The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1896-09-25

Oh inc hllVer contained In III. III tne fnhrket
value OF that quantity Is 30 cents, and you
present ut the mint so cents worth Of bullion,
you get back, not a gold dollar. but a silver
dollar worth just 50 cents. You might, instead
of taking your bullion to the mint, sell 1t In
the market for just the same amount of non
ey. Indeed, bullion owners, unless they have
some special reason for taking their bullion to
the mint will take IL to the market and sell
1t there, as they very extensively do in all
countries in which thore Is free silver coinage.
Why should they notf Because, II they have
their bullion coined, they get legal tender dol
lars for It, Why, IL they sell 1t in the market
they ges there legal tender dollars likewise.
IL will therefore DO mere question of special
convenience whether they take 10 &c the mint
or to the market. And in the market, accord
ing to all human reason and experience, it's
price will, temporary fluctuations notwith
standing, remain on the whole very near to
the figure of the cost at which it can in large
quantities be produced. Mr.. Bryan g strange
imaginings havo therefore proved only that
when no speaks OF government purchases OF
silver and fixing prices and creating a do
mand greater than the supply, he simply does
not know what free coinage is.
Every seysible person. trust, will now ad
nit that free silver coinage in the United
States alone viii make bimetallism, the equal
use of both gold and silver as money. utterly
impossible, hero as well as abroad. IL VIII
confirm Europe in gold monometallisu and
condemn US 10 silver ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ex
elusive use of silver as money and OF paper
based upon silver. No doubt this is what the
silver men are really aiming at.
How free Silver VIII Work.
Lot us now consider how it viii affect the
various interests OK the people. Tho first
blessing we ara promised to flow from free
coinage is general rise Of prices. This means
that the silver dollar viii buy less than the
gold dollar did and this for the reason that
it is no longer worth Us much as the gold del
lar. Evidently the promise Of bimetallism, Of
silver rising 10 it's old price on the one hand,
and the promise of higher prices owing to q
less valuable silver dollar on the other hand
do NOT go together. The one or tho other is q
fraud. OF course the fraud is the promise of
bisnetalhsIn. The rise of prices owing to the
debasement of tho dollar will begin at once
as soon as gold departs and we slip on the sill
yer basis. Bread win be dearer; milk, coffee,
sugar tea, meat, vegetables will be dearer !;
clothes, shoes nj hats VIII be dearer rents
furniture, CO. r.roSene-in short. every
ticle tho price T.. which can be raised by the
seller
High prices arc two edged sword-handy TO
tho seller, but unpleasant to the buyer. They
press, of course, hardest upon those who are
compelled to buy most in proportion to their
income or their earnings. And who are they2
The poor people. What a rich family spends
upon the actual necessaries of life, the indis-
pensable food, clothing and shelter, Is very
little compared with it's income. Most of its
expenditures go for things that are not neces
saries and may be olassed as Injuries, the pur-
chasing Of which may be suspended or post
poned without hardship But the poor family
the wage earner's family, Is obliged to spend
a very large part of its income from day to Gay
that cannot be temporarily dispensed with
without hardship. From a rise in the prices
Of the necessaries OF life the poor people there
fore suffer by far the most
How stands the case OF the wage earners
whose product can be raised in price proper
tionate to the debasement of the dollar? AS
the dollar falls in value the manufacturer or
the merchant marks up his goods. The work
ingman or the clerk, finding himself hard
pressed by the rise in price of the neceSsaries
of life, applies for corresponding increase
of wages. The head of the factory or the
mercantile establishment admits that some in
crease is called for. 'But," says he "you are
not the only person in trouble. The value of
our money is fluctuating. We hardly know
what it is today. We surely do not know what
it will be next week. Profits are excessively
close anyhow. We make a sale or purchase
today and think it is ut profit. Tomorrow
we may find that it was at loss. We hardly
venture to make q contract to be filled at a
future time, because we make no safe cal
culations. We can increase your wages lit
tie, but not much. For that you will have TO
this silver free coinage has thrown all bust.
ness into dreadful confusion, and there are
plenty of people out of employment who
would do your work for less than you get
now" And 50 the wage Garner has to be sat
isfed with a little increase of pay and wait for
more while the advanced prices of necessaries
prey upon him.
Is this mere conjecture2 1t is the experience
Of every country that has been cursed by q
rise of prices through money OF fluctuating
value defy any one to show mo in the whole
history of the world a single exception Have
we not, during our civil war, witnessed it with
our own eyes? In 1862 when our irredeemable
paper currency had begun to depreciatc, the
average wages of labor rose only 3 per ,ont.
while average prices rose Is. In 1858, when
wages had risen l011 per cent, average prices
were 40 per cent higher; in 1854 wages had
risen 2534 per cent and prices 9O1a; in 1865
wages had advanced 43 per cent and prices III
above what wages and prices had been III gold
in 1851. In other words, the laboring man 9
wages had lost in purchasing power more than
90 cents in every dollar. Every country Ia.
boring under similar conditions tells the same
story. What reason in the world is there to
assume that this universal rule will not oper'
ate in tho case Of free coinagep
And what have the apostles Of free silver
coinage to say to thisp Hear Mr.. Bryan him
self In his famous New York GRAFTON, "While
| gold standard raises the purchasing power
| OF the dollar 1T also makes IL more dlfncult 10
| obtain possession of the dollar-employment
| is less permanent, loss Of work more probable
| and unemployment less certain" Is that allS
| Yes, all. Does not Mr.. Bryan know that un,
| der what was practically the gold standard
| we had in the fiftes one Of the most active
and prosperous periods this country has ever
| seenp Does he not know that more recently,
at the time Of the return to specie payments,
| we had under the gold standard years OF sig
| nal prosperity with all hands at work. And
| does he wish to learn what has been the
| trouble since and what is the trouble nowf
| Let him ask the employers Of labor, and with
| almost one voice they will tell him that not
| the existing gold standard, but the growing
| danger Of it's overthrow, that the growing ag'
| gressiveness of the free coinage movement.
| filling the minds of men with anxious appre-
| tensions as to dark future uncertainties, has
| served to paralyze that spirit OF enterprise
| which sets the laboring man to work. Let him
study the history of the crisis of 1893. Not the
| gold standard, but distrust Of silver destroy
cd the confidence that employs labor. This
| is the truth and Mr.. Bryan will In vain try to
| deny 1t.
Debtor and Creditor.
The free coinage men profess especial solici
| tudo for those whom they call "the debtor
class" Who are the debtor class2 Our silver
| friends speak as If, as rule, the rich people
were creditors and the poor were debtors. Ii