San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-09-23
ANDREW CARNEGIE ON SILVER.


The Pittsburg American Manufacture
er of September 4 contains the follow
ing letter: In reply to your request
that l should say a few words to
workingmen upon the silver question,
permit me to state that the question,
as far as concerns worklngmen and all
others receiving salaries, lies in a nut
shell.
"First.-Today they are paid in dol
lars as good as gold, worth 100 cents
everywhere. These gold dollars being
worth nearly two silver dollars of the
silver standard countries, buy two dol
lars worth of the tea, coffee, etc, used
by workingmen. This is the reason
that these articles are now so cheap
in gold.
"Second-The present dollars paid
worlxingmen being gold dollars buy a
full dollars worth of any article in all
countries which are gold standard
countries. Therefore, if American
worI<ingmen are paid in silver dollars,
the cost of everything they use from
silver bearing countries will be nearly
double. This includes tea, coffee sug-
ar, spices, etc.
"Third.-The cost of articles purchas-
ed by his gold dollars from gold-using
countries will also be doubled, as the
silver dollar containing about SO cents
worth of silver will be taken by the
gold-using countries only at its value
in silver. Today our dollars are taken.
at 100 cents. The Mexican dollar buys
in Brazil SO cents worth of coffee; it
buys in London SO cents worth of any
thing; but the American dollar today
buys 200 cents worth of coffee in Bra
zil and 100 cents worth of anything in
London. No silver advocate can dis
pute these facts.
IF free silver coinage comes, which
Mr.. Bryan desires, the wages of the
workingman will be thus nearly cut in
half. The question he has to consider
is: Will wages under silver nearly
double? If not, is he loser by sill
yer. i answer. No. Here is the
fact upon that subject: Wages in sill
ver-using countries have not advanced
as the value of silver has fallen. The
workingmen in Mexico, Brazil, China,
Japan and India get just the same
amount of silver, which is now worth
SO cents on the dollar, as they did when
silver was worth 100 cents on the dol
lar. Their wages range from 10 to
20 cents per day in silver dollars worth
only about one-half the American dol
lar. Now the workingman who de-
sires his revenue to be reduced nearly
one-half should vote for Mr.. Bryan:
the workingman who does not wish
this will make a great mistake if he
votes so.
TT may be asked why employers are
NOT In, favor Of 6ahacad ropneU when
they could pay their workingmen in it,
and thus save about one-half the cost
of labor. The reason is that employ
ers know only too well that debased
money has always resulted in disaster
to business. 1t shakes confidence, and
business is based upon confidence.
Employers are never prosperous unless
the workingmen are prosperous. 1t
is when labor commands the highest
wages that profits are highest. when
labor can be obtained at very low rates
because many men are idle, the en-
ployer makes no profit. He always
loses.
II should like workmen look around
and consider the situation. We read
of millions of spindles standing idle in
the textile factories, Of the iron mines
closed around Lake Superior, of the
furnaces blown out, and almost every
manufacturing concern in the country
running with reduced forces. There
is only one reason for this paralysis in
business, and that is the threat of
reckless, ignorant men to lower the
standard of money. The day that
the republic decisively declares that its
standard of value will remain what it
has been for so many years-gold-will
see the return of genuine prosperity.
Until that day comes we have nothing
to look for but such depression as now
prevails, and even worse.
The question is to be decided by the
workingmen and those who receive sal
aries. If they vote for gold they vote
for prosperity; if they vote for silver
they will have themselves to blame for
reducing the value Of wages and for
the hard times certain to follow. This
is a question above party, and in this
contest I am neither Republican nor
Democrat, but shall vote and work
for the maintenance of our gold stand
ard as patriotic duty. Labor in the
republic shall never be reduced to the
level of China and Japan by any vote
of mine ANDREW CARNEGIE.
Pittsburg, August II, 1896.