The Labor enquirer., 1884-11-01
people. Is it any wonder that honest
labor is crushed


which decreed the destruction of 81, 400, :
coo, 600 in greenbacks and $50 0Q0, 900 in
fractional paper currency, and the selling
of $lO0, 600. 900 of bonds to buy gold for
specie resumption, when the gold was not
needed and not used for that purpose.
The republicans had the effrontery and
the cool impudence to make the people
believe that the salvation of the coun-
try depended on the resumption of specie
payment, whereas it proved perfect
failure and ridiculous farce and ended
in successful tragedy in its effects to
further rob and enslaye the people.
Mr.. Sherman, secretary of the treas
ury, stated himself that the treasury only
had calls for $40, 900 of gold for green
backs. President Hayes in his annual
message stated that SAG, 100000 more of
greenbacks had been paid out for gold
than gold for greenbacks, which shows
that the people did not want to part with
their greenbacks on the contrary, they
took what gold they, had and exchanged
it for greenoacks. Asa perfect fraud on
the people the specie resumption act was
success.
The demonstration of all our silver
dollars in 1873, was engineered by Mr..
Sherman, ably sustained by Mr.. James
q. Blaine and his co-workers. Letsllver-
producing states remember that. This
act lowered the valueof silver dollars to
the benefit of bankers and bondholders
and to the great detriment of the people.
1t was such daring act and so glaring a
fraud and such outrageous injustice to
the people that not a member had the
audacity to advance an argument upon
it, butthey had the cheek, all the same
to pass it. 1t was passed in the night, a
dark deed in the annals of the republic
can party, :
They sold S5O,O00000 of the peoples
money to buy silver for sma i change to
be substituted for fractional paper cur
rency, They have sold hundreds of mil
lions of dollars of the peoples money to
buy gold, silver, nickel, copper, ETC., for
money, when experience proves that
money can be made of a cheaper mate
rial, that nine-tenths of the business of
the world is done with the use Of paper,
and that. most people greatly prefer pa
per money to that made Of 81 heavy and
costly material.
There is much said for and against the
benefit of a high protective tariff. What
ever its effects for the benefit of the peo'
pie are or might be, it cannot be denied
that, as now carried out, it discrimInates
terribly against the poor and in favor OF
the rich. Necessaries that both rich and
poor use are taxed very high, while arti-
cles of luxury used by the rich only are
taxed very low, as jewelry, diamonds,
fine laces, etc. -,-.L E. =
For example, woolen blankets ofcoarse
texture used by the poor have been
taxed $194 per pair, while the fine quail
ity of blankets have been taxed but 40
cents per pair. And furthermore, the
existing high protective tariff has pro-
tected the capitalists and the manufacto-
ries with vengeance, while it appa-
rently,fails to protect the operatives and
the employees, as evidenced by the reduc-
tion of wages to a starvation point and
by the strikes of employees in all branches
of industry, the strikes being most fire.
quent in the industries that are protected
the highest. 1t is true the war debt ex-
lists and means had to be raised for the
payment of it, but it is also noteworthy
fact that of every $40 collected the gov
ernment has received only ST. Alexan-
der Campbell. ex-member of congress
from Illinois, is authority for the state
ment that every $1,000 of the public
debt that has been paid has cost the gov
ernment $4,000, Enough money has
been collected to pay tue public debt four
or five times; but then, the existing state
of things is very good for oficeholders,
bondholders, bankers and capitalists.
The act known as the back salary grab
law was another fagrant instanceof the
moral deprayity of our lawmakers
After having been paid once in full for
the various good laws passed by them
our(9l law makers concluded that they
would have another grab at the public
money, and actually passed q law that
they should be paid over again for the
onerous services they had rendered the
rich to enable them to oppress the pro-
ducers and wage-workers, Out of 400
members only fourteen or fifteen voted
against this measure. The presidents
salary was raised from S25. 900 to $4,000
a year. Mr.. Hayes lived on $1,000 a year
while he was in the white house.
In connection with this subjectit will
do to mention that our bank presidents,
railroad presidents and officers OF other
public and private institutions receive
enormous salaries. But what does 1t
matter All this comes off the people
and is one of,the means to impoyerish
them.
1t would tire the reader to detail min
utely the stealings of the whisky rings
during General Grants administration
and the big profits made by his relatives
and cabinet officers On Indian contracts,