Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1896-10-16
tContnued Jrom fage 6 J

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now as ever. so many ~ tbs p0Ur of vest day
| are among the rich @: tOtay and so naay OF
/ The rich Of to.,Gy msy hC among the poor Of TO-
| morrow. Their csnaidute for tho presidency
| presented a chAra teristic spectacle when some
| tirs ago ne WAS kindly ,hOwn over the farm
of the governor of New York. who is himself
| an example Of the poor country boy risen by
! ablo and honest effort To gt.uencc and distinc-
ton, and when that candidate then straight
way in public speech drew invldious com
/ PARSONS between the elegant houses on the
| hudson and the poor cabins in the wCsi-
/ teaching not the true American lesson OF stc-
/ cess won by honest industry, Tariff and enter
/ prise but the lesson that those who have sue
/ ceeded less should hate and Fight those vao
| have succeeded more-a lesson utterly un-
| American, unpatriutic and abDminablel
! They tell the farmcr-mOst cruel deception
that he must and VIII be made independent
Of the world abroad, while year after year
! from S5O0OO0,0O0 TO S7OOGCO,OOO worth OF our
/ agricultural products must seek tao Tor. ID
/ r,ArlCt to find purchasers and vhIlo nothing
/ will hurt the farmer more than a serious ~
/ palruent of the great home market Dy - bust
Ecss Crisis
False Friends of Labor.
They proclaim themselves the special Chm
/ pious Of the toilng masses, while th"ir policy
! would rob the laboring man of half OF his saw
/ ings and grievously curtail the value of his
/ wages Am / asked, i. the silver STANDARD
Will relatively reduce wages, why so many
/ employers of lalOr are opposed 10 ~ The
/ reason is obvious, because, aside from all con-
| siderations of sentiment the prudent employ
srs OF labor know that they would lose vastly
! more through the disastrous disturbance OF
| business sure TO be caused 10y a free coinage
/ victory than they could possibly gain by the
! cheapeIiHg OF labor. And would not the toillng
/ masses suffer most from that disturbance OF
! LusiLCssf he Is . tr4i.Or 10 thc llhur!ag man
Who tells him tat lie can profit by the ruin
| of his employer.
The alitators denounce the gold standard rs
/ tt device of mOnarchs and aristocrats,
/ while the history Of the world teaches that
| from time ilnmemorial II was favorito trick
! Of INSCRIPTIONS despots TO fleece their subjects
by dcbasing the coin of the rU..lm and that
! those who out OF the none tary confusion
! evolved fixed standards Of values and money
] that would not cheat have always been ran
! ed among the most mertorious benefactors OF
/ mankind and especially Of the poor and weak.
They seek 10 inflame the vanity Of the Amer
! lean people by telling them that we are great
/ and strong enough to maintain any monetary
system we like and 10 keep up the value OF
| our money without regard to all the world
! abrOad-while oCr own history teaches us that
a century ago the American people were
/ strong enough TO shake of the yoke OF Great
! Britain but not strong enough TO save their
| continental money from declining in value TO
! nothing; that in recent times the American
/ people were strong enough to subdue "a ggan-
! tic rebellion, hut not strong enough to keep
4 an indefinite issue Of greenbacis at par, and
/ that this republic may be able 10 conquer the
world, but it Will not be able 10 make twice
! two five or 20 make itself richer by watering
! its currency.
They speak Of the silver dollar as the money
of the constitution, while they must know
| that there Is not single word in the con-
! stitution which, honestly interpreted, could
! Justify such claim.
They invoke for their cause the names OF
-
/ history knows that jefferson and Jackson
would have stood aghast at their wild scheme
| Of creating by law false value and would
have kicked out OF their presence as public
nuisance any one seriously advocating 1t.
Such things the free coinage agitntors tell
| the American people, assuming them to DO
without intelligence. Far worse are the APP
! peals they address to them, assuming them to
! be without moral sense.
Immoral Pleas.
They have been teaching the people that
| because the prices Of wheat and other things
! have fallen about one-half since the called
! characterization year, 1871 have shown why
! those prices have fallen-it is not equitable
that debtors should be held to pay more than
! half the amount Of their debts in gold, that
they should be released in correspondence
with the decline of prices, and that 1t would
therefore be- right TO reduce by free silver
coinage the value of tho debt paying money
| by one-half
! contract a debt. owe what ii is mutually
understood that am 20 pay Our whole bush
ness life and social fabric all human inter
course rests upon the binding force OF such
understandings Unless il be expressly under
stood, has the debtor the slightