THE CURRENCY QUESTION.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 5006, 22 April 1895, Page 3

THE CURRENCY QUESTION.

GOLD VERSUS INCONVERTIBLE BANK NOTES. [to the editor,] Sir,—Like your M.H.R,, I have read a considerable amount, and understand very little, upon tho big subject he lectured upon lately in your town, but for the benefit of your readers, I give a few extracts from Professor Perry's address at Omaha, October Ist, IS74:—"As " inconvertible paper money always "depreciates and always variable, is " worse for farmers than almost any- " body else; first, on the ground of "its depreciation, and second, on the " ground of its variability. As the "value of money goes down, of "course prices tend to rise; but "unfortunately they do not rise "equally, nor in equal times, and " some prices do not rise at all." "Gold is generally the cheapest " thing a-going, so soon as an in- " ferior currency has demonetised it, "and thrown it out of demand, and ''tho whole consequence to farmers "of the use of such a poor money is, " that they have to pay a great deal " more for all that they have need to "buy, and only get a very little—or " nothing at all—for all they have to "sell. Wheat was no higher in " currency in 1573, than it was in " gold in 1SG0; hams were not; lard " was not; and salt pork was not. "Those are all exportable agricultural products, whose current "price is determined by the gold "money of the world's great market. " These things are what farmers sell. "But harness, boots and shoes, hats " and caps, blankets, all manner of " clothing, were higher in 1873 than " they were in 1860. These manufactures are what farmers havo to " buy. All classes of the people are "ultimately great losers in wealth " and reputation from tho destruc- " tion of the stable measure of value "—from disturbing the meaning of " the word dollar. A huge crop of "defaulters, and of failures, and of "bursted speculations, and of ruined "reputations, are always the harvest "of that sowing, But fanners have " always been and always will be "the greatest losers from rag- " money.

Then, again, Professor Bonamy Price, in his lecture on " Inconvertible Bank notes," says: "It is no "small part of the calamity and "disgrace of an inconvertible cur"rency, that it leads to large and "incessant violation of contracts, " Every stipulated sum which has to " be paid with such notes, is one

thing to-day and another thing to.

morrow. The essence of honor and good faitli in contracts, as well as of trustworthy trade, is to give the thing covenanted; but in the place of that stipulated value the nominal paper dollar specified is given, as if that wore tho payment agreed 1 upon. But what does the unhappy receiver discover? That he has

"been defrauded; that. the paper " dollar lie gets will not buy a 8 much "as the dollar he stipulated; that " prices have gone up in every store; "that he is injured in purse and "property. In raising prices store- " keepers are impelled by necessity, " Real prices are not altered; the "sellers ask for more dollars, but as "every dollar is worth le6?, the "larger number of dollars now bring " them only the same value when it

becomes their turn to buy goods with them. The usual defence pleaded to inconvertible banknotes is necessity, the political j" distress of the hour. The State is "in urgent want of means; the " limits of taxation have been reached. " What olse can a Government do " undor such circumstances but pro- " cure what it imperiously requires "with promises to pay at some " future time." Trusting the above will be of some service in helping your readers to form a truo estimato of the value of the two standards of value.—l am, etc., Gold.