Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1895-04-18
Mr.. HARVEY REPLIES.
The Bimetallic League Chairman Submits
q Letter in Answer to Cleveland.

The Timetable League Chairman Submits
Letter in Answer to Cleveland
CHICAGO, April 16.-Mr. W. 81. Har-
vey, chairman of the executive COM
mittee of the Bimetallic league, whose
headquarters are in Chicago. prepared
yesterday the following reply to Presi-
dent Cleveland's letter to the Chicago
committee of business men:
To His Excellency, Grover Cleveland, Presi-
dent:
CHICAGO, April 15.-Dear Sir: In reply to
your letter addressed to committee OF busi-
ness men of this city, we wish to say that the
committee that waited on you, and the persons
who attached their names to the petition such
committee presented, did not represent ma
jority OF the business men and citizens
of this city, who take q deep interest
in the welfare OF this republic. They
represented that class that owns money and
securities payable in money-hxsd incomes.
We respectfully submit that your letter does
not present the true merits of this controversy.
You call the attention of farmers and wage
earners to the fact that raising prices. while
enabling them to sell their products and labor
at higher price, will also cause them to pay
equally mere for what they purchase, but you
neglect to say that your statement is not APP !
pl1cable to debts. With prices coming down
regularly and steadily since the demonetiza-
ton OF silver, our merchants. manufacturers,
and the people generally, have been doing
business on falling market so that the time
intervening between the purchase of their
merchandise or raw material and placing it
months after on the market has removed the
margin they would have otherwise made.
This shrinkage in values. added to the ordi-
nary risk and expense OF business, has lead to
an ever-increaSing volume of debt-to money
lending period-until it has increased, all told,
public and private to about S4O,O00,000 abou.
two-thirds of the total value OF all the prop
erty 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
farmer to give up 1000 bushels of wheat in ex-
change for these dollars with which to pay
the same debt. The debts now in existence
are principally old debts, or renewed or re-
funded debts, or new debts contracted to pay
old debts, or debts the people have been
forced to contract by reason Of
the continued decline in prices. The
owners Of products must give up
twice as much property to pay their taxes as in
1873. Seventeen thousand bushels OF wheat
would have paid the presidents salary OF $25,-
coo in 1873 and 1t now requires 100, 900 bushels
OF wheat to pay your annual salary of Sc, 900.
We have constantly pointed out to the people
the ever increasing interchangeable value of
the creditors dollar, and to the reason why it
was increasing, but the influence OF these cred
ltorS has dominated your administration and
you insist on such currency they have eS-
tabliShed, a sound currency.
It means the oonfiscation of the property of
the people Dy Inc SAFE OF properly unQer MORT
cages, judgments and executions. It means
that hxed incomes will wipe out the interest OF
stockholders in our railways and corporations.
II 1t is an injustice to restore prices SO that
people can exchange their property for a suni-
Gent 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 characterization OF silver and the es-
adjustment of single gold standard.
So that whom you call the attention Of the
farmer and wage-earner to the fact that rising
prices will make him pay more for what he
buys, you should at the same time call his at
tention to the fact that it would enable him
to pay his debt, free him from bondage in
which he has been unjuStly placed and
again make him the owner OF home
and free and independent citizen.
| We might say further to him that
| rising prices causes money to seek investment
| and would thus open up the channels of COM
| merce and trade and give employment to
| millions now idle. It is not more money that
| we want to borrow, but to pay of what we al
ready owe. The more money we borrow the
more we must pay and the annual interest OF
| all our public and private debts is now more
| than the annual profits of business and produo-
| ton. Where will it end?