The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-04-25
POINTS FOR WORKING MEN
The Gold Basis" and the Free
Soup" Kettle Go nd in
Hand.

Hand.
Mr.. EDITOR:
Is it not aboutA 4e the farmers
and laboring peops come to a posi-
tive understanding as to what this
t'parity betren gold and silver,
sound mopey redemption" racket |
means to1abor? I have heard men
talk gold basis" to me endeavoring
TO cshvince me of the necessity of a
single gold standard, who had toiled
to the age Of SO or over, and are still
toilfng; with nothing in the world to
show for their toll, save scant
meager living, or a good sized mort
gage on the property they owned.
Surely to them the gold standard is
proving a grand thing. Again / am
told the price of gold has not varied
the fraction of a cent in years, the
so-called going up or down Of gold is
amisnomer, it's price has always been
the same. conclude if this is true
the maintaining of that condition
has worked havoc with the price of
labor and the products of labor.
Let the laborer and the farmer
ask himself if the maintaining the
parity of the two metals has not cost
labor rather dear. l think the "gold
whistle" is an extremely costly one to
the laborer and farmer. l we'll re-
member the condition of laborers
from the beginning of the war up to
the contracting of the currency and
bond issuing act, from '62 until 10; l
worked by the day and month, have
paid $40, for pair Of pants and paid
prices for other things in proportion;
now the same kind of pants can be
bought for So. But the opportunity,
for the labOrer to get ahead in the
world has vanished in greater pro-
portion than clothing. / believe the
time has come for organized labor to
make positive demands for placing
both gold and silver on exact equal
ity in coming and debt-paying quail
ity; if free coinage of silver, full legal
tender, same as gold, cannot be
brought about; then demand the
complete wiping out both as money;
demand the issue of paper treasury
notes full legal tender and receivable
for all debts public and private, in
quantity not less than $50 per capita
and fight it out on this line, if it
forces every Wall Street gambling
millionaire to emigrate to Europe
with his "coat-of-arms." I believe
bread, meat and potatoes, will taste
just as good to hungry man, if
bought with legal tender paper mon
ey as it would if bought with gold:
even though every millionaire were
permanently located "t'other side of
the pond" have never heard of
labOring man presenting money to
the U. S. Treasurer for redemption;
he gets so pesky hungry before he
could get it exchanged for other
kind of money Bankers reduction)
he gets it redeemed for something to
eat.
l have heard half-starved half
naked men arguing that the
government never should issue
any money except it is re-
deemable in gold, when the
poor devil had not had ten dollars in
six months to get redeemed in food
and clothing; but had taken his
chances on Charity's free soup kettle.
Yet that mans vote is just as big
and counts for just as much as the
most intelligent and rich. fear the
task of educating perverse ignor-
ant man to think and act for him
self, is too great to accomplish, if his
own miserable condition will not set
him to thinking. How is this from an
editorial in New York World,n of
April 4th, under head of "The Veto
of the Bland Bill"
"Silver has aroused good deal of
senseless terror in Wall Street: but
even senseless terror is fact to be
reckOned with in commercial and f.
nancial centers. and if the New
York money market is frightened
panic is inevitable. The coinage of
$55, 100000 in silver will not danger
ously initiate the currency if there is
no alarm. If there is alarm now or
any time there are $346, OOO, 900 in
greenbacks that are charge on the
500, 100000 gold reserve, so that the
country may just as easily be driven
to silver basis now as when it has
$50, OO0, 900 OF silver coin or silver GER
tificates.
It is lack of confidence that makes
the United States practically silver
country, and if confidence can be
maintained the seignorage can be
coined without creating any disturb
ance whatever. AS the President
suggests, this necessary confidence