The Columbia Democrat. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1837-1850, 1840-04-04

Blu, aggravated IN IFS entCls Uy Tue lIh-
snense sales OF State bonds IN Europe, still
the prices Of oil the necessaries Of life rose
in greater proportion, and he was not ben
e6led. might mention, also, the vast mo- I
mopoly Of pork produced by combination
of individuals extending from Boston to
Cincinnati. which bv means of bank facili-
lies, succeeded in raising the price of that
nece ssaty Of life 20 an enormous pitch.--
What then did the laborer gain, even at The
time Of the greatest expansion Nolnng
literally nothing. The laborers were y
suffering class, even in the midst Of all this
delnsive prosperity Instead of being able
10 lay by any thing for the present day Of
adversely, which was necessary conse-
quence Of the system, the laborer was even
then scarcely able TO maintain himself and
his family. His condition has been terrible
du,ing The past winter. In view Of these
facts, said:
"AII other circumstance being equal,
agree wf.h the Senator from Kentucky that
that country is most prosperous where labor
commands the highest wages. ! do not,
however, mean by the terms 'highest wa
pes,' the greatest nominal amount During
the Revolutionary war, one days work COM
manded hundred dollars of continental pa
per; but this would scarcely have purchas-
ed breakfast. The more proper express
sion would be, 10 say that that country IS
most prosperous where labor commands
the greatest reward; where one days labor
will procure, not the greatest nominal a.
mount of depreeiated currency, but most
of the necessaries and comforts of life. IL,
therefore, YOU should, in some degree, re-
duce the nominal price paid for labor, BY
reducing the amount Of your bank issues
within reasonable and safe limits, and es-
tabIishing metallic basis for your paper cir
culauon, would thusinjure the laborerl Ger
tainly not; because the price Of all the neces-
saries and comforts of life are reduced in the
same proportion, and he will be able to pur-
chase more Of them for one dollar in sound
currency, than he could have done,in the days
of extravagant expansion. for dollar and
quarter. So far from injuring, it will
greatly benefit the laboring man. II will
insure 10 him constant employment and
regular prices, paid in a sound currency,
which, OF all things, he ought most TO de-
sire; and il will save him from being inyol-
we'd in ruin by a recurrence of those peri
Sdical expansions and conlractons of the
currency, which have hitherto conyulsed
the country"
Now, cir, is not my meaning clearly ex'
pressed in this paragraph contendre
that it would not injure, but greatly beneh
the laboring man, 10 prevent the violent an'
ruinous expansion, and conirachcns Il
our CURRENCY was incident; and BY
be Inc consequence That, if the aborin,
man could not receive as great Aomina
amount for his labor, as he did f" in the davi
Of exsravagani expansion" which must al
ways, under our present system, be OF shor
duration, he would be Unidentified, and ia
more than indemni6ed, by The constant EN-
pcyment, the regular wages, and Tie uni
form and more moderate prices OF The ne
cessafies and comforts Of life. which NOR,
stable currency would produce. Can .lli
proposition be controyerted. think not
ttistoo plain for argument Mark me, sir
desire to produce this result, not by es
ta5lishlng pure metallic currency; but " b,
reducing the amount OF your bank issue
within reasonable and safe limits. and eslab
fishing metallic basis Of your paper crcu
iasion. The idea plainly expressed is. tha
Il is better, much better, for the laborin,
mar, as well as for every other class Of SO
ciety, except the specuIator, that the busi
ness Of the country should be placed upol
that fixed and permanent foundation whicI
would be laid by establishing such banI
reform as would render it certain that banI
notes should be always convertible into gol,
and silver.
And yet this plain and simple exposition
OF my views has been, seized n2on by thos
who desire 20 make political capital out O
their petyersion; and il has been represen
ted far ard wide, that it was my desire Il
reduce wages down TO the prices receive,
by the miserable serls and laborers of Eu
ropean despotisns. | shall most cheerful
ly leave the public to decide between M
and my traducers. The Senator from Mas
sachusetis, after having attributed to me tn
intention Of reducing the wages of labor L
the hard money standard, through the agen
cy Of the Independent Treasury bill, ha
added, as an appendix to his speech, state
Inent made by the Senator from Maryland
Mr. MERRIcK, Of the prices OF labor il
these hard money despOlismsj and it is thu
left to be inferred that am in favor Of re