If the successive steps that we have described, whereby the nations
have arrived one by one at the single gold standard, had been the
result of a hundred years’ conspiracy against the “debtor class,”
instead of being a natural evolution beneficial to all classes, I
should still be unable to see any advantage in changing back. Whatever
mischief appertains to this evolution has been done and now belongs to
the remote past. Those books are closed. To retrace the steps would
merely double the wrong, inflicting it upon a new lot. Those who,
according to the hypothesis, suffered in the past are mostly dead. If
there be any such victims living in France or Germany, in Holland or
Belgium, or Scandinavia, they are very slow in disclosing themselves to
the various international conferences held for their benefit. They are
very backward in coming forward.
What is meant by “debtor class” in this discussion? All men who are not
bankrupt are both creditors and debtors. The fact that they are not
bankrupt implies that they have more due to them in one way and another
than they owe. I am proud to believe that the vast majority of my
countrymen are of this class, _i. e._, of the creditor class. I take it
that we are not legislating specially for bankrupts. Certainly it would
not be wise to change our standard of value for their accommodation.
Such a change would produce a great many new bankrupts and would not
save any old ones.
What our country needs is more capital. This is especially true of
the West and South. There is a great deal of foreign capital that
would like to come here, but is deterred by apprehensions of a change
in the standard of value. This is not conjecture on my part, but
actual knowledge. I do not think there will be a change of standard.
I believe in the persistence of gold both here and in Europe, but
the belief is very strong in Europe that we shall slip off the gold
standard, if we do not go off intentionally. Consequently they keep
their money at home or invest it here only on call, and they withdraw
it in cases where they can do so without loss. This rule operates with
our own capitalists more or less. If money is tight, it is because
credit is paralyzed. Lenders are afraid lest the continued operation
of the Silver Law should bring about a change of the standard, so that
they would get back less than they have put out. While this state of
mind continues, it is immaterial, so far as borrowers are concerned,
whether the amount of cash in the country is large or small.
We are told that there is not gold enough in the world to do the
business of the world. I have been hearing this for seventeen years.
How do you know that there is not enough? If there was not enough
seventeen years ago, there may be enough now, seeing that there has
been an addition to it of $1,500,000,000 during that interval, after
making a liberal deduction for the amount used in the arts. The old
stock does not disappear with use. I have a gold coin of the reign of
Philip of Macedon, on which the name and face of that monarch are so
well preserved as to possess artistic as well as archæological value.
There is no ascertainable relation between the amount of gold in the
world and the amount of business done or to be done. The function of
gold as a standard of value is increasing while its function as a form
of currency is diminishing. The time is surely coming when its currency
function in civilized countries will be limited to international
payments and to the wants of travelers. That time has already been
reached in the greater part of the United States and Canada.