The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-08-27

Our supposition rs to the character ~ tho
unfortunatos in whose behalf Senator THUR
MAN would repeal the Resumption act is
confirmed by this communication, which
has just been sont us:
40 r,,s Enron or rnr srS-sir Legislation nat In
favor of labor You say that men who lad borrowed
gold dollars rad I'll their debts 1T discount Of Toto ~
cents How IS 1t. now. that borrowed $3.50" In green
Lacks and by contraction. brought on by resumption.
ha,c fo.pav ms tftpj mortgage IN coid' bought
farm with sht.r and t5pn borrowed In 1870 and
promised to pay in is7s Dram then worth ~ per
bushel n had promised Ia nay 300 bushels Of grain
or IT, value in 1919 e- that aud not gold is the standard
of value because 500 bushels will sustain agi'en num-
her ofhv,sas well in 20 IS - his mortgage would have
shrunk equally with my farm NV farm produced lOn
bushels watch enabled nv t. pay my taxes interest aud
suppurtmy family, and some over Now my arm with
The same labor produces the same ~ In $50 hut when
sell 1t can get but half former value. can't paw inter
est taxes and support my family. Consequence, my
t, nds s5OpI has doubled in value. and my 5000 has
shrnk 10 nothing and this In rentals works the same
The duty o the Governments to egsate for the masses
Pass those laws that Will do the greatest good TO the
saiest number Contraction has brought all this mis-
cry onrs PAPER came ~ n necessity Of the war II
should have remained and been gradually absorbed In
and hy the growth Of the country Had any merchant
attempted To redeem his notes ns the Government has
dome ruin won Il have followed him. Government gave
sau groruhaoks $50 gold. AMI caes the green
backs In gold. and labor pays iur IT,
Our friend hero states case which is,
probably, that Of many other men in the
country. lie bought property on credit
during the era Of high prices, and now that
prices have fallen he finds that hc has made
a bad bargain. We are sorry for him, but
we do not see that any obligation rests on the
country to help him out OF his scrapc. When
he executed his mortgage for the 5000. he
knew that the faith Of the nation was
pledged to redeem the grecnbacks I'm coin at
the earliest practicable moment, and he has
no right now to demand that the pledge shall
not be kept Besides, as we have often
shown, the fall in prices OF land and wheat
IL not SO much owing to resumption ~ to
the collapse OF the speculations which pre-
coded 1878. Tho repeal Of the Resumption
act would go but n little way to relieve men
In the plight Of our correspondent. Nothing
would meet his necessities short OF a law
declaring that debts contracted prior 10
1873 may be discharged by paying 10 cents
on the dollar, and for that we hardly think
the country is yet ready.
Nor do we see what interest workingmcn
have in legislation such as our friend de-
mands. They do not own $4,000 farms,
| with mortgages on them. They want wages
paid them in money that will buy the most
bread and beef and clothing and they do
not care what becomes OF land spectators
| The effort Of our friend to help himself un-
der the pretence OF helping labor. is a thing
which he ought 10 be ashamed Of.