Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1896-04-16

and maintain their families. Tho av-
crage daily earnings OF q bricitlayer
amount TO 80 cents. biacksmiths. car
penters and ceblnet-makers receive 30
cents: composltors In printing offices.
% cents. pressmen. 20 cents; roofers. 30
ccnts, 8tonc-cutters, y6 cents; ordinary
tailors. 2S cents; weavers, IL cents. and
m all the long list OF occupations and
wagss no iaborcr. however skilled. can
be found who receives more than ~
ia the great city OF Yokohama, who
rot Y cents. Factory laborers even In
that city where most OF the great In
dugtries are carried on by American or
European capitalists. receive y cents
per day. and In other parts OF the coun-
ny they receive less.
our neghborlng Republic Of Mexico.
with a constitutional government very
similar to our own. with an area Of 1884,
600 square milea and n population Of
only about l2000,000, with almost mar
velou3 natural resources awaiting de-
vclopment. and Offering most inviting
field for the Investment OF capital and
the employment OF labor. has the silver
standard Of value, gold not being In use,
and " cheap money Is blessing to the
iahofine man he ought 70 be prosperous
and happy in that country. The Mcxi-
can dollar contains 377i7 grains Of
pure silver, or nearly 6 grains more than
Is contained in our dollar, and yet, not
being sustained by monetary system
which keeps IL Mt u parity with gold It
10 worth only about SO cents in our mon
ey. Wages nre paid IN silver and are
very low In comparison with the wages
paid In this country for the same sery-
Ices, In many instances not being half
as much. while the prices OF COM
modities generally are much higher
than they are here. The prices OF i'm
ported articles especially are exorbit-
nntly high In Mexico, because they
have to be paid for abroad In gold, and
the depreciation or their money is so
great that It requires nearly two dollars
IN silver to pay one In gold. Although
our own silver dollar contains less fine
siver than the Mexican dollar, one OF
ours Is nearly equal In exchangeable
value TO TWO OF theirs, because here the
coinage IL limited and the government
issues the coins on it's own account and
has pledged It's faith and credit to keep
them Ms good as gold, n pledge that has
been faithfully kept up to this time,
Notwithstanding the complaints and
denunclations Of our free coinage OPP
ponents. Under this policy the nd0llar
paid TO the laboring man for HIS wages
50 Just as good and viii purchase just
as much In the marketa as the dollar
paid to the bondholders. or to any other
class OF creditors; but II we are 10 have
free and unlimited coinage OF legal ten
der silver Tor the benefit Of the owners
OF the bullion. the government and the
people At large would have no interest
whatever In the coins, and II would be
grossly unjust to require the govern
ment to keep them equal In exchange
able value to gold. The dollars, as
rapidly as coined. would be delivered
to the owncrs OF the bullion free Of
charge, and the government would have
no legal or moral right to tax all the
ftf - In tt
cure gold with which 20 redeem these
private coins The value Of our dollar
would. therefore, be no greater than
the intrinsic or commercial value OF
thd silver contained In IT, and It's pur-
chasing power In the markets would be
diminished about one-half; but the
wages OF labor would remain, for "A long
time. at least, substantially at the pres
ent rates, or II they should be nominally
Increased on account of the depreciation
of the currency, experience In the past
shows that they would not Increase in
proportion to the increase In the prices
OF commodities. Rises In the rates OF
wages take place very slowly, while
the prices Of commodities move rapidly
NJ some periods changing several times
In the course Of a single day. and these
movements are always more frequent
and more harmful when the currency IL
In an unsettled condition.
You have doubtless observed recently
what appears TO be quite a formidable
demonstration In favor of the free
coinage Of silver by certain manufnc-
turing interests in the eastern part OF
the country, upon the ground that IL
we continue to maintain our present
standard of value the silver standard
countries, especially India. China, and
Japan. will soon be able 10 undersell
them In the markets OF the world. RE-
duced to Its simplest form, the propo-
altion of these gentlemen Is that the
manufacturers Of certain Kinds of
goodA In this country cannot continue
To pay their laborers high wages in
gold. or its equivalent, and compete
successfully In the markets abroad
with the manufacturers OF similar
goods In silver standard countries.
who puy their laborcrs low wages In
deprecated silver. and, therefore. they
insist that a monetary system shall be
adopted here which will give the adj
vantage OF paying for their labor In
deprecated silver. The theory Is that
with free coinage of legal lander silver
the wages OF labor In this country
would be paid In silver dollars worth
about half as much as gold dollars,
but the products Of labor which would
belong to the employer would be sold
for gold In the markets abroad, and
that the gold thus obtained could be
exchanged for silver at about the rate
Of one dollar for two dollars In silver;
and thus the process would go on. the
employer getting gold OF fun value and
the laborer getting deprecated silver,
which. in the opinion OF these gentle-
men. would be most happy solution
OF this question. If the interests OF la
Dor are to he left entirely out OF con-
slderation, and n Il were not reason
ably certain tfat n sudden revolution
In our monetary system would at once
arrest the progress OF all our indus
trios arb produce almost universal
bankruptcy. this scheme to make the
employer very rich and the lnborer
very poor might be worthy OF serious
consideration. but tho American labor
err has a right to demand pay for his
work IN MS good money MS the ern-
ployer receives for hls products In any
part Of the world, and when he sur
renders this right he Is doomed to the
Ranle fate that has already oyertnkcn
his brothers In the silver standard
countries. II rs hut simple Justice to
ray. In this connection. that the great
body OF employers, a vast majority
OF the men who have embarked their
capital in industrial enterprises and
are relying for success upon their SKIN
and energy In the prosecution Of their
business. do not want the present
standard OF vnlu, ovcrthrown, be-
cause they know that thc establish
ment Of silver monomctallism would
be ruinous to them and to ali who
nFp danHnnapf tar.nn eha,,. ~. 49,