Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1896-09-11
Does the Wage Earner want silver.
From the Boston Herald. ]

Why should carpenter or mason who
is now earning from So to 81 day wish to
have our currency system changed by the
free coinage of silver? Take the case of
John Brown, who is a typical workingman.
He is employed as carpenter, and receives
on the average, taking one years end to
the other, little under SO day for each
working day, or, say, $500 year. II John
Browns father, who was also a carpenter,
and who died few years ago, had left to
his son record of his pay, he would have
found that in 1850 he was receiving on an
average less than 81 day, or, say, $500 a
year, and that at that time the hours of
labor were considerably longer than they
are at the present time-that is, John
Brown, if he has possession of any records
left him by his father, is in the position to
realize that he is now working about three
quarters of the time that his father worked
a generation ago, and that for this three
quarters work he is receiving at least one
third more pay than was given to his
father for the latters longer hours of SER
vice.
His father, if living, could also inform
him that during the days of our civil war,
when we had our currency inflated with
paper-instead, as is now proposed, with
silver-while the prices of supplies went up
so that ordinary common boots and shoes
were So and SS pair, cotton cloth 40 and
80 cents yard, ready-made clothing $50
or more suit, common butter 90 cents a
pound, roast beef from so to 70 cents a
pound, and other supplies in like proper
tion, the pay equivalent on the average to
81 received in 1850 only went up to about
$3.50 in 1864 though supplies of all kinds
had in the mean time nearly doubled in
price.
Now what is John Brown going to gain
by the change which he is asked to sup
port? He knows, or should know, that
there is not a nation in the world that free
ly coins silver that does not have its cur
rency system on silver basis. Russia is
great and wealthy country, but its alleged
bmetallic standard is silver, and in spite
of its wealth it has not been able to make
silver equal to gold Austria is a great and
wealthy country, but up TO 1892 its as
sumed bimetallic standard Of currency was
silver standard, and its large use of silver
did not enable it, even in company with
Russia, to give to that metal a parity OF
value with gold. The experience, there
fore, of the entire world teaches that if we
have free coinage of silver we simply sub
stitute in this country silver standard OF
value in place of the present gold standard
or, in other words, that the $500 that John
Brown now receives for his years work
instead of having the purchasing power
that it now has will be no better than S400
The reason for this shrinkage will be
| that those who own merchandise or land
will Immediately begin to mark up theil
prices, as nearly as they are able, to the
| old rOlA haeig fhaf nn1acc Iohu RrOxuv
gets his income put up to $1,000 a year in
stead of $500, he will soon find that he i:
unable to purchase the supplies that he
and his family are now consuming in the
way of food and clothing, OF to continue tC
hire the lodgings that they now occupy.
Now what chance is there that JohI
Brown will be able to increase his pay from
| $500 to $1,000 year? In his fathers days
during the war of the rebellion, when sim
liar conditions were experienced, such al
advance in pay could not be made. Hi
father had to content himself, after year.
of effort, with an advance in wages which
carried his pay up to $3.50 year when h,
should have had about $1,000. viii JohI
Brown of the present generation be an!
more successful?
Let any intelligent Garner of wages o
salary ask himself the question: Is it wis
to assist in making a currency chang
which will involve him in a material los
unless he can succeed in immediatel,
doubling the present amount of his wages
For unless every wage-earner who is nov
getting So a day can have his wages instant
ly raised to So day he will certainly sui
fer loss under the free coinage of silve
system.
1t should also be borne in mind tha
this doubling of wages must be made, nc
to improve the pre- esent condition of tn