The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1894-04-13
BAY STATE OPINION.
oeagressman Mccall Of Massachusetts
Talks About the Vetoed Seign.
forage Bill.
He Says the Western People Don't
Understand the True Situation
of Affairs.
The Willy Bay State Member Gives
His Version Of Finance and
Trade.
WASHINGTON, d. G, April 5.-[SpeciallE

w AsHINGToN, d. G., April 5|[Special]-
"There is a vast 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 seigniorage bill. "ThOse west
ern mon talk as If we in New England and
New York had some direct interest in re-
duGng the volume Of currency and indi-
fecNy accuse us of contriving to bring it
about. They are very careful, however, to
ol4y state tho argument to a certain point
a1H then stop. They don't take into con-
alteration the fact that the creditors lose
an enormous percentage of the principal
whenever the debtors are pinched. I am
myself q victim of the decline of prices and
hard times in Kansas"
Labor's Double GAIN"
"The western argument, Mr.. Mccall, Is
somewhat different in statement. They
say that for various causes, possibly inven-
ton, improved transportation and the like,
commodities have declined in value from
soto 40 per cent and farm products 80 per
cent, and this in coin, in tho last 20 years.
Silver hns also declined 40 or so per cent.
The decline being about the same, why is
not silver the best continuous measure of
values?"
1T Is not fair or scientific to use COM
mOdities as the measure of values. The
true measure Is labor, and wages have in
creased even in gold, SO that, according to
their w showing, the laborer has received
a double advantage. He gets more money
for his work on the gold basis, and each
dollar Of that money will buy moro com
modities. So he has made a double gain,
while the creditor has made only one gain,
even II he has 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 power of
money he has lost and moro thar lost in
the dead loss of principal. Even If it were
true that the creditor gained by apprecia-
ton of money it would not be fair for the
debtor to pay In commodities at the old
price when the commodities cost less labor.
Now take an instance: Suppose 1 loaned
10 years y the value of 1000 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 tho debtor to pay with half the
number of days work because it would re-
quire only that to make the shoes. He GER
.ainly is not injured if he repays exactly
the humble of days work value which he
borrowed, even If the amount would buy
twice as many shoes. But as a matter of
fact 1T doesn't. The royalty on machines
goes for something, and the advantages of
invention arc equalized through all classes,
and a comparatively small part of the
gains goes to the maker of shoes.
Protection and Finance.
1.-THE agricultural opponents deny your
statement that wages have increased. They
say that SO 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 a%gricultur-
al producers have had their wages reduc-
ed about one-half by the decline in their
products.
II do not question that there is a tenn
porary decline in the agricultural interest
due as a matter of fact TO ove%rproduction.
But 1t is only temporary. People VIII try
to get into that line of production which
pays the best. The result will be that the
increase in agricultural production will
stop, while the population will go on in
creasing, and before long the population
will outrun production, and farming will
again pay as well as it ever did. 1t GER
tainly will do SO if the protective system
can be maintained and the existing finan-
cial situation let alone for awhile. But
here are the Democrats who want to take
down all the barriers and throw the man |
ufactrring interests into u worse dcpres- !
sion than the agricultural. Instead of
helping the farmers, that would make their
condition worse"
Does not Massachusetts, want free raw
matcriaisi'
Thelc is "A d, of foolishness talked on
that subject. Massachusetts has neither
coal nor hon mines, BNt she is not so fool
ish as to think She can\ be helped by in
Juring her neighbor states, }Sho has no fool.
ish policy. She is willinN to pay living
rates for coal, iron, wool ann all other so
called raw material. Massachusetts,, how
ever, is too enlightened 10 CALI anything
raw material which is the product Of hui
man labor and skill. All she asks rs a liy.
ing chance for herself, and she is moro
than willing to give the same to PennsyI-
vania, West Virginia, etc., and even W
force 1t on Alabama. She is even wi agl
to subscribe money to educate the vo6 "
Alabama to vote for their own interp
no doubt you nave seen in the corre '