The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1896-10-30
MANU- ACTURERS
NEED SILVER
Hon. Charles R. Sigh, President Of
Worlds Largest Furniture Fac
torv and AIwasa Republican
Till the St. Louis Plat
form Was Adopted.
FARMERS AND WAGE FARMERS

The president Of the largest furniture
factory in the world declares for Bryan
and the RECOMMENDATION of silver in the
following letter:
.SLIGH FURNITURE Co.,
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich, Sept. 4. 1895.
"Colonel r. NJ. Johnson, Elkhart, Ind.
Dear Sir-It affords me pleasure to
comply with your request to submit a
few reasons. from manufacturer 8
standpoint, why the independent. free
and unlimited coinage Of silver by the
United States would be beneficial to our
country.
1T is well established principle in
finance that the quality or value of
money is regulated by the quantity. and
that the quantity Of all the money in
the world regulates the value Of all
commodities and products that are
bought and sold. II the volume of
money is large prices will be high, and
IL money is scarce or horded land IL it is
scarce it will be horded) prices will be
low. This prirosple has been repeatedly
demonstrated in all times of the world q
history. and the men who secured the
decentralization of silver were perfectly
familiar with 1t. They were the money.
lenders of the world who desired that
their money should become more valua.
BILE, and they accomplished their ends
through corrupt and dishonorable means
The results Of demonetization have
justified their Judgment. and, while it
has brought misery to millions, it has
doubled the value of their dollars, and
in its elimination in the last two years
has brought the producing classes and
the manufacturers to the verge of bank.
ruptcy. and If continued for two years
longer, three-quarters Of the manufac.
turing establishments now operating
will be wiped out Of existence. and their
plants will pass into the hands Of the
money-lenders, who will acquire them
at from one quarter to one-third their
value. The election of Mckinley, which
promises nothing but higher taxes and
monopoly of the spoils, cannot avert
this disaster. as the United States sen.
ate is anti-gold standard and sure to re-.
main SO for at least the next four years.
The Only Hope.
1.-THE only hope Of the producing
classes is i'll legislation that will
cheaper money, thereby compelling it
to seek investment in productive enter
prises. employing idle labor and making
market Of farmers products. The
only way to cheaper money is to make
more Of it. With our minis open 70 the
worlds silver. as they were previous &c
1873. and as they are now to gold. the
demand for gold must be lessened, and
its value thereby decreased, and the de-
mand for silver must be increased, and
its value thereby appreciated. ultimate
ly bringing the two to parity.
How the Farmers Arc Situated.
"All manufacturers who understand
this question are convinced that no last.
ing prosperity can be attained until the
agricultural classes (one.half Of our pop.
ulation) receive prices that will give
them a profit on their products, and
that they can secure better prices under
gold standard Is absurd to contem-
plate. Our farmers today are selling
their surplus products to Europe In COM
petition with Russia. India. Argentine
and other countries in which gold Is at
high premium. 1t is this premium on
gold which acts as bonus on exporta-
ton and has stimulated production in
all silver standard countries. the farmers
there are getting as much for their
wheat, cotton and other products now
as they did 20 years ago. while our
farmers are getting only half as much.
This Is accounted for by the fact
that previous to 1873, when England
bought our silver to pay for purchases
in India. Russia, etc. she had TO pay 81. 33
an ounce for it, while now she Is buying
1t for SO cents an ounce, and she can 80.
cure the same quantity Of products from
those countries now for an ounce Of sill
yer that she could then. Under free
coinage by the United States, silver
would DO worth $i.29 cents an ounce,
and no one would sell il for less, becau @
he could take 1t to the mint and realize
that; therefore, England would be com.
PEELED to pay nearly double wha. she
pays now for our silver. and this would
mean nearly double cost TO her for the
wheat and cotton she buys Of India,
Russia and Argentine. and correspond
ing increase In the price in the United
States. This would enable our farmers
to again become consumers Of manu-.
featured goods, which they have largely