The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1896-10-15
The GREAT QUESTION.
Present Suffering the Result Of Causes
Wholly Artificial, Which Can
Easily Be Removed
Mcbride, Of the American
Federation of Labor, Urges Working
men to Vote for Bryan and Free
Coinage as the Best and Only
Means for bringing Pros
perity 10 the Country
Once More.
To THE woRKrNeMEN OF THE UNITED
STATES:

To THE WORKINGMEN OF THE UNITED
STATES:
1t will only be few days now before
you will be called upon to exercise the
sovereign power granted you by our
constitution-the right of SUFFRAGE.
Before casting your ballots permit
me, as one of your number. to make a
few pertinent suggestions.
The one great fact that stares us allin
the face is that of the wretched and
heart-broken condition of millions of
our fellow workmen.
How can the awful suffering of our
people be alleviated is, / know, your
greatest concern.
Reflect, then, for a moment and rea-
son with yourselves as to whether the
distressing conditions prevailing are the
result of natural or artificial causes.
A natural cause would be the failure
Of our soil to yield sufficient food to
sustain our people. Famine would re-
suit and a financial panic would be
natural consequence.
An artificial cause would be the fall
ure upon the part of the people, in the
event of bounteous harvests, to get the
grain from the granaries.
Now, to obtain our food supplies,
what does modern civilization require
from us? The medium of exchange
money.
Therefore, you are directly concerned
as to the volume Of money in circula-
ton, for upon that depends the oppor-
tunity OF exchanging your labor for the
necessaries and comforts of life.
If the quantity of money be limited
as 1t is in China to say 81 or 50 per cap
ita, very low state of civilization pre-
walls and human beings are practically
transformed into animals for the bene-
fit of a few individuals called manda-
rims or noblemen. If the quantity be
greater, as in Mexico. or Spain, or
Italy, or Portugal, a higher state of
civilization prevails and the people are
In a much better condition than the
Chinese. If, as in France, $40 per
capita prevails, we reach high grade
Of civilization and find that nearly 40,-
900, 900 of human beings can exist COM
fortably within that small area of ter
ritory.
Therefore, in my judgment, whether
in this land of fertility our per capita
Of money be 81 or $40 directly concerns
our welfare and determines whether we
are to be free men or slaves.
The following resolution of the Penn
sylavania Republican convention of
1895 is in point here:
1--WE, the Republicans Of Pennsyl-
vania, in convention assembled, repeat
for the regulation and government ofthe
national currency the following prin-
ciples of finance, which were announced
to US at our last state convention,
and which since then have received
l.,t,, f,ar nf
zens:
1--WE favor the expansion Of the cir
culating medium of the country until
the same shall amount to $4,000 per
capita of our population"
The farmers, also, through their Ma
tional Alliance, have repeatedly de-
manded a circulating medium of $4,000
per capita, to keep pace with our re-
quirements.
If our soil yields US sufficient for
our needs, and representing that yield
is a small volume of money, panic Is
the result and distress is general.
This is an artificial panic and the
gamers under such a state of affairs
are the few who become noblemen or
masters, and the sufferers are the
many who, through long continuation
Of such q system, become slaves.
Now, let me call your attention to
some figures.
The volume of gold and silver in the
world is estimated at $1,000, 900, 900,
about equally divided between the two
metals.
II, as the gold men fear America
shall be deluged by a flood of silver.
let us see what that flood would amount
to in the event of the fulflllment of
their prophecy.
II the entire worlds stock of silver
dollars (3.500, 0,00O) were exchanged
for American labor and prod
ucts, how much would we get? Fifty
dollars per capita, or trihe more than
the volume of money France employs
today-a country possessing about one
tenth of our area.
Just thing of it! To accomplish such
a result we must deplete the treas
uries of every country upon the face
of the globe! France must yield to
US one-half Of it's specie wealth and
contract its volume of money corre-
spondingly. Mexico, China and India
must surrender their all. and there
after do business upon some other basis
than specie one.
Yet, this is the dire prediction of the
gold standard advocates in the event
of the United States adopting bimet-
allism.
Doyou believe such result would fol-
low our return to bimetallic policy?
And If you do, would you not be quick
to vote for a financial policy that would
practically give to us one-half the
specie wealth of the world?
Let us examine into our stock OF
gold There are no available proofs
that we possess a gold stock of $780,
100000, or $500 per capita. But, for
| argument sake, [ will admit of such a
stock on hand.
If, as the bankers of the country
demand, we destroy our greenbacks
and treasury notes, and II, as Secre-
tary Carlisle says. silver dollars ara
Fedeemable in gold, and to prevent
the endless chain performance, which we
are always subjected to, we also supplant
our silver dollars with bonds, we find
ourselves dependent upon our gold
stock of money, or a per capita of
| $500, about the same as now employed
by those enlightened countries, Spain.
| Portugal, Italy and Mexico.
Would you, with your eyes open, vote
| for such a policy? And yet, this is
what confronts US II the gold standard
| prevails.
To prevent such degradation our only
present alternative is bimetallism.
The government statistics give Us
$21 per capita, and the gold press of the
country refer with great gusto to thai
magniflcentO showing, one-half Of
| what little France enioys