Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1895-04-16
THE SILVERITES Side
Bimetallists Take Exceptions to the
Letter of President Cleveland.
More Points For Wageearn-
|, ers to Consider.
How Silver Men Would Sustain The Credit Of
Our Great Nation.

CHICAGO, April 1o- President Clevc-
lands recent letter to the Chicago busi
ness men has brought forth the following
communication from the Blmetallio
league:
'In reply to your letter addressed to
committee OF business mon Of this city,
we wish to say that the committee that
waited on you and the persons who at
tached their names to the petition such
committee presented did not represent
majority of the business men and citizens
Of this city, who take deep interest In the
welfare Of this republic. They repre-
ssnted that class that owns money and
securities payable In money-fxed In
comes.
1--WE respectfully submit that your let
ter does not present the true merits OF this
controversy. With prices coming down
regularly and steadily, since the demone-
tization 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 dnd expense OF business. has
led to IN everincreasing volume Of debt-
to n money lending period, until it has in
creased all debts public and private,
to about 10000, ,000 900, 900, or about two
thirds of the total value of all the property
in the United States.
"Money and those debts payable In
money have been steadily increasing in
exchangeable value with the property of
the people. A debt for $1,000, 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. The debts now in existence
are principally old debts or renewed debts
or new debts contracted to pay old debts
or debts the people have been forced to
contract by reason Of tho
Continued Decline In Prices.
"The owners Of the products must now
give up twice as much property to pay
their taxes as In 1873. Seventeen thou
sand bushels Of wheat would have paid the
presidents salary OF S25, 600 In 1873. and 1T
now requires 100000 bushels Of wheat to
pay your annual salary Of $4,000. We
have constantly pointed the people to the
ever.increasing interchangeable value of
the creditors dollar and to the reason
why 1t was increasing, but the influence
Of these creditors have dominated your
administration, and you insist on such
sound currency.
ut means confscation of the property
OF the people by the sale of property under
mortgages, judgments and executions.
1t means that fixed incomes will wipe out
the interest of stockholders in our rail
roads and corporations. II it Is an In,
justice to restore prices so that people can
exchange their property for a 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 demonetization of
silver and the establishment of 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
tims 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 a home and 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.
''Our forefathers fed from Europe and
established government here that they
might be free from the class legislation of
those countries, and yet 1t is now being
seriously insisted upon that we must adopt
and continue the most pernicious class
legislation that the monarchies of Europe
have ever fastened upon their helpless
people.
"By adopting their policy we have in
creased the demand for gold and its ex-
changeable value, and all money based
thereon. with all other property. We
have aided then in the adoption Of a
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 the 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 to gold) and our stock
Of primary money increased thereby
1--WE agree with you that 1t Is time for the
people to reason together, and to that end
we respectfully ask that you make 1t pos
sible for men TO get printed copies OF the
act Of 1892, OH which our forefathers based
our financial system, and all subsequent
acts, to that of 1873 that reversed the
former policy, as well as all the statistical
and other information of an equal nature
that bears thereon. We but express
your own opinion as president of the peo
pie when we say that oil the people should
have the opportunity to investigate and
intelligently pass upon this question"
Believed TO 30 Oerahqed.