The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1896-10-09

with their dependents 1t may, for aughs we
know, amount to SIS 0Oo. coo or $50, ,00o 600. Who
are the debtors Of these creditors, The saw
tngs banks had. according TO the reports Of
1894, loaned out about one-haf of the money
deposited with them on real estate mortgages
and invested the other half in United States
bonds. state, county and municipal bonds and
railroad and other bonds and stocks. The in
vestments of the life insurance companies
were about proportionately the same. The in
vestments in real estate mortgages are always
preferably in large amounts, ON property be-
longing to comparatively wealthy persons or
to business corporations. Thus the debtors to
these creditors belonging to the toiling masses
are the United States, states and municipali-
ties, railroad and other corporations and per-
sons very much richer than the creditors.
Here we have, then, rich debtors owing to
many millions of poor creditors thousands of
millions of dollars.
The silver orators pretend that they have the
toiling masses greatly at heart and that free
coinage Is to be introduced mainly for their
benefit How do they take care of the toiling
masses in this case2 By bringing us down
upon the silver basis they simply cut down
the thousands of millions of invested savings
of poor people to about so cents on the dollar.
And for whose benefit is this donep For the
benefit of the debtors Of these poor people, who
will gain about 80 cents the dollar. And
who they? Aside from the United States
and the states and municipalities, those
debtors are railroad and other corporations
and more or less rich men, whom our silver
friends profess to abhor very much as belong
ing to. the money power Thus will the
silver standard bleed the poor creditor for the
benefit OF the rich debtor. May not the toll
ing masses pray heaven to deliver them Of the
free coinage friends?
How the Peoples Savings VIII Fare.
And what have these friends TO say in their
defensef will again let Mr. Bryan g New
York GRAFTON speak. He says first, with regard
tn he irsu HSince ia total
premiums received exceed the total losses paid,
a rising standard must be of more benefit to
the companies than to the policy holders
How wise! And that the companies may not
have this benefit he proposes by the silver
standard to strip the policies Of the policy
holders of nearly half their valuel But does
not Mr.. Bryan know that most Of these com
panies are mutual insurances and that what
benefits or Injuries the companies therefore
benefits or Injuries the policy holders?
AS TO the saving bank depositors he says,
"Under gold standard there is increasing
danger that the savings bank dspositors will
lose their deposits because of the inability Of
the banks to collect their assets And to
avert this danger Mr.. Bryan advises policy
which would, by the introduction of the silver
standard. at once cut down the value of those
assets to so cents on the dollar. He further
says, "If the gold standard is to continue in
definitely, the depositors in savings banks may
be compelled to withdraw their deposits in
order to pay living expenses" Indeedl It is
q remarkable fact that since 1878, the year Of
the great crime, until 1895, during the period
when we had to suffer all the calamities of the
gold standard, the deposits in savings banks
have, instead of being withdrawn for living
expenses, increased-positively increased
much over $1,000, GOO, eco. And they would
have increased still more had not some deposit
ors withdrawn their deposits, not for living
expenses, but to send them to Europe for safe
ty. out OF the way of Mr.. Bryan and other
friends of the toiling masses. They will no
doubt bring that money back as soon as Mr..
Bryan Is beatan.
Let US go on. Almost every man in active
business is debtor and a creditor at the same
time-every merchant, every manufacturer
a creditor to his customers and debtor to
those from whom he buys. Let Mr.. Bryan
bring on his panic, and hundreds if not thou
sands OF them, although ever SO solvent under
ordinary circumstances, will break because
they cannot pay what they owe, being unable
to collect what is due them.
"Cheap Money" Fallacies.
But we are told. that the Bryan panic cannot
last forever; that finally the business of the
country will adjust itself to the silver basis;
that then unrest will cease. and that confidence
and prosperity will return. No, the unrest
will not cease, for with the establishment Of
the silver basis will come the disappointment
of those who brought it on.
The ultimate result is not at all uncertain.
After period of infinite confusion, disaster.
. humiliation, suffering and misery the Amer
lean people will at last regain sanity OF mind
and arrive again at some very simple conclu-
sions: That, if you call peck bushel, you
will have moro bushels, but not more grain;
if you call foot yard, you will have more
yards, but not more cloth if you call square
rod acre, you will have more acres, but
not more land, and if you call so cents or
cent or a bit Of paper, a dollar, you will
have more dollars, but not more wealth-in--
deed, a great deal less chance for wealth, for
you will have far less credit, because far less
honesty. We shall then have learned again
that the wit of man cannot-although insanity
tries very hard-invent an economic system
under which everything you have to sell will
be dear and everything YOU have to buy will
be cheap. And having got hold Of these very,
very simple truths, the American people will
then in sackcloth and ashes repent of this in
sane free coinage debauch. They will then
recognize how wise the great civilized nations
were in adopting the only money in our days
capable Of being the money Of the worlds
commerce as their own money. We shall then
be sufficiently cured Of prejudice to observe
that under that monetary system those ma
tions have on the whole prospered, notwith-
standing serious evils and drawbacks under
which we do not labor, and that the rate Of in
terest is lowest where the gold standard has
existed longest. We shall then understand that
it is good thing to have the necessaries OF
life in plenty and cheap; to have wages rising
and payable in money that does not deceive;
to have capital inspired with confidence in tho
in Investment or enterprise. We shall then
readily acknowledge how foolish we were
from the very beginning Of our silver expert
ments in throwing away our gold for silver,
by which we lost confidence, credit and pros
perity. Chastened by adversely, we shall then
no longer be tempted to repeat such nonsense,
but with laborious and painful effort we shall
work our way back to that money standard
which will insure stability and confidence at
home and enable US to trade with the nations
Of the world on equal terms.
It is not my habit to boast Of warm heart
for the poor and suffering. But my sympathy
is no less sincere because / do not carry my
love and solicitude for the common people
constantly at my tongues end. II there be
those who satisfied with everything that
exists, I am not one of them. There are few, If
any, who abhor that which may properly be
called plutocracy or detest the arrogance Of
wealth more heartily than / do. know, also,
that the industrial developments Of our time
have brought hardship to some classes Of peo-
pie which only the more sagacious, active and
energetic among them have been able to
counterbalance prodtably with its benefits.
There are laws and practices which, had the
power, would promptly change, in the inter
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