The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1896-08-14
About 1876 they began to talk about "bimetal-
ism" and its alleged beauties.
What Free Coinage Means.

About 1876 they began to talk about "bimetal-
ism" and its alleged beauties.
What Free Coinage Means.
What does "free coinage" as it ia called,
mean2 1t does not mean that the governments
would buy any of the silver, not an ounce.
The government would simply receive the sill
yer from its owner stamp 1t and hand IL back
70 him. Does that create any demand for the
Buclswheat flour is now used to limited ex-
tent for food, The demand for buclkwheat
-four Is entirely due to this fact. Would open
mand for buckwheatp Certainly not, any more
than tho reaping and thrashing did. These are
sy III 70 tss SS%p n
ttion with other kinds of flour.
And similarly the "open mint" would create
no demand whatever for silver any more than
the smelling or the mining does. These are all
simply steps in preparing the supply The de-
mand Is in the need of money of various kinds
with which to make exchanges. The owner OF
the coin would still have to go forth and find q
market for this kind of money in competition
with other forms of money. The minting
the silver, but would simply put it into shape
to meet whatever real demand there might be
for silver coin In the channels OF trade in COM
petition with other forms OF money.
And, sir because OF the bullsness of silver in
proportion to its value the demand for sill
YER coin in actual business is very limited.
AS q matter OF fact there Is more silver coin in
this country today than can be used as coin.
Experience has shown that the business of the
country needs about SIPS 900, 600 in silver coin
Of all kinds, including minor coins. But we al
ready have a stock of silver coin amounting to
over $500, 600. So there is absolutely no
trade demand for more silver coinage for some
time to come.
Wages In Mexico.
Every ono will admit that, so far rs legisla-
tion can infect the matter, that system Is best
under which those who earn their daily bread
by their daily toll receive the best returns for
their services.
The gentleman from Texas [Mr. Bailey1,
who has Just spoken, points to Mexico as
..prosperous. IN consequence OF having the
Gle in a recent number Of The North American
Review, written by the Mexican minister, Mr..
Romero. This distinguished representative is
naturally loyal to his own country and desir-
GUS OF making as strong statement as posi-
BILE as to her prosperity. He claims that manu-
Se p 70 SAW bat
tngmen in MeXico2 Listen:
"Although our wages are low, there has
been IN recent years marked tendency to
their increase"
Their Wages are "low," even in silver. What
about increase in wagesp The most that he can
claim is that there has been tendency" in
that direction-no real increase worth men,
tioning specifically. Workingmen will do well
to- .'ponder on these things"
The following statement appears in bulletin
No. 9, 1891, of the bureau of the American re-
publics:
Zone Of the greatest evils referring to Meg
ico) at the present time Is the existence OF u
scale Of wages which defles all power of reduc.
ton, Which robs tho laborers of all sense of
dignity or feeling of association with the rest
of their fellow citizens. and having reduced
them to a condition OF abject abasement dete-
riorates to like extent their productive pow.
or and the measure OF their ability. They are
content to regard themselves as a plant or
machinery which moves by extraneous aids
only and has no power of volition, and no de.
sire to exercise it IL it had"
And yet Mr.. Romero finds 1t impossible to
claim more than that there has been "a ten
dency" to Improvement in wages.
We have before u.s. Mr.. Chairman, n special
message fy.m the president asking us to mako
carrying certain people from the Mexi-
can limo to various parts of the United
States. What is the story behind this? Sim
ply this, sir: Some of our workingmen,
having been told how fearfully they We're
being abused under our system, and being as
sured that things were blooming" in Mexico.
became the victims of their misplaced conf
leo. Then they learned the truth, finally COM
ing home at public expense. How many more
of our workngmen will allow themselves to
be made victims Of similar tales2
How About American Worlxingmen?
workingmen in this country compared in 1890
with that during the SO called "bimetallic
times"
From the famous senate report on wholesale
prices, transportation and wages, before refer
red to, take the facts for the following table
OF wages in leading occupations every tenth
year for some time before the war, when we
had our mint "open to the free coinage Of both
metals, " in comparison with wages In 1890, a
sixth of n century after we finally adopted our
present system OF unlimited coinage Of gold
and limited coinage of silver: