Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1896-08-20


many more. The farmer has thus found col m.
plant against tho gold standard.
Wage Farmers and Free Silver
'Ths wage earners have been injured by
gold standard and have expressed thom .elVci
upon tho subject with great emphasis In
February, 1891, petition asking Tor the inn
medilte restOra ton ct tho FREQ AMI unlimited
coinage Of gold and silver at Is to was signed
By the representatives. If all or noarly all. the
leading labor organizations, aud presents to
Congress Wage oarners knew that while a
gold STANDARD raises the purchasing power of
the dollar, it also makes it moro difficult to
obtain possess on OF the dollar th,y knew that
employment is less permanent loss of Work
more probable and re-emplOym9nt less certain
Agold standard encourages the boarding Of
money, because money Is rising 1t also dis.
courage' enterprises and parllysH industry
On the other han l. the restoration OF bimstal.
ism will discourage holrd,ng because when
prices are steady or ri'ing. money cannot
afford to lilo idle in the bank vaults. Thu
farmers and wag1 earners together constitute
a considerable majority OF the people of the
country. Why shout their interests b. ig-
nored in considering financial legislation. A
monetary system which is pecuniarily adVan-
tageous to few syndicates has far less to som.
mend 1t than system which would give hope
and encouragement to those who create the
nations wealth.
Much solicitude has boon expressed BY our
opponents for the dopositors in savings banks
They constantly parade before these depositors
the advantages Of gold standard, bat these
appeals will be in vain, be,ause savings banks
depOsitOrS know that under a gold standard
thore is increasing danger that thsy will lose
their deposits because Of the inability Of the
banks to collect their assets; and they still
further know that il the gold standard is to
continue indefinitely, they may DO compelled
to withdraw their deposits in order t. pay liV-
ing expenses"
ut is only necessary 10 not3 the increasing
number of failures in order to know that gold
standard is ruinOus to merchants and manu-
facturers. These business men don't make
their profits from The people from whom they
borrow money, but from the people to whom
they sell thoir goods. If the people cannot
buy, retailers cannot sell and il retailers can
not sell, wholesale merchants and man ufact.
urars must go into bankruptcy.
How Banks Are Affected.
ut is sometimes asserted by our opponents
that bank belongs to the debtor class, but
this is not truo Of any solvent bank Every
statement published by a solvent bank shows
that the assets eyceei the liabilities; that is to
a
money to its dopositors, it not only has enough
on hand in money and notes to pay its deposit
ors, but in addition thereto has enough to COW
or its capital stock and a surplus. When the
dollar il rising in value slowly, bank may, by
making short timo loans and taking good Sc
curtY, avoid losses, but when prices are falling
rapidly, the bank is apt to 10 more because
of bad debts than it can gain by the increased
purchasing power of its capital and surplus
1T must be admitted however that some
bankers combine the business of bond broker
with the ordinary banking business and these
may make enough in the negotiation of loans
to offset the Losses arising in legitimate bank
ing business
"As long as human nature remains as it is,
thore will always be danger, moro or less re-
strained by the public opinion or legal enact
mont, that those who s}e a pecuniary profit
for themselves in certain condition may yield
to the temptation TO brily about that condi-
ton. Jefferson has stated that one OF the
main duties of government is to prevent m N
from injuring ono another and never was that
duty mora important than it is today 1t il
not strange that hose WHO h IVA made profit
by furnishing gold to the governm, in tho
hour of its extremity favor a financial pc icy
which will keep the government dependent
upon til IN. believe, however, that l speak
the sentiment of the vast majority OF the pso-
p o of the United States when say that a
wise financial policy, administered in behalf
of all the people would make our government
Independent of any combination Of tnanciers,
foreign o; domestic
"The relatively W whose wollth consists
largely in fixed investment, have right to use
the ballot to enhance the va nc of their invest
ments; have not the rsst of the people tho right
10 T1go tba hal nt IN
tho di:astrOus consequences Of rising stand
ard2
1.-THE people who must purchase money with
tho products of toll stand in a position entirely
different from thos) who own money or rec i've
a fixed income The we'll being of the nation
aye, of civilization itself depends upon tho
prosperity of tho misses What shall it profit
us to have dollar which grows mora valuable
overy day If such dollar lowers the standard of
ciVliz ltion and brings distress to the peopla7
What shall it profit u il, in trying to raise our
credit by increasing the purchasing power of
our dollar, va destroy our ability to pay the
debts already contracted by lowering the pur-
chasing power of the products with which
those debts must b. paid2
FREQ Coinage No Experiment..
"As against the maintenance of gold stan l.
ard, either permanently or until other ations
platform presents a clear AMI emphatic de-
mand for the immediate restoration of the free
and unlimited coinage o + silver and gold at the
present legal ratio of 16 to 1 without waiting
for the aid or consent of any other nation. We
arc not asking that new experiment be tried ;
we are insisting upon return to a financial
policy approved by the experience of history
and supp Orte1 by all the prominent statesmen
of our nation from the days of thu first pr,si-
dent down to 49, When W. ask that our
minis be opened to the free and unlimited coin
age of silver into full Legal tonlcr money, W.
are simply asking that the same mint privileges
be accorded to silver that are now accorded to
gold. When we ask that this coinage b. at
the ratio Of 10 to I, W. IMPLY ask that our
gold coins and the standard silver dollar
which, be it remembered, contains tho same
amount of pure silver as tn, first silver dollar
coined at our minis retain their present weight
and iineness
''lf Their, are two kinds Of money; tho option
must rest either with tho debtor OF with the
creditor Assuming that their rights are equal
we must LOOK at the intere Is of society in gen.
eral in order TO determine to which side the
opinion should be given. Under the bimetallic
system, gold and silver ara linked together by
law at a fixed ratio and any rerson or persons
owning any quantity Of either metal can have
tho same converted into full legal lende. mon
ey. If the creditor has the right to choose the
metal in whi3h payment shall be made, it is
reasonable to suppose that he VIII require the
debtor to pay in tine dearor money if there is
any p,rceptible difference between the bullion
values of the metals. This new nemand created
for tho dearer metal will make that metal
dearer still, while tie decrease demand for
the cneap1r metel will make that metal cheap
or still
IF, on the other hand, the dobtor exercises
the option, it is reasonable to suppose he will