The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-08-08
HOWITWILLHURTME ME
FREE COINAGE FROM THE lNDlvlD-
UAL STANDPOINT.
MY Rent Would BE Doubled and My
Clothing Would Cost Twice as Muoh-I
Might Double My Earnings and Would
he No Better on.

Clothing Would Cost Twice as Muoh--I
| Might Double MY Earnings and Would
| he No Better on. 't
"How would free coinage affect me"
This is the question that millions Of
voters are asking today, and if 1t Is
answered intelligently Mr.. Bryan will
be swept out of sight in November,
says the New York Herald.
If you are working for wages or q
salary or If you arc in receipt Of fixed
| sum from investments or from q PEN
sion, then free coinage would virtually
reduce your income nearly one-half and
compel you to live Oh q much poorer
scale.
You would receive just tho same
number Of dollars as ut present, but it
would take nearly 81 to buy as much
clothing or food as you now get for 81,
your rent would be nearly doubled and
every item in the cost Of living would
be advanced in the same proportion.
Do you doubt this? Reflect moment
The leaders in the free silver movement
have avowod that their purpose is to
advance prices. They tell the farmer
that with free silver he will get twice
as much for his wheat and corn as he
now receives The intrinsic value OF
products would not be changed by any
trick we might play with our coins
The prices Of products in the great mar
kets Of the world would not be ad-
vanced, and right here they would not
exchange for any more gold than be-
fore, but they would exchange for more
coinage. as we will presently show,
would be worth about SO cents each.
But they would by law bc full legal
tender dollars. Your salary OF pension
or wages would be paid with these dol
lars. They are the dollars In which you
would receive your income from invest
ments unless you have specially con-
tracted for gold If any man owes you
800 he could pay you with 100 of these
coins, which would buy no more in the
markets than you can get with $58 to-
day. II your life is insured for e10, 900.
and you should die, your family would
receive 10000 Of the deprecated dol
lars. which would only buy as many OF
the necessaries Of life as $500 Of tho
| present honest dollars. II You have
something in savings bank or in a
building association or loaned on bond
and mortgage it would come back TO
| you in the same way in 90 cent dollars.
If man has $40 in his pocket and
chooses to declare that 58 cents is dol
lar, he may fool himself into the belief
that he has tl9 instead of $40, but if he
| goes shopping and tenders 58 cents for
| 81 the merchants will very quickly ad-
just their prices to his deprecated
| standard. When he selects an article
marked $40 they will say, "Oh, yes,
that is the price in the old fashioned dol
lars, but we must charge you S1S. 0S."
| Now, the government can't create some
thing out of nothing. 1t can call 5S
cents worth Of silver 81 and make it
legal tender for 81, and so compel pres
ent creditors to accept 1t as payment for
| 81, but ii is impotent as any individual
| TO give it the purchasing power Of an
| honest dollar, because every merchant
at once raises the price Of his goods TO
Offset tho depreciation In the measure Of
value.
But how about the masses who work
for wages or salaries? They would be
the chief sufferers, because they could
not at once mark up the price of their
services They would continue TO get
the same number Of collars as before,
but could buy only about half as much
with them. The dislocation of the cur
rency would derange many industries
and lessen tho demand for labor, so
that any rise in wages would come but
slowly, and hey would perhaps never
again reach their present high purchas.
ing power. Savings banks, building as
sociations and insurance companies
would be compelled TO pay in tho cheap
dollars, because the moneys intrusted
TO them are invested in various ways
and could be collected in nothing but
| the deprecated currency. The active
man Of affairs would find opportunities
in shifting values and general derange-
mcnt, aid if the income of the million
airc were cut down one. half il would
not seriously Inconvenience him, but IL
would go hard with the worker, who
could buy only half as much rs before
with his wages. The rich could take
care Of tho tmselves, but the masses
would suffer.
The question is asked, Why should
not a silver dollar under free coinage
buy rs much as it does now? Because
there is onlv limited number Of the
silver dollars now in existence and tho
government is able to keep them equiv
alent to gold dollars But IL NIL the
world were permitted 10 bring silver to
the mints and get silver dollar for
every 87iI grains Of II the govern
mont could not Keep this unlimited
number Of dollars nc n parity, aud. like
those. of Mexico they would have TO
circulate at the value OF tho bullion
they contain, and this OF tho present
price Of silver is about 90 cents.