The Peoples Voice (Norman, Okla.), Vol. 7, No. 33, Ed. 1 Friday, March 10, 1899 Page: 3 of 8
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POOR MAN'S BURDEN.
mQn£.Y
%
MONEY AND PRICES.
ON THE QUANTITY OF ONE
THE OTHER DEPENDS.
Clem* autl {'onvtiM'lug Illustration* on the
l>«*|teutl uce of Trit e* on iliv Volume
of .Money l'rr«ente«l by Joseph sb«*l-
Uoii of New lluven.
^lr. President: 1 am exceedingly
gratified to find this conference and
debate proceeding with such fairness
and courtesy on all sides.
The subject of the debate has difll-1 ...i , |lt. .ui- •
. . " . . J niercial world |ust this state of uiiairs
culne* and complexities peculiarly its . . .
. , 1 ' —a great increase 111 the amount of
own. it is complicated with private
interests, party and political interests,
which tend to obscure the fundamen-
tal points on which the whole discus-
•ion must turn.
economy as well a* of the moral law.
llut dindo the quautity of added
money and its accepted substitutes by
two, and at the same time multiply by
two the amount of the property and
services to be bought uud sold, and
you have a compound lever, operating
together to depress the general level
of prices. It depresses thein below
what it would have been under the iiu-
pulse of either one of these influences
acting alone, and greatly below what
prices would have been with ueither of
them acting to depress them.
We claim that for the last twonty-
live years there has beeu in the com-
File up the poor man's burden,
He still some more can bear;
Let loose the Imperial Eagle,
While of wealth wa steal our share.—Mark Hanna?
EXAMPLES IN' AMERICA.
INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
IN PRACTICE HERE.
against it at such election.
Practically this samo provision is in
the state constitution of Illinois, Kan-
sas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and
Missouri.
The constitution of the state of Wis-
consin goes even further and requires
that the question of banks or no banks
shall be submitted to the voters of the
state before the legislature shall have
power to pass any general or special
banking laws, and further provides
that after the legislature has gotten
the permission of the popple to pass
such a law, that the law so passed
shall then be submitted to the vote of
the people before it becomes opera-
tive. This is what we might call a
double referendum, and is a remarka-
ble instance of the existing faith in
the wisdom of the people, as well as
their distrust in representative legisla-
tive bodies.
The constitution of the state of Iowa
recognizes both the Initiative and Re-
ferendum for certain local legislation
It not only provides for the board of
supervisors of any county submitting
a rge number of questions to a vote
of tlio people before becoming opera-
tive, but it further provides that "the
board shall submit the question of the
adoption or recision of such a measure
when petitioned therefor by one-fourth
of the voters oT the county, unless a
different number be prescribed by law
in any special east'." Here one-fourth
Scuutor Marian Duller ( lies Inntancoi
Where State Constitutions and lawn
Provide for the Initiative uud Refer-
endum to a l imited liitcut.
The Initiative and Referendum arc
by no means new in this country.
Our federal constitution provides that
when three-fourths of the states peti-
tion congress for a constitutional con-
vention to amend the constitution that
Congress must then call a constitution-
el convention. This is the Initiative
in a modified form.
The federal constitution also pro-
rides that whevever congress desires
10 amend the constitution, that after
having passed sucli amendment by a
three-fourths vote that it shall be sub-
mitted to the various state legislatures
and be ratified by three-fourths of
them before coming operative. That
is the Referendum.
There are two kinds of Referendum,
known as the compulsory and the op-
tional. The compulsory Referendum
would require the submitting of all
legislative acts to a popular vote. This
would hardly be practical except in
small republics or in legislative dis-
tricts of small dimensions.
The optional Referendum would re- j of the voters of the county are given
quire only such laws to be submitted the power to initiate legislation by pe-
to popular vote as were demanded by tilion, or by petition demand that cer-
petition from a certain per cent of the 'ain legislation be submitted by the
people. Referendum to the voters for accept-
Tlie experience of Switzerland has ance or rejection.
been that the people having the power Hundreds of pages could easily be
to demand legislative acts to be sub- covered making such quatatious from ' the amount of money
mitted to theiu acts as a check upo-i ■ state constitutions and in citing in— |
tha legislative body and prevents, as a stances where the Initiative and Refer- i.ejjaiiy Author!/
rule, the passage of laws which arc endum in a more or leas modified form
objectional to the people.
