Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-07-05
A WAGE FARMERS VIEW.
TALK AND SENTIMENT We. LOGIC
AND FACTS.

Only Hard Times and Hard Work
Will Result From Adoption Of
the Free silver Idea-A Question
No Free Silverlte Has Answered.
The free-coinage-of-silve agitation
disturbs me. The discussion OF it
faces me at every turn. Many of my
friends in whom | have the utmost
confidence gre most ardent advocates
Of free silver, and my desire, before I
had examined closely into the ques-
ton, was TO be a free silver man also.
/ would I could stand with my silver
friends; but I cannot. The loudest
talk, the most activity, the deepest
earnestness, Gle arrayed on their side,
but the logic and the facts. ashley APP
pear before me, are against them.
/ am neither a farmer nor a banker.
/ earn my bread by work-which, by
the way. is very scarce just now land
it is byclosest economy that / am able
to get along at all. In this condition
of affairs l feel that ! am ''ripe for q
change" of some sort, and / am only
too eager to become an advocate of
anything that will better matters, and
I would be free silver man if / could
see wherein I could get any benefit
from it. But / can see only harder
times, harder work to live, through
the adoption of the free coinage idea.
/ have wrestled over the question
with the brilliant Bryan of Nebraska,
with Senator Stewart, with Jerry
Simpson. with Congressman Britton,
and others, to see if they could point
a way for me to join with them with
out leaving any doubts in my mind as
to what the result Of the adoption of
their idea would be. They have failed
to convince me because they have
failed to give a logical answer to one
question I have asked of them.
The assertion of the silver side is
that the injection of free silver at the
ratio of Is to 1 into our circulating
medium will increase the price OF
commodities; in other words, that
food and other household necessaries
that can now be purchased for fifty
cents will under the proposed new or
der cost, a dollar to the consumer.
That brings me to my question, which
no free silver advocate has as yet an
swered. 1t is this:
"Will not free coinage OF silver at
the existing ratio increase the cost OF
commodities, and therefore decrease
the purchasing power Of wages?"
1t seems to me that my question is
fair and straight yet when l pinned
Senator Stewart down to 1t last year,
on the occasion of the California Pr
oneer reunion, he turned away from
me-gave no answer. Bryan and the
other friends have agreed that free
silver coinage would reduce the pur
chasing power of existing wages; bu'
as one Of them said-I forget which
one-"Would you not be willing t:
submit to q temporary hardship fol
the general prosperity and good?" 4
Mr.. Clark, gh2 wEiges hot free silver
rSmphlets, answered my question by
saying wage earners could even III
!, matters by demanding wages com
mensurate with the change" which
: showed that he did not know how
. hard it was to get an increase of wages
|. Labor and business are depressed,
Ali the silver Of the world
dumped in upon us, will no
change the conditions. How Cal
it? Suppose the wishes of the silver
men are agreed to, and silver is coinei
: into 16 to ! dollars as fast as all oul
minis can do it-how will we who
work for wages get any Of it? Fol
that matter, how will the farmers gel
any of it? We will have to work fol
it, and so will the farmers. But sup
pose there is no work, what then
Then neither can get il. / can see very
plainly who will be the benefciaries.
The silver mine owners-nott the work
efs, mind you-and the silver specula
tors, will be the sole beneiciaries
For we will coin their silver for them.
taking fifty or sixty cents worth 0!
; their bullion and put the dollar STAMP
y Of our Government upon it, benefit
Q ing them from eighty to a hundred
9 per cent. on each dollar. Such
= bonus is worth fighting for-would bt
0 a great ''snap." Of course the silver
Q mine owners will pay their miners il
0 the silver dollars thus procured; bu,
/ l wonder if they will increase wages t.
4 a point Commensurate with tn,
changer" ] do not know whether they
{ will or not, but / do not think I an
: rash in saying they will not. VIII,
should they, except as a matter of sen
. timent? But sentiment is not bust.
ness; and business says: Get your
labor as cheap as you q and sell
your product as dear as you cam
VIM. McCabe, in American Industries