Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 September 1899 — THE PEOPLE'S MONEY. [ARTICLE]

THE PEOPLE'S MONEY.

The Goldbue—A Many in Kntomoloer The gold bug’s existence seems coeval with man’s, and although it haa not always been known by its present name, Its methods of operating have remained unchanged, and are marked with great caution and exceeding cunning. We have evidence of its active presence an remote as when “pottage” was a medium of exchange and birthrights were extorted from jiungry. famishing men. Its natural habital is in the commercial centers of the world, but its poisoned effluvium vltates the of trade to the outermost circles of the earth. While its favorite diet—upon which it “feeds fat”—ls real estate mortgages and government bonds, It readily devours corporation bonds of all kinds, and it may be said to be omnivorous so far as well-secured interest-bearing gold redemption paper is concerned. In general appearance, it closely resembles the human family, so closely Indeed as to lead to the opinion that it Is identical with man; but after the most thorough investigation and careful research,- even the X rays fail to discover the slightest rudiments of that “Divine compassion” that bespeak the soul in common humanity, and hence it is reasonable and very pelasant to think it belongs to an entirely different species. One of its fixed habits is to always demand the “pound of flesh” if It be so “nominated in the bond,” and another Is to see to it that it always be so “nom-/ iuated.” So wonderful Is its ability to lix conditions ’right for its operations by corrupting legislative and judicial departments of state as to lead to the belief that it is endowed by hypnotic power akin to that of the traditional serpent who “charms” his prey before devouring it. Of late it has been ravaging the industrial interests of the United States to a most alarming extent; and the people are preparing for a general and concerted onslaught upon It on the third of next November, when, by a most thorough administration of the popular free silver 16 to 1 remedy, it is believed that the pest will be exterminated. or at least reduced from its present “pernicious activity” to a state of “innocuous desuetude.”—Angel ine Allison.

Minds Are Confused. There is great confusion in the minds of many people between a bimetallic standard of value and a bimetallic circulatiiig medium. Many people think that you cannot have a bimetallic standard of value unless in each country gold and silver circulate side by side. It is quite immaterial and unimportant, as far as measuring values Is eoifcerned, whether gold and silver circulate In each nation. You can have a bimetallic standard of value without silver circulating In a gold standard country or gold circulating in a silver standard country. If one-half of the nations of the world in commercial importance were to adopt the single gold standard and not permit silver coin to circulate in those countries, aud if the other one-half of the nations in commercial importance were to adopt a single silver standard and not permit gold coin to circulate in those countries, the world nevertheless would be upon a bimetallic standard of value, because there would be an equal demand created upon an equal quantity of metals, which would produce an equal price. You can readily see that, though the silver did not circulate in the gold countries, it would be doing service in another part of the world as primary money, and consequently would be relieving the strain upon gold, just as much as if it circulated side by side with the gold in that gold standard country.—J. F. Sbafroth.