The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-04-04
MUCH IFOOL|SHNESS.
Congressman Mccall of Massa-
chusetts Talks.
His Views on Business and
Finance
DOUBLE GAIN
The Western Argument Stops
Short He Thinks.

wAsHIEGToN, April f. Especial =
'There is a East amount of foolishness in
this talk about debtor and creditor sec
ton, said Mr.. Mccall of the Boston Back
Bay and Harvard College district in speak
ing of the sci vniorage bill. ''Thosc west
ern men talk as if we in New England
and New York had some direct interest in
1educing tho volume of currency and in
directly accuse us of contriving to bringi.
about. They are very careful, however, &c
only state the argument to a certain point
and then stop They don't take into con
sideration the fact that the creditors lose
an enormous percentage of the principal
whenever the debtors are pinched- am
myself victim Of the decline of prices
and hard times in Kansas. "
Labor's Double Gain"
ssThe western argument, Mr. Mccall, is
somewhat different in statement. They
say that fer various causes, possibly inven-
ton, improved transportation and the
like, commodities have declined in value
from 30 to 40 per cont and farm products
80 per cent, and this in coin, in the last
20 years. Silver has also declined 40 or 80
per cent. The decline being about the same,
why is not silver the best continuous meas
ure OF values?'
at is not fair or scientific to use COM
1nodities as the measure of values. The
true measure is labor, and wages have in
creased even in gold, 50 that, according to
their own showing, the labOrer has receiv-
ed a double advantage. He gets moro
money for his work on the gold basis, and
each dollar of that money will buy more
commodities So he has made double
gain. while tho creditor has made only one
gain, even il he hes made that But l
think that you will find ON examination
that what the creditor has gained or is
supposed to have gained in the purchasing
has han
lost in the dead loss Of principal. Even If
it were true that the creditor gained by
appreciation of money it would not be fair
for the debtor to pay in commodities at
the old price when the commodities cost
less labor
s'Now take an instance: Suppose loaned
10 years ago the value of ZOO pairs of
shoes A machine has been invented by
which the shoes can be produced for one
half the labor. 1t certainly would not be
honest for the debtor to pay with half the
number of days work because it would re-
quire only that to mako the shoes He
certainly is not injured if he rcpays exact
II the number OF days work value which
he borrowed, even if the amount would
buy twice rs many shoes But as mat
ter of fact it doesn't. The royalty on ma
chimes goes for something, and the advan-
tages of invention are cqualized through
all classes, and q comparatively small part
of the gains goes to the maker of shoes
''The agricultural opponents deny your
statement that wages have increased. They
say that 65 per cent of the laborers of the
United States do not work for money
wages They make a product and sell it,
and the price of the product constitutes
their wages. Therefore all the agricultur-
al producers have had their wages red;lc-
ed about one-half by the decline in their
products.
81 do not question that there is tenn
porary decline in the agricultural interest
due q matter of fact to overproduction.
But it is only temporary. People will try
to get into that line of production which
pays the best. The result viii be that tho
increase in agricultural production will
stop, while the population will go on in
creasing, and before long the population
viii outrun production, and farming will
again par as well as it ever did 1t GER
tainly will do if the protective system
can be maintained and the existing finan-
cial situation let alone fer awhile. But
here are the Democrats who want to take
down all the barriers and throw the man
ufacturing interests into a worse depres-
sion than the agricultural Instead of
helping the farmers, that would make their
condition worse .
''Does not Massachusetts, want free raw
Materials
''Therc is a deal of foolishness talked on
that subject. Massachusetts has neither
coal nor iron mines, but she is not so fool
ish to think she be helped by in
juring her neighbor states. She has no fool
ish policy. She is willing to pay living
rates for coal, iron, wool and all other so
called raw material Massachusetts,, how
ever, is too enlightened to call anything
raw material which is the product of hui
man labor and skill All she asks is liv-
ing clloncS for herself, and she is more
than willing TO give the same to Pennsyl-
vania, West Virginia, etc, and even to
force il on Alabama She is even willing
to subscribe money to educate tic voters OF
Alabama to vote for their own interests as
no doubt you have scen in the correspond
ence Of Governor Jones and Senator
Hoar'
The Poor Creditor.
"What about the silver mems statement
that the $12 600, 600. coo which the world
owes England has been increased in pur-
chasing power one-third by the apprecia-
ton of gold2''
Vow, right there we have the figures
to show that the creditor lcscs as much as
he gains How many hundreds of millions
OF dollars do you suppose England has lost
in the last few yearss have not the fig
ures, but the is simply enormous
Just for a single item take the shrialzaec
in the value CT railroad investments in The.
United States, running into billions of dol
lars You can figure it out for yourself
Add the loss in railroad stocks. in mines
and manufacturing plants in various coun-
tries to the loss which she has sustained by
repudiated or dcfaclted bonds in many
places, and am certain You will find that
England has lost many hundred million
dollars more than she has gained by the
general shrinkage of prices But aside
from all this it is all communism and
claptrap 20 say that farmers any other
class of labcrers would be benefited bv
cheap money The laboring men OF Mas
sachusetts are too intelligent to be fooled
that way. and they are our strongest sup