The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-04-16
BIMETALLISTS.
Reply to President CIeve-
lands Communication.
Views TO Controvert Those Held by
Our Chief Magistrate.

CHICAGO, April 10 w. H. Harvey,
chairman of the executive committee of
the bimetallist league. whose head
quarters are in Chicago, has prepared the
following reply to President Cleveland's
letter to the Chicago committee Of bust
ness men;
I'm reply to your letter addressed to
committee of business men Of this city,
we wish to say that the committee tina,
waited on you and the persons who at
tachod their names to the petition such
committee presented did not represent
majority OF the business mon and citizens
OF this city, who take deep interest In the
welfare Of this republic. They repre-.
sented that class that owns money and
securities payable In money-fxed In.
comes
ave respectfully submit that your let
ter does not present the true merits OF this
controversy. With prices coming down
regularly and steadily since the demonc-
tzation OF silver. our merchants, manu-.
facturers and the people generally have
been doing business on falling plane.
This shrinkage In values added to the
ordinary risk and expense of business, has
led To at ever.increasing volume Of debt
TO money lending period, until it has In
creased all debts, public and private,
TO about S40 900, 600, 900 900, or about two
thirds OF the total value Of ell the property
In the United States.
money and those debts payable in
money have been steadily increasing In
exchalgcable .ue with the property OF
tne people. A debt FOR $lO0) that 1000
bushels of wheat would have paid 10
years ago, now requires the farmer to
give up 1000 bushels Of wheat in exchange
for these dollars with which TO pay the
same debt. Tho debts now in existence
are principally old debts or renewed debts,
or now debts contracted to pay old debts.
or debts the people have been forced to
contract by reason OF the continued de-
cline in prices.
Position of Producers.
"The owners of the products must now
give up twice as much property TO pay
their taxes as in 1874 Seventeen thou
sand bushels of wheat would have paid the
presidents salary of Ss5 900 In 1879. and 1t
now requires 100000 bushels of wheat to
pay your annual salary OF $4,000 We
have constantly pointed the people to tho
ever.increasing interchangeable value Of
the creditors dollar and to the reason
why IL was increasing, but the influence
OF these creditors have dominated your
administration, and you insist on such
currency as they have established as a
sound currency.
1T means connscation Of the property
OF the people Ivy the sale of property under
mortgages, judgments and executions.
IL means that fixed incomes will wipe out
the interest Of stockholders in our rail-
roads and corporations. III it Is an in
Justice TO restore prices SO that people can
exchange their property for sufficient
number Of dollars TO pay their debts and
bring happiness and prosperity TO our
land again, it WAS greater injustice TO
destroy the value of property and enhance
the value of money by demonstration OF
silver and the establishment Of a single
gold standard.
"When you call the attention of the
farmer and wagearner To the fact that
rising prices will make him pay more for
what he buys, you should at the same
tins call his attention to the fact that 1t
will enable him to pay his debts. free him
from bondage in which he has been un.
justly placed and again make him the
owner of home and a free and indie
pendent citizen. We might say further
TO him that rising prices causes money TO
seek investment, and would thus open up
the channels of commerce and trade and
give employment to millions now idle.
Foreigners Not Good Patterna
"Our forefathers Gcd from Europe and
established government here that they
might be free from the class legislation OF
those countries, and yet 10 Is now being
seriously insisted upon that we must adopt
and continue tho most pernicious class
legislation that the monarchies-of Europe
have ever fastened upon their belnless
people.
''By adopting their policy we have in
creased the demand for gold and its ex-
changeable value, and oil money based
thereon. with all other property. We
have aided then in the adoption of
single metal for primary money that they
can control and corner that they have
cornered-and forced you to get their
own price, to sustain tho credit OF this
great and resourceful nation. We submit
that this policy should be abandoned, and
our mints again thrown oped TO silver
(as they are now 20 gold) and our stock
Of primary money increased thereby
I'VE agree with you that IL Is time for the
people to reason together, and to that end
we respectfully ask that you make 1t pos
sible for men 10 get printed copies of the
act of 1902 on which our forefathers based
our financial system, and all subsequent
acts, TO that OF 1873 that reversed the
former policy, ms we'll ms all the statistical
and other information of an equal nature
that bears thereon. We but express
your own opinion rs president of the peo-
pie when we say that all the people should
have the opportunity to investigate and
intelligently pass upon this question"