Every state in the American
would produce the ideal, popular gov*
eminent.—Senator Marion Butler.
Ciohl Wont Cirrulute.
Those who have for some time been
fighting in the reform ranks will* re-
member how John Sherman was wont I ^ie general price level is as simple
to get up in the senate and tell how when it is rightly understood.
The pith of tIiis matter, as a scien-
tific question, and one of statesmau-
ihip in tlie broader sense, lies in the
irimary inquiry whether we accept or
•eject the quantitative theory of tuou-
ty and the general price level.
We accept it as wo dctine and under-
stand it, as absolutely axiomatic and
lecisivcof the question before us.
It is unfortunate that our opponents
Jo not agree among themselves as to
whether they accept or reject it, or
j whether they accept it in part or in
iny sense, or reject it altogether.
I We undertake to say that no one
' >rer did reject it who ever really com-
I arehended its meaning and import as
J wo define it. it relates solely to the
jcnoral price level of all property and
j not to the price of particular articles
and their oscillations of price under
the influence of the special supply and j
demanded for thoso particular arti- j
:les.
An illustration here may'illustrate:
If one-half of all the waters of the
seas should be absorbed into the rocks,
as we are told it may one day be, no
I one can doubt that the general fcoa
i level would fall, inevitably fall, how-
ever great oscillating waves might ap-
1 pear on its surface again. And if some
Noah's Hood were to double the quan-
tity of the waters of the sea, can any
one doubt that the general sea level
would rise—inevitably rise—however
some oscillating waves might appear
fluctuating above and below the gen-
eral sea level?
This might be called the quantita-
tive theory of sea water and of the
general sea level.
The quantative theory of money and
that silver would not circulate. The
people would not handle it and the
government could uot get it out of the
treasury where it was piled up by tlio
ton. Of course Sherman knew, that
that talk was all buncomb, that there
was not a word of truth in it, for every
dollar was in circulation through sil-
ver certificates. The people preferred
to take the paper certificate. Hut now
there is the same trouble with gold.
The banks and the people don't want
it and wont have it if they eau get
greenbacks. There are constant offers
made at the treasury department to
exchange gold for paper. The banks
iu New Orleans are especially worked
up over the matter. They say that
they cannot get the people to take
gold unless it is forced upon them by
the legal tender law. They don't want
it at all and they especially object to
the little measly five dollar piece, that
one is liable to nay out for a nickel
because it is so near the same size.
This state of affairs shows that all of
the frauds and hypocrites that ever
lived the leaders of the republican
party have been the most depraved.
The kind of mouey that people of this
enlightened age want, is paper money.
'Ihere i3 no demnnd from any one for
gold except from the representative ol
the mo Ley power and they make the
demand solely for the purpose limiting
rc ulation.
jare now in operation iu counties and.
lion | municipalities.
at
The Paper-Pulp Trust is capitalized; begun todecav
How, then, do we detinc and under-
stand it?
In this way: "The general price lev-
el of property, bought and sold, varies
with the whole quantity of money and
its accepted substitute that is in un-
hindered circulation in the commercial
world, other things remaining equal.
The general price level rises with more
money and falls with less mouej*. This
includes all legal lender money and all
its accepted substitutes that perform
the functions of money in buying and
selling property."
Wo hold, with (tcncral Walker,
"that that is money that does money's
work in trade. ' 1 add in "unhindered
circulation,*' for mouey hoarded,
whether in war chests, treasury re-
serves, or otherwise, is as inert as gold
is before it is mined. It is hindered in
its circulation.
"Hindered circulation" is one of the
greatest of all the causes of money re-
duction and the fall of prices.
The contraction oi the money vol-
ume, by the suppression of silver coin-
age by many great nations simultan-
eously was one great cause of the fall
of prices.
The shrinkage of the money volume
and the fall of general prices began
and iias continued since, not because
that shrinkage was at first great, but
because it was certain to come, and
was sure to increase with advancing
time, till gold and its substitutes
should be the only money, and the
world should have csased to grow, and
property to be bought and sold, and a
great spread of the commercial world
over new people and new lands, and at
the samo time an actual decrease of
the mouey supply. More property to
be bought anil sold by more people,
and less momy to do it with.
They must have more money or .,ub-
mit to lower prices.
Rut instead of providing more mon-
ey, tiio great commercial nations Itave
reduced the natural volume of money
by governmental action, by prohibit-
ing the creation of now money from
silver.
The general price level has accord-
ingly fallen farther than it would have
done under either of these tvro influ-
ences acting alone.
We stand upon this axiomatic prin-
ciple that is plain as day and univer-
sal as gravitation.
Even our opponents act upon this
prlnciplo always, and sceui ouly to
deny it or falter over it when au un-
welcome fact or argument faces them
in debate.
I cannot now argue the question
from a consideration of the conse-
quences of the error originally fallen
into and since ruinously persisted in.
I would rest an argument for bimet-
allism for the restoration of the free
coinage of silver at the ratio now in
use in this country upon three separ-
ate and distinct grounds
I. First gml foremost, on the solid
ground of moral right; or simple jus-
tice between man and man; on the
preservation of the equity of govern-
mental obligations and other time con-
tracts: on the support of a civilization
and a government based upon equal-
ity before the law.
II. On grounds of expediency; on
what would be most conducive to tlx
welfare and development of tho people
as a whole, particularly the w a go-car u-
ears ami those le*s qualified by nature
to defend themselves in the fierce con-
tests of trade; and the just right of in-
vested capital.
III. On the authority, concurrent
and conclusive, of tho great names of
political economy in all countries be-
fore the question arose; on the im-
mense preponderance of the voice of
the people to be affected by a mone-
tary system resting on one money
made of two metals, or one money
resting on gold alone, -lly Joseph Shel-
don, of Hew Haven, Conn., at Omaha
Monetary Conference.
When to Col Ilaj ?
"When to cut hay?" I ran tblak
of no better reply to this query than
'.his: When hay is Just right for cut-
ting. writes A. H. Smith in the Prac-
tical Farmer. Some one says, "cut
clover hay when one-half the heads
ore turned brown." As to this I am
not certain, but we will not let tha
clover get over-ripe, as by so doing
tho stalks become "woody," and con-
sequently worthless as fodder. The
practical, observing farmer soon
learns when hay is in tho right condt*
tion for cutting (some who aim to tell
us theoretically often "miss the
mark"), and although not able to ex-
plain, ho knows just the same. With
us, in our variable eiiniate the time
often varies; for instance, a cold,
backward spring retarding growth
makes, as we say "haying late," etc.
Hut we know when the condition of
the grass Is the same, and then is the
tlmo to cut either for home use or
market. Wo usually begin haying
about tho fourth of July, and in back-
ward seasons about a week later.
Early cut grass is mowed in tho fore-
noon, and if tho weather proves just
right, drawn in the next day after-
noon. Later on the more ripened
timothy can bo cut and Btored the
same day. Generally i*ot more than
can bo stored in ono afternoon is
mowed at one time. And if th<*
weather Is lowering with much indi-
cations of rain we forbear entirely.
Much hay was ruined In our neighbor-
hood ono season, by cutting during
such weather, when a continued raiu
came on and spoiled it.
i:n
iK-ipulio
•,000,000, of which
>,000,000 is Discerning business men then rea
recognizes the Referendum in a The last session of the Nebraska 0XPected to draw G per cent dividends iug the coming fall in prices,
When a man unable to find work
goes to a neighboring villngo or city
in search of it he becomes a "tramp,"
a criminal beforo tho law in mauy
places, the butt of ridicule, the sub-
ject of coarse cartoon and ribald jest
of the "best people;"' and yet Pitch is
the existing social order that not one
of us can say that he has provided so |
well for the future of his own child
that he is absolutely secure from be- i
coming an American tramp- a tramp !
j denied the right to work. Turgot said: i
"God, b}r giving a man wants and mak- j
ing his recourse to work necessary to
supply them, has made the right to !
work the property of every man, and
this property right is the first and !
most sacred right of all." The right'
to work is the right to worship. "Tho
secret place of the mo.st high is in tho
depth of human need.'" I am excited
to more reverence when I stand in the I
workshop or factory, watching the I
lifc-lwork of men's hands, than when I
modified way to a greater or less dc- legislature applies this principle t.i
gree. Nearly every state constitution j municipalities of the state.
o the
gre
specifies that certain acts of legislation
bhall be submitted to a popular vote
before becoming operative. Among
fcuch questions are the following:
Fixing the scheme of revenue and
placing limit on the taxing power.
from the start The balance of SJ0,
000,000 of common stock is offered at
'he last session of the South Dakota G~ cents on the dollar, which indicates
legislature submitted a constitutional knvat flotations of its earning pow-
amendment which will be passed upon ei* *n ncftr future. The actual I
by the voters of the stare at their next °* tlic various plants is estimated j
regular election, incorporating the Iu- : about 813,090,000, or one-third the;
ifiative and Referendum into their
drew from business when they
and locked up their money. They de-
clined to put money into new enter-
prises not protected by legal or other
monopoly.
The very tramp ceased to put into
circulation mouev he did not earn and
with-; stand in the nave of the grandest ca-
ould, j thedral. The right Jo work! the right
to work! this is the right that must
Lv established and for which we need
a new Kmaucipation Proclamation.—
Ma yor Jones.
snonging value of the concern. j
* j * ..IU. ( 1
Exempting certain properties from . state constitution. Iiills looking to ; PUJ'8 P01' ccnt ou nominal capital • drew from the mad scramble to hoard ! t
taxation and detailing the manner of the application of this principle have ! return will be 18 per cent on the money, and from adding to the misc
assessment. j been introduced in probably half of money invested. I his fleecing scheme j n-s of over-production!
Establishing colleges, universities ! the state legislatures of the uuion. ]ii the patronage of the govern- Hut the gr«.-a' nation* anticirat-j
and other institutions of learning. | The right of petition was wrung j I'ulp woods come in free, but
Moving state capitals. from the crown of England by our an- '1UIP anc* paper are heavily taxed. A
Establishing or prohibiting banks. cestors and has ever since been count- ! v"*tual monopoly is guaranteed by the
Prohibiting the t-ale and mannfac- ed one of the priceless privileges and 1 l-'overnment.—St. Louis Host-Di i at.*h.
ture of liquor, and hundreds of other j rights of a free people. The Initiative j
similar questions. ; proposes to make effective the ancient
Tho following from the constitution right of petition—to make the petition
Wiiat hope has a young mechanic of
setting up a shop of his own aud in
imo working up to a manufactory,
as some of the older men in the busi-
u iss were able to do? Ho goes into a
thing only aud that mechanically as
part "f tlio machine ho tends. Sup-
-"me uuusual piece of
Women a nienrft iho Cheaper.
A medical student is authority for
, • . . ■ , . i tho statement that women's skull,
of Iowa, framed in 1S16, is au Ulustra- of a certain per cent of the pcopla ef- | command a much lower price than
tration: j fective; tint is, force the represent:!.-j those of men. "It is possible," he
No act of the general assembly au- lives of the people to pass upon the saya, "to obtain the skull of a woman
thorizing or creating corporations or law petitioned for and submit it to a for $'1.50, while that, of a man cannot
associations with banking powers not popular vote.
amendment thereto, shall take effect! The Referendum, that is, the opti
or in any manner be iu forcc until the Referendum is simply to restore to the j r i"0't considerably smaller than a
same shall have becu submitted sepa- people the power, when a certain per 1' "l'' 1.* said to be imperfectly
.I.. i ♦ i . , , ... , „ 1 developed; it is an inferior specimen
rately to t!.e people at a general or, rent of the voter, petition therefor, to of Uie article, and altogether less us °
spccial election, as provided by law to ; pass upon any Important acts of their 1 fl,i to science; liQnce its lower market
be held not less than three months 1 representatives by popular vote. value."
after the passage of the act and shall | This application of these great detn- _
haye been approved by a majority of | ocratiu principles, to a re -esentative Soma men* marry
ail of tho clcctor, voting for and; form of government, it would seeji ■ get nothing but love.
>• ... - . - - vauuui,
j l:e had for less tlMu $2. The reason
vhy? Well, a woman's skull, as a
for none:, ar.J
sudden and destructive wars, guarded
thcmselyes, by locking up large
aiuountsof gold in the great war chests pose that
and national reserves. | good fortune he gain, sufficient ltuowl-
Now it is also from the aggregate edge and a little capital to set up a
of all these forms of hoarded money, | tinall factory. H• can do nothing in
that the volume of money in use ha.. competition of ihe great concern that
declined, and has in part caused the ' has undertaken to monopolize that
great fall iu prices during the last. particular industry in which he i* try-
tvronty-five years—caused it altogether! ing to tnako a ,iv;ng asd win his way
o far as it has been caused by scarce | to the front, if he ir .tUes headway
money. enough to coir.e under the observation
I agree that abundance caused by of his big competitor he is soon brush-
new machinery and cheap transporta- ed aside and hi. place Is closed. Tha
tion, etc., may came a full in prices fiiturc threatens to be norio. Without
that is beLcticent 1 iut tha fall of large capital at his baoU to fight his |
price, due to money made scarce by way into a "tv;..st" or to organi/.r or.o ]
governmental action, is a wholly dif- himself ho must be content to become
ferent thing and is ;\ot beneficent, but a wage worker, powerless to resist tii<5 j
is destructive of the interests of the 1 dictation of the corporation that em.
people, is in violation of sound political ploys him. 1
l'n.ltlon of rroeo a nutter.
A reporter of the New York Product
Review in an article in that paper
nays: "Ever since tho Introduction of
'process' butter I havo followed It
closely, watching with Interest tho
Rtcady improvement in the quality of
the product, as well as the rapid ex-
pansion of trad! for It in this coun-
>ry. 1 have seen how deceptlvo it was
becatiFo of the fresh creamery flavoh
obtained by the best manufacturers,
and yet I havo recognized qualities
about the article that were undesir-
able and calculated to hinder its sals
in many markets. Still it has found a
large demand, chiefly in tho south,
southwest and interior cities of tho
central and eastern states. * * *
1 strolled down the street to have a
talk with some of the receivers of these
'process' goods, and the first man I In-
terviewed was very outspoken in his
remarks. '1 tell yon the trade in "proc-
ess" butter is dying fast,' he said. 'I
have handled some of the goods and
whilst a few buyers claim to be able
to make a little money out of them,
others are disgusted with them, and su
am I. Some of tho out-of-town mar-
kets may like that kind of stock, but
New York don't. I am willing to go
on record that the business in process
butter has reached Its limit and will
now fall off fast.' Some of the other
dealers did not tako so pessimistic a
view of tho outlook for these goods,
and yet 1 found that the article had
fewer friends than it had a year ago."
11oiiro Tttnk nntl Windmill*.
There are many farmers putting in
n wind mill, and many of them ara
also adding the house tank as well,
writes C. P. Reynold's In Michigan
Farmer. As is obvious, this requires
some little extra expenditure, and only
a little, when the advantages are taken
into consideration. No farmer should
add u mill to his farm conveniences
and fail to add the house tank: if ha
feels that ho can not afford as much,
he would show very good judgment to
dispense with one tank at tho barn;
at any rate, the house tank should ha
added at any cost, unless conditions
aro unusual and impracticable. There
are very few houses so arranged that
this tank can not bo added; and if
there are any such it would well pay
the owner to disarrange them at tho
first opportune time. It may take up
a little more room than might bo de-
sirable, but this feature will bo more
than offset in other different ways. If
a farmer's well is at tho barn, and in
order to get to the house it is neces-
sary to lay a pipe up and back, it will
pay him to do so; or move the well,
if necessary.
Wide Tire I.aw. legislation com-
pelling the use of wide tires would be
a step In the right direction, looking
towards good roads. A law providing
that tho width of the tire should be
proportionate to ti-? weight carrird,
would prevent a fairly good road from
being cut up by a heavy load, or a
poor road being made impassable. It
would seem that concerted action is
the only way in which good roads may
be built and maintained, as a road,
no matter bow good, once cut by a
single set of wheels, rapidly grows
from bad to worse. San Juan Isl-
ander.
Cows Need Water.—Cows need much
water. They should bo watered twice
or three times em h day if they can be
induced to drink. The average cow.
while in milk, requires about eighty
pounds—nearly ti n gagon.1: of waTer
a day, and nearly lxty pounds when
dry. Of this she will get three gal-
lons in her feed, and the remainder
must be given to her. More than ons-
third the weight of feed consumed by
a cow is water.—Kx.
Barnyard Manure.—Barnyard ma-
nure is the fertilizer tfcst is available
on every farm if the farmer Is prac-
ticing the correct method of economy
In his work. Its application to the soil
serves the taino purpose as tho resi-
due of plants which renain from year
to year and give to the soils their iluh
dark color.—Ex.
Fresh egg.? are heavier than the old
ones, therefore when put in water tha
older ones will float higher.
Corn is a fattening food, but can
nearly always be given at night to
good advantage.
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Allan, John S. The Peoples Voice (Norman, Okla.), Vol. 7, No. 33, Ed. 1 Friday, March 10, 1899, newspaper, March 10, 1899; Norman, Oklahoma Territory. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc115866/m1/3/: accessed March 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.