Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1895-05-10
COINS ANSWER.
THE LITTLE FINANCIER ATTACKS
THE GOLDEN GIANT.

Shrinkage of Money Affects
Debts.
To His Excellency Grover Cleveland,
president
DEAR SIR: In reply to your letter
addressed to committee OF business
men of this city we wish to say that
the committee that waited ON you and
the persons who attached their names
to the invitation of such committee
did not represent majority of the
business men and citizens OF this city
who take deep interest in the well
fare of this republic. They represent
ed that class that owns money and Sc
curities payable in money, with fixed
incomes.
We respectfully submit that your
letter does not present the true merits
of this controversy. You call the at
tention OF farmers and wage earners to
the fact that raising prices, while en-
abling them to sell their products and
labor at higher prices, will also cause
them to pay equally more for what
they purchase, but you neglect to say
that your statement is net applicable
to debts. With the prices coming
down regularly and steadily since the
demonetization of silver, our mer-
chants, manufacturers and the people
generally have been doing business on
falling market, so that the time in
tervening 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
led to an ever increasing volume OF
debt, to money lending period until
it has increased it, all told, public and
private, to about $4,OOO.OOO,OOO, or
twO-thlrds oil the total value OF all the
property in the United States.
Money and these debts payable in
money have been steadily increasing
in exchangeable value with the prop
erty of the people. A debt for ST. 900
that 1000 bushels of wheat would
have paid ten years ago. now requires
the farmer to give up 2 900 bushels OF
wheat in exchange for these dollars
with which to pay the same debt. The
owners of products must now give up
twice as much property to pay taxes as
in 1873. The taxes have increased as
expressed in dollars and have doubled
and quadrupled as measured in the
property the people surrender with
which to pay it since 1873.
The influences OF creditors have
dominated your administration and
you insist upon such q currency as
they have established as sound cur
rency. 1t means the confiscation of
property of the people by the sale of
property under mortgages, judgments
and executions. It means that fixed
incomes will wipe out the interests of
the stockholders in our cities and in
the large corporations. When you
call the attention OF the farmer and
wsge-earner to the fact that rising
prices will make him pay more for
what he buys, you should at the same
time call his attention to the fact that
it would enable him to pay his debts,
free him from a bondage in which he
has been unjustly placed and again
make him the owner of home and q
free and independent citizen.
We submit that our mints again be
thrown open to silver and our stock OF
primary money increased thereby.
The gentlemen who visited and peti-
toned you represent only one class OF
our people. We respectfully submit
that it was the intention of the foun.
ders of this government that it was
safer that all the people should do the
thinking for it than that any one
class should do it for them. We agree
with you that it is time for the people
to reason together and to that end we
respectfully ask that you make it pos
sible for them to get printed copies of
the act OF 1892. on which our fore
fathers based our financial system,
and all subsequent thereto, as we'll as
all statutes and other information of
an official nature at Washington bear.
Ing ''"-Ann. Respectfully.
w. HI. HARNEY,
Chairman OF the Bimetallic Execu-
tive Cnp,p,.ktao