The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-10-07

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common school education. This circular
says that if l have to pay double prices
for what l buy that it will amout to the
same as cutting my salary in half. Now,
it would be simply impossible for me to
live on $37 80 per month Therefore, even
admitting that free silver would be the
best thing for the country generally, is
not my first duty to my wife and family?
Therefore, should I not vote against free
silver, situated as / am?
Senator-You have stated the case prob
ably as strongly from the gold standpoint
as IT is possible for anyone to make it.
But the circular tells only half the truth.
and tells that to mislead you. To tell half
the truth when the whole truth should be
told is often the more dangerous and VIC
ious kind Of falsehOod, because it is so
deceptive.
In the first place, it would cost you
double as much to live, and in fact verjr
little more, if any, with free silver than it
would under the gold standard. Free
silver simply means increasing the amount
Of legal tender dollars, and will effect you
no more than increasing the number of
gold dollars would. Every one admits
that there is not enough gold for money.
No one would object to the single gold
standard if there was enough gold to make
a sufficient quantity Of legal tender money
to meet the needs Of increasing population
and business. Yes. some one would OBJ
ject, but it would not be the free silver
people. 1t would be the bondholders, the
monopOlists, and money gamblers. They
want money scarce 1t is their only way
to make fortunes without working. If
there was enough gold, then they would
want to demonetize gold and use some-
thing that was scarce for money. OF
course, you remember that when gold was
discovered in California and Australia In
large quantities, that the bankers and
money lenders held several conferences in
London and New York with view to try
ing to demonetize gold and to use silver
alone if gold got more plentiful than sill
yer. In fact. under the advice Of these
bankers and bondholders Germany and
Holland, and other countries actually de-
monetized gold in order to make legal
tender money scarce.
With free silver the farmer will get
more for his cotton. which the manufac-
turer VIII pay, but the cotton goods will
not cost you any more, for the manufac-
turer is now charging all that competition
will allow him to charge under the tariff
laws; and the manufacturer Though he
would pay more for the cottOm would
himself be benefited for he would sell
twice as much of the manufactured
product, and his employees would be ben
Gifted for the factory would run full time;
for if the farmer gets a fair price for his
products he would buy at least twice as
much cotton goods he does now.
The same applies to wheat and other
farm products. And, besides, it would be
the same way with every other manufac-
tured product. While the manufacturer
would have to pay more to the farmer for
the raw material, and would pay out more
money to labor employed in his factory
for full time as we'll as an increase in his
wages, yet he would not pay any more
for the goods than now. There would
simply be n better distribution of profits.
The manufacturer then would not be-
come millionaire but the farmer and
the men who work in factories would
prosper as much as the manufacturer.
Besides, there are a number of fixed
charges which you are forced to meet out
Of your salary each month, which would
be the same with free coinage or more
money. AS 1 have said it would cost you
very little, only few dollars more per
month to live then than now, provided you
paid the same for manufactured products
and a little more for what you got from
the farmer but you must remember that
the prices of large number of manufac-
tured products which you now buy have
been forced up by the combinations and
and trust would disappear: 1t Is only pos
sible for trusts to be formed and thrive
| only when the amount of money in circu-
| lation is decreasing. With an increased
| volume of money or with a volume of
money increasing, as business and popula-
| tion increase, new enterprises, manufac-
| turing just what the trusts now control
would spring up so rapidly that every trust
would be destroyed by their competition.
| This would bring down at once the price
| of everything that you have to buy that
| is now controlled by combinations, trusts
| and monopolists. This would reduce your
| expenses for living because the saving
| here would be greater than the increased
price which you would pay for farm pro-
| ducts. For instance, a beefsteak which
| now sells in the cities at 20 cents pound,
| would, if the Armour trust was broken,
| sell for 6 to cents a pound
| But for arguments sake, let us ad-
| NIT that it would cost a great deal more
| to live with free silver. That Is let us ad-
| nit that all that is said in that circular
| is true, then there still is another side to
| this matter, which you must not overlook,
| inasmuch as you love your wife and
| children. The fact is you have as much
| and probably more to fear from the gold
| standard than the farmer. even though
| You are drawing a salary. Did it ever
| occur to you that if the gold standard is
permanently fixed upon this country that
| your salary is sure to be reduced. and not
| only reduced once, but continuously and
| successfully, until there is no telling upon
| how little you may be forced to live on pei
month, and, besides, did 1t ever occur to
| you that you are liable at any time to use
| your position? : -ssf >.dfE
| Conductor-T. don't understand that
| Why should lose my position as long as
| do my duty to the company or have
| my salary reduced either?
Senator-Do you know any man today
who is out of sob who is competent to
| serve ap1ar conductor on this road as
yofrselE
! Oondleenr-Yes, I know several.
FeGkn&tS4e-Several? If you will think for
t'a 1omentx xsou will think Of more than sew
| Continued on Inside Pages.