Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-18
MONEY QUESTION ISSUE
In PRESIDENTIAL RACE
Increase in Price Commodities Held Only
Factor That Will Change
Aspect i'm 1892.

That is not true The great majority
Of us are in both classes. A wage
Garner who in 1926 deposited 81 in the
savings bank can draw out today 81.
AS a savings bank depositor he Is bene-
flied by the rise in the dollar. Similarly.
a man with his life insured, who in
1925 paid premium of 81, can today
draw out 81, in loan value, If he now
borrows on his policy. or in death bene-
fits to this family If he dies.
Farmer Benefits.
Precisely the same farmer who in
1926 borrowed $4,000 and now must
pay Sl0,000-that same farmer quite
likely took out in 1925 life insurance
policy for $4,000, and If he dies today
his family will get $4,000 lin COM
parative purchasing power. This farmer,
as a debtor with a mortgage, is hurt
by the rise of the dollar; but as holder
of life insurance policy he is helped.
Practically all Of us are in that same
position, partly debtor, partly creditor.
In the net it is difficult TO say as to
any one individual whether the change
in the value of the dollar has helped
or harmed him. But in organized So
ciety as whole, it has worked tire.
mendous dislocations and injustices.
There is another fallacy which the
reader will need TO guard himself
against. This fallacy, like all the fall
lacies made easily possible by the in
tricacy of the subject. was widely eX-
plotted in the 1896 campaign on the
money question; it will again be widely
exploited in the political agitation
about the money question just ahead
Of us.
This fallacy is that the change in
the value of the dollar was brought
about deliberately and cunningly by
certain persons, or certain classes of
persons, for the conscious and evil pur-
pose of enriching themselves by grind
ing down the face Of the debtor.
Already this has been said by Sem
ator Couzens Of Michigan. He. on Sep
TENDER Is, permitted himself to be
quoted Saying: The boosting of the
value Of the dollar is undoubtedly a
concerted effort to make it more diff
cult for debtors"
Misstatement Short of Wicked.
That is a misstatement In the light
of the facts and of the present stat=
of the times and Of what is ahead of
us, Senator Couzens' misstatement is
opening fire Of what We shall hear from
all the demagogues in the controversy
ahead of us.
The change in the value Of the do,-
lar was not brought about by a coll
certed effort" If Senator Couzens
thinks it was-and only queerJv
warped mind can sincerely think So
let him name the "concerters." H.
means to imply, Of course, that thu.
rich, or some group among the rich,
or presumably the bankers, were the
"concerters" who deliberately broughe
about the change in the value Of the
dollar.
That Is utterly false The rich as q
class have been more hurt, relatively.
than the poor. The bankers are sweat
ing blood over the rise in the dollar.
Ask any banker If he is pleased with
what has taken place. You don't need
to ask him. Take look at his wor-
ried face
Ask any rich man whether he Is
pleased with what now is-or whethe.'
he would prefer to 60 back to what
was In 1926 or 1927 or 1928 or 1929.
There IS one rich man who happens
to be the object of Senator Couzens'
almost obsessed dislike. That is Secre-
tary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon
Without knowing a thing about it
should say Mr.. Melons wealth today
is probably less than half what 1t was
in 1929-and I am quite confident his
cares and anxieties are at least doubled
In short, Senator Couzens' statement
that some group of men, rich or poor.
deliberately got together and deliber-
ately changed the value of the dollar,
is-oh well, let us call it fantastic.
Change Worked Hardship.
am only denying that the change
in the value of the dollar was brought
about by what Senator Couzens calls
concerted effort" am not denying
that the change has worked hardship.
On the contrary, that is what I am
emphasizing.
The hardship calls for relief and the
demand for amelioration is going to
express itself in the Congress that meets
in December and, unless commodity
prices rise sharply, in the political cam
paign Of next year.
The demand for relief is already
made. I have counted II United
States Senators who have publicly made
the plea for amelioration of debtors.
and whose demand for relief takes one
specific form.
They, or at least some Of them, want
the Government to coin great quanti-
ties Of silver into dollars, thus making
dollars more numerous, and. therefore,
easier for debtors to get. OF that we
shall hear much more. The silver
question" is ahead of us; it Is one
phase Of the money question" and
that Is ahead Of us In q dominating
way.
Some things about silver Though not
free coinageO can be done Chiefly in
quarters of the world outside the
United States) and they command the
support Of some Though not alb per-
fectly sound and conservative men. II,
however, the silver advocates put their
demand in the same shape as Bryan
did, that Is for setting up silver as q
basis for currency jointly with gold In
fixed ratio-if they do that the COM
ing political fight will take precisely
the lines of 1896.
Tell me-that Is, predict for me
whether the price of wheat six months
from now will be, roughly, the same
as now, and other commodities the
same. If you can tell me that then
can tell you the money question
will overshadow everything else in the
presidential campaign.
But If YOU tell me that six months
from now wheat will be 81 a bushel
and other commodities likewise up
than I can tell you the presidential
campaign will be fought on prohibition
or something else, something other
than the money question"