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Editorial
October 16, 1896
The Goodland Republic
Goodland, Sherman County, Kansas
What is this article about?
Extract from 1892 Republican Party campaign handbook criticizing the gold standard's adoption, arguing it appreciates gold's value, burdens debtors with higher repayments in commodities, and favors creditors over workers, while supporting silver for stable cheaper money amid growing demand.
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OCR Quality
95%
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Full Text
PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
(Extracts from the Campaign Hand book of National Republican Clubs in 1892. Pages 53 and 54.)
"There is grave danger of the unqualified adoption of the gold standard. For as silver has been taken out of Europe's coinage, the demand has enormously grown, and grown in a proportion much greater than the supply. Measuring both metals by the standard of commodities, it is substantially true to say that gold has appreciated much more than silver has depreciated.' In a silver using country silver will buy almost as much of everything except gold as it would ten or a dozen years ago, and this fact sustains the demand for cheaper money. The advocates of the gold standard allege that the value of gold is intrinsic, and that a certain quantity of gold bullion having a fixed value should be the standard of exchange. This would be all well enough if any one were able to insure that the supply of gold would continually increase in ratio with the increasing demand for it caused by a growing population and commerce.
But, as a matter of fact, it is decreasing in that ratio, and, therefore, a man who ten years ago contracted a debt which might then have been discharged with a thousand bushels of wheat must to-day pay many more thousand bushels to get himself free.
"The meaning of this is clear. The capitalist can increase his wealth by simply converting it into gold, putting it in a vault and holding it idle for a series of years. At the end of ten years it will buy more provisions and labor than it would when he stored it. As the supply of gold contracts everybody must work harder to get it.
"It is plain that a debtor is entitled to discharge obligations for a value precisely similar to that he originally obtained. He cannot do this if the money in which his loan is compulsively payable increases between the date of the making and the date of its payment. Measured in gold all obligations have thus far increased in a very short period of time.
The creditor class enjoys, therefore, a vast advantage over the debtor class. The men who work for a living, who consume their earnings year by year, are placed in a most unfair position."
(Extracts from the Campaign Hand book of National Republican Clubs in 1892. Pages 53 and 54.)
"There is grave danger of the unqualified adoption of the gold standard. For as silver has been taken out of Europe's coinage, the demand has enormously grown, and grown in a proportion much greater than the supply. Measuring both metals by the standard of commodities, it is substantially true to say that gold has appreciated much more than silver has depreciated.' In a silver using country silver will buy almost as much of everything except gold as it would ten or a dozen years ago, and this fact sustains the demand for cheaper money. The advocates of the gold standard allege that the value of gold is intrinsic, and that a certain quantity of gold bullion having a fixed value should be the standard of exchange. This would be all well enough if any one were able to insure that the supply of gold would continually increase in ratio with the increasing demand for it caused by a growing population and commerce.
But, as a matter of fact, it is decreasing in that ratio, and, therefore, a man who ten years ago contracted a debt which might then have been discharged with a thousand bushels of wheat must to-day pay many more thousand bushels to get himself free.
"The meaning of this is clear. The capitalist can increase his wealth by simply converting it into gold, putting it in a vault and holding it idle for a series of years. At the end of ten years it will buy more provisions and labor than it would when he stored it. As the supply of gold contracts everybody must work harder to get it.
"It is plain that a debtor is entitled to discharge obligations for a value precisely similar to that he originally obtained. He cannot do this if the money in which his loan is compulsively payable increases between the date of the making and the date of its payment. Measured in gold all obligations have thus far increased in a very short period of time.
The creditor class enjoys, therefore, a vast advantage over the debtor class. The men who work for a living, who consume their earnings year by year, are placed in a most unfair position."
What sub-type of article is it?
Economic Policy
What keywords are associated?
Gold Standard
Silver Coinage
Monetary Policy
Debtor Rights
Creditor Advantage
Bimetallism
Economic Appreciation
What entities or persons were involved?
Republican Party
Creditor Class
Debtor Class
Capitalist
Editorial Details
Primary Topic
Dangers Of Unqualified Gold Standard Adoption
Stance / Tone
Critical Of Gold Standard, Advocates For Silver And Cheaper Money
Key Figures
Republican Party
Creditor Class
Debtor Class
Capitalist
Key Arguments
Gold Has Appreciated More Than Silver Has Depreciated, Measured By Commodities.
Demand For Silver Grows Faster Than Supply Due To Europe's Demonetization.
Gold Supply Not Increasing With Population And Commerce, Leading To Debt Burdens In More Commodities.
Capitalists Gain By Hoarding Gold As It Buys More Over Time.
Debtors Entitled To Repay In Equivalent Value, But Gold Appreciation Prevents This.
Creditors Gain Vast Advantage Over Debtors And Workers Under Gold Standard.