VOL. VIII SELF CULTURE A MAGAZINE OF KNOWLEDGE OCTOBER, 1898 NO. 2 I SOCIALISM IN THE PRICE QUESTION N ITS essentials, the popular demand for free silver coinage was not an isolated agitation unrelated to other thinking of the past and present. Nor was it disconnected from the movements of the time which to the casual observer seemed quite separated from the monetary discussion. Through the proposals to obtain a larger supply of money, and through the expressed fear of a scarcity of gold, ran a philosophy of government which reappears in demands varied in their nature, but which are one and the same in source and spirit. Those who wish well to the republic may fitly inquire into these underlying currents which carry the people on quite unconscious of ultimate results. If our ship is to reach a predetermined port, we must daily take exact observations, watch the currents, and set our course by the compass. We can no more expect to have good government by meeting hard public questions by neglect or sentiment, than we can hope to sail a ship with children or invalids. It should be remembered that in the same soil in which grew free coinage of silver, there also flourished paper money expansion, loans by the government directly to the people, the income tax, and state control of railways. Through all of these ran a common principle. They are all expressions of the same point of view. We shall understand our political questions better if we grasp the deeper common cause which underlies many of these dissimilar demands. It will not be difficult to analyze the propositions advanced in recent monetary campaigns so that their originating force may be distinctly understood, and their close relationship to other agitations easily seen. I Throughout the recent discussions on money runs the frequent and insistent demand for an abundant currency, for "more money," for money enough to keep up prices, and, as if prices depended on the quantity of money in circulation, a demand for governmental action such that prices may be regulated by controlling the quantity of money. This conception is by no means confined to populistic platforms; it is found in the writings of international bimetallists, who urge that we need an addition of silver to our world's money, because there is not enough gold to keep prices from falling. Here again is a plan to manipulate prices by legislative action on the quantity of money. These positions are untenable, either from the point of view of the principles of money, or of the facts of our business life. In truth, the wide differences between money "doctors" arise from reasoning on an invalid basis of theory; moreover, if the premises are unsound, it is impossible that they should square with the results of actual experience. Without attempting an involved discussion of money in these few pages, I may be permitted to indicate simply the reasons why a great deal of monetary literature (both on the gold and silver side) is incorrect and bootless. If the word money is used in different senses confusion naturally arises. If prices depend on the quantity of money in circulation, by money do we mean only the quantity of gold which circulates in the United States? Or, all the gold in circulation throughout the world? Or, should it include all the media of exchange by which transactions are settled? Not even by authoritative writers on money is this Copyrighted, 1898, by THE WERNER COMPANY. All rights reserved. (129) VOL. VIII SELF CULTURE A MAGAZINE OF KNOWLEDGE OCTOBER, 1898 NO. 2 I SOCIALISM IN THE PRICE QUESTION N ITS essentials, the popular demand for free silver coinage was not an isolated agitation unrelated to other thinking of the past and present. Nor was it disconnected from the movements of the time which to the casual observer seemed quite separated from the monetary discussion. Through the proposals to obtain a larger supply of money, and through the expressed fear of a scarcity of gold, ran a philosophy of government which reappears in demands varied in their nature, but which are one and the same in source and spirit. Those who wish well to the republic may fitly inquire into these underlying currents which carry the people on quite unconscious of ultimate results. If our ship is to reach a predetermined port, we must daily take exact observations, watch the currents, and set our course by the compass. We can no more expect to have good government by meeting hard public questions by neglect or sentiment, than we can hope to sail a ship with children or invalids. It should be remembered that in the same soil in which grew free coinage of silver, there also flourished paper money expansion, loans by the government directly to the people, the income tax, and state control of railways. Through all of these ran a common principle. They are all expressions of the same point of view. We shall understand our political questions better if we grasp the deeper common cause which underlies many of these dissimilar demands. It will not be difficult to analyze the propositions advanced in recent monetary campaigns so that their originating force may be distinctly. understood, and their close relationship to other agitations easily seen. I Throughout the recent discussions on money runs the frequent and insistent demand for an abundant currency, for "more money," for money enough to keep up prices, and, as if prices depended on the quantity of money in circulation, a demand for governmental action such that prices may be regulated by controlling. the quantity of money. This conception is by no means confined to populistic platforms; it is found in the writings of international bimetallists, who urge that we need an addition of silver to our world's money, because there is not enough gold to keep prices from falling. Here again is a plan to manipulate prices by legislative action on the quantity of money. These positions are untenable, either from the point of view of the principles of money, or of the facts of our business life. In truth, the wide differences between money "doctors" arise from reasoning on an invalid basis of theory; moreover, if the premises are unsound, it is impossible that they should square with the results of actual experience. Without attempting an involved discussion of money in these few pages, I may be permitted to indicate simply the reasons why a great deal of monetary literature (both on the gold and silver side) is incorrect and bootless. If the word money is used in different senses confusion naturally arises. If prices depend on the quantity of money in circulation, by money do we mean only the quantity of gold which circulates in the United States? Or, all the gold in circulation throughout the world? Or, should it include all the media of exchange by which transactions are settled? Not even by authoritative writers on money is this Copyrighted, 1898, by THE WERNER COMPANY. All rights reserved. (129) |