The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1876-10-28
CLEVELAND, Oct. II. 1876.

Professional men, business men, manu-
fActurers, money shavers and politicians,
and all who receive their ideas and opin-
ions from these, urge the need OF greater |
economy, and q shrinkage of wages to |
what is called the exceedingly vague |
phrase Of "a gold basis" The other week |
heard physician dilate upon the ex-
tavagant wages paid labor during what
he termed ''the imitation season." and
gravely assured his hearers that ''every-
body knew such season Of excessive rates
could not last, but must have a speedy
end" ''Such a condition of things" he
said, could not be permanent, ~ the basis,
an inflated paper currency, on which it
rested, was all wrong, and under its
regime trades unions carried on things
with high hand. II man had occasion
to need the service of q laborer he could
not get him except at whatever wsges the
said laborer chose to dictate" This was
the kind of strain he went on in for ou,te
while, till he seemed to have about
thought he had made out a clear case
nA0inst the workman, and the need for his
gSter economy, lowers WAGES, and hore
docility to his lord and master, when some
one at my elbow ventured to put the fol-
lowing question to the Doctor "What
we're the regular fees for the services of n
physician in anti-war times, where YOU
wish to put the wages of labor to p
"Well All well, said the man of medi-
cines, ''to regular patrons a dollar visit
was about the usual rate. "All right"
retorted the questioner 81 had occasion
to call an NJ. ID. the other day into NV
family, and when asked his fee he said two
dollars was the regular rate, which, of
course, WAS paid over" ''Thus it seems.
continued the speaker, ''the rates estab
lished in your profession by the imitation
OF the currency have not been reduced,
besides had no choice either in fixing the
price when | had to hire one Of your
brethren of the lance. The old saying is.
practice as you preach" This, for
moment, took the Doctor at short, but
immediately he rallied, and, as if hy wav
of apology, he said ''the rate Of wages for
mechanics, the trades aud labor generally.
had gone up much sooner than the profes-
sions, and, as was natural, they would be
longer coming back TO their normal condi-
ton, and, in addition, taxes, rents, and
the cost Of living are still very high in the
cities, and those had all to be met" Just
50, replied the man at my elbow, land is
it not true that the producers only have to
pay the taxes, the rents, and even furnish
the living for all, whether high or low
priced n A second for reflection. and then
came the answsr-'Very true, very true !;
but we are all laborers in our different
spheres, hence we are all producers. Z"
Grant this to be true, to prevent us wan
dering from our subject, though / have
doubts, nay, convictions to the contrary.
as rents, cost of living and taxes are still
very high, is it not obviously in the wrong
place you recommend economy to com.
msnce. when You strike at the wages and
living Of the industrial classes p ''If
taxes are high, and know they are, I" the
speaker kept on, lis it not extravagsnt
expenditures by our national, State and
municipal governments, who are response
BILE, and is it not here where the economies
should begin and work down 1t so seems
to me. To strike the wages Of the laborer
and tradesmen generally down, while the
taxes keeps the same, is nothing short Of
an outrage, and must recoil upon the heads
Of all who urge such a policy. The high
rate Of wages for labor has been the bur.
den Of the song Of every class outside of
themselves, and now almost every class is
suffering, and will suffer for their folly :;
their crime, | would say, in thus making
an onslaught upon the very foundation of
our prosperity as a nation. BY the policy
of reducing wages and economizine,
throwing men out of employ ment, we have
10000 idle workers living on their
credit, or the balance of the community
who, if employed, would be adding 49,
OOO, 900 to our every day business, at the
very least. All this means of wealth lost
to the United States, and when you ad-
vocate more Of the same thing upon the
hollow pretense of getting down to gold
basis, or anti-inhation state, you simply
say, in effect, let us have more idle men,
and thus lessen our ability to pay the en-
ormous taxes and correspondingly high
prices for all the necessaries of life, con-
tracted under what you are pleased to term
a period of imitation" LET us have a
currency" the man at my elbow held on,
with his eyes fastened on the astounded
nj. d., equal in proportion to what was
in circulation when these debts in our diff
ferent departments were contracted, which
will give us equal wages for our labor,
and then we can all pay the taxes, the
debts Of our respective governments, the
high rents, and cost of living. Any change
produced by our national legislation 10
lessen the ability Of the people to discharge
their obligations, and this is what the hard
pan policy amounts to, is vicious legisla-
ton, and in a court Of law, if it occurred
between individuals, would evoke de-
cision setting aside the contract, and rem
dering it null Yet this has been the pre-
else effect of the financial legislation of our
national legislature in the last decade, be-
tween the lsborers Of the country, who
alone are the debtors, aud the nations
creditors. young man, INTERCEPTED the
disciple of Esculapius, Il see you are
believer in an unlimited imitation of gov
eminent promises to pay. desire to say
1 have no sympathy with regulators, and
Nv o rhG %1Gd 'nsa