Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-10-11

the Wagc-carncr. the emp'o}te' N"'r'
he be clerk or workman. been so snrniy
bcset. At every presidential election
where protection has been The issue. the
worksnen IN projected industries IN
the North have beeE subjected to
certain amount OF pressure py
their employers. but this Is tne
first time that war has been made
all along the line. and mechanics, clerks'
agents. and drummers all involved Ia the
general attempt az coercion. And the
motive assigned .or It Is strangest VI
al.-tne deep solicitude Of the employer
that his employee may not be able TO
buy as much with his wages under Oh
me:allism es he IS now doing under the
sod standard. This new and general
sollcltude, this general anxiety OF the
employers which goes to the extent oil
threatening to discharge man ana de-
pIive BIN Of any sala:y al all II ne votes
for policy that would increase the e''s'
Of his living. must arouse the curiosity
O! the wage-earner 1t must do mote.
Il must arouse his suspicion. When an
employer, whether corporation or N
Civ!dual tells q wage-earner mat sys-
TEN under which half the railroads il
the cosrtry have passed into che bsrdi
OF receivers. thousands OF factories boNe
been closed. aud more thsn 100000 COM
re:ent workmen are tramping through
tho land without work. IS good thing
fr,. fttr, nd ha fC frferpefe1
keeping such state OF things up, 1t NEST
astonish him. When the depression
In business has thrown so many
thousands Of -lerks out OF work that
a single advertisement 0: vaclht place
will BRING hundreds Of suffering appn-
Csn,s, and when strike IN any great
work viii bring thousands OF men 10 the
spot willing TO risk their lives TO get
the Job. " must give the employed clerk
or workman serious thoughts az 10 wnen
his own time viii come. For come II
viii; dun times threw the other men out,
and continued dull times VIII throw hini
out. Let no employee who Is now get
ting wages think he will be exempt
from loss OF place. If the present IMAM
cial policy OF the country continues.
Next 10 the establishment created by the
extreme solicitude OF his employer in his
behalf. the employee must wonder Ak
the argument used-that greater
abundance Of money better prices for
farm products, more money for the
farmer. the worklngman, and the
clerk. more men again employed In
the factories. and an increased demand
for all sorts OF labor. clerical and
manual. will not be a good thing for the
farmer, the workingmen, and the clerk.
For. mark you, all gold men concede
that free coinage viii put new life
into the farm. the first source OF all our
prosperity.
We presume no wage-earne, VIII suffer
himself to be cajoled or eoerced into
cutting his own throat by voting for
scarce money. The railroad men know
that ali railroads use as few men es pos
sible. that when there are big crops
TO move there are more men employed
on the road. and that the better the
price the farmer is getting. the more
acreage, the more crop to move. and the
more men needed. The clerk knows
that the better times In the country, the
better business in the towns, and the
more demand for clerks In brief.
every wage-earner in all departments OF
labor knows that prosperity 10 tine land
creates demand for employees. and
depression in the land creates a demand
for employers. The commonest Of COM
mon sense tells the wase-earner that
good times are also good for him.
The free coinage Of both metals in
the United States is a matter in which
every wage-earner has a vital interest;
il is for his individual benefit. as 1t Is
for that OF every other man. and there
could be no sadder sight on the 81 Of
November than seeing him marched by
coercion or blindness 10 the polls TO cut
his own throat by voting for scarce
money
We have said nothing here about the
"50-cent dollar simply because We don't
believe there is a wage-earner who will
read this that does not know that every
dollar coired by the United States under
free coinage will be the same l0O-cent
dollar that he has in his pocket to-day.