The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-09-28
Chicago. Ill. Sept. %.


About twenty days ago gave to the
public press an expression Of my views
on the relationship of free coinage of
silver to the interests of American
labor.
Much to my qualification and sur
prise, the article became a national
campaign document, and 1 have been
earnestly solicited to give to the public
another communication extending the
subject along the same lines OF
thought.
The writer hereof ventures the opin-
ion that when labor understands that
this struggle is a crucial test between
Industrial freedom and the sordtd in
terests OF a selfish few, the one side
holding out the liberal hand of true
democracy and the other the scepter
of plutocratic government; when labor
understands that in this struggle is in
volved the last great problem of civil
ization, human equality; that a single
gold standard means what it has al
ways meant-dear money and cheap
men; when labor understands that this
clamor for gold under the delusive
plea for honest money" is a clamor
for kind of money that Is insufficient
in volume to enable the bankers, who
cry the loudest for it, to pay even 2 per
debts of the civilized world, which Ia
Dor must pay, now aggregate twenty
nine billions of dollars, or seven dollars
of national debt for every dollar OF
gold in the world, and that there is
not enough gold in the world to pay
one dollar on every thirty-fve dollars
of private and corporate debts now in
force, and that the gold is owned by
the parties who hold the debts against
the people; when labor understands
that all money is dead power in the
hands OF somebody all the time, that a,
tree bears fruit because the fruit
grows out of the vitality of the tree,
but that money has no power to bear
other money because it contains no
power to reproduce itself, and there
fore, money loaned at interest cannot
repay both principal and interest out
of the original sum; that there must
be a sufficient increase Of money
through artificial sources to meet the
interest charge and employ labor or
productive industry and labor itself
must surrender to the avarice of the
few
When labor thoroughly understands
all these problems it will understand
that this struggle with the money
power involves our national existence,
industrial prosperity and individual Sc
curity. Labor will then understand
why some persons in this and other
countries hold to the doctrine that
gold only is suitable metal for money,
and why they raverently style it
world" and labor will then, as it al
ways has, rally to the defense of liberty
and justice, and neither the millions
Of Mark Hanna nor the intimidation
Of the corporations will have the
slightest influence upon the working
people.
IDLE HOLDERS OF IDLE CAPITAL.
Quoting my own remarks in a recent
public speech, the idle holders OF idle
capital, who are now foremost in the
demand for single gold standard, are
the same men who sent their hired
emissary to congress and secured the
decentralization of silver and as mark
of respect to their American progeny
the London money power decorated the
most conspicuous place on the walls
of the Bank OF England with a life-size
portrait Of Senator Sherman OF ONO.
The history of these men is one I'M
broken chain of crime and conspiracy
against labor, and every attempt 10
suspend the coinage Of silver in whole
or in part is chargeable to the artful
schemes of those gold-worshipping
idlers. They represent the per1dious
class who always cannonize robbery a.
business success, and legalized fraud
as righteous law. Their aim in life
has been to corrupt the masses. mar
shall Hobbies against legislatures, con-
vert wealth into non-taxable bonds,
oyeraWe the people with threats of
bankruptcy, and rob labor through in
terest and taxation. They have sold
their consciences and their God for
gold, and wrote in the blood of care
worn widows and innocent babes the
song of death on the face of a land as
redundant in production as the fabled
gardens Of ElysiuHl. The record Of
their crimes from the sorrowful black
Friday to the infamous bond sale to
the Belmont-Morgan syndicate, should
be all the evidence labor needs to
prove the evil of their demands in this
campaign.
1t is not because silver IS better than
gold or other material for use as
money that labor should advocate its
free and unlimited coinage, but be-
cause a wholesome volume of primary
money is absolutely necessary to the
welfare of labor and industry, and
because there is not now, there never
was, and there never will be a suff1-
cheney of gold to adequately reward Ia
Dor for it's contributions to the wealth
of the world.
The effort to suspend the coinage of
the debt-paying money of the country
to the metal most easily controlled by
money-lenders. 1t is a scheme to in
crease and perpetuate incomes founded
on debt. It is a scheme designed to
force more bonds and mortgages on the
people. 1t is more; it is a. conspiracy
designed to appreciate debts and depre-
ciate labor and commodities by fore
ing the payment of existing debts in
dearer kind Of money than existed
when the debts were contracted.
To conceal the real intentions of the
conspirators and give their cunningly-
devised scheme the outward appear
ance of exalted honesty the claim is
made that a silver dollar Of H215
grains is a dishonest dollar; that it is
only a 53-cent dollar; that it has been
padded out with AZ cents worth Of
fiat, ard that a poor man is entitled
to just as good a dollar as the rich
mans dollar. and on that line they are
now shedding great, briny, humid
tears. Oh God, how they do appear
to love the poor man nowi
Let no working man be deceived by
these alluring entreaties of this social
spider to the industrial fly. 1t is not
the silver dollar that has been padded
out with AZ cents worth of fat; ii is the
gold dollar that has been over-padded
with AZ cents worth Of discriminating
legislation and a one-sided public pol
icy against silver in the payment Of
public obligations for which silver has
always been a legal tender. The pad
ding has all been on the gold side in
the interest Of coupon-clippers. The
silver dollar pays just as much rent
and taxes and buys just as much food
and clothing for the poor man as the
best gold dollar that was ever coined.
1t is a full 100-cent dollar in all the
multifarious exchanges that administer
to the wants and comforts of human