haves ended in revolu-
ton in this country. The enormous
output of gold during the closing years
Of the 18th century made r, the doilar
ally rose, that is, the dollar went down
| until there was fair deal to both
creditor and debtor. and times became
Let us then say that we had fair
and equitable dollar in 1912, and an 1 had
Of the last century
: Why then has the dollar is gone dow:
I! The war war, y you say? But how does the
war affect the dollar? Because money
, like any other commodity obeys the
laws of supply and demand-when it is
when scarce it goes up: :,
' Our per capita circulation now !:
1eT 1s xsss bat sSSee
four times what it was in 1895. TIL
, gold Of 5ae Allies came here for wa
creased our per capita Then we hav.
the federal banking institution whicl
0 is nothing more nor less than fla
all kinds of talk about the old gree
back system. Under that Congress di'
o make legal tender fat money but tina
=: gr Ss 1H Our Federal Reserve Banks cal
: now issue fat money without limit
|, that is. it can extend credit upon VIVA
It's officers deem good collaterals-Whlcl
serves the same as money by enhanc
O ing it's efficiency and causing imitation
k Now what is the real trouble wit
gold standard nominally but in fact W
have a paper money imitation worse tina
:. during greenback times after the Civi
cents dollar in 1894 to a so cents dolla
in 1919.
l. Now then what? If this state o
q say it will-then all the debts contract
!. lions entered into before the war ca
5. Every long time contract entered int
before the war involving the orphan
and and their f ts 6a9
deposits not to speak Of public an
@ private debt.
It we heard all these arguments durin
It years ago. why don't statesmen-phile
. sophers howl now? Are they afrai
to touch this delicate question lest tn
- I am not rejoicing over the arrive
d Of the SO cent dollar-1 am only curiou
the naughty animal. Our people ar
It abundance Of cheap dollars How ar
ID got she! the remedy N say Of eoSrse@ the Feders
d Bank can refuse credit-can contrae
the circulation-and that Is PRACTICAL
ID the only thing that Will lower price
IF | generally
But that would be like SOLDERING up
4 | drunken man and that is not pleasar
81 experience. Politicians lack the n1ors
d. courage to do this. The public want
more cheap money booze and will =
in and bring the public to its senses.
But may be this so cent dollar IS
~ good thing after all. May be we ma
e. learn from it that chasing dollars
y, after all not the only thing to live TO
IL Why should man lay up a whole Il
- of prospective income in dollars whe
~ he don't know what that dollar will /
worth to him when he gets it? Rattle
- then, acquire a small farm or bushes
III ~ that always will be worth some thin
er Of real value in life. That was tt
=. way our forbears did before none
81, chasing became all of life and the
s lived, 1t seems, happier than we do.
- Respectfully,
d DR.. Christian Johnson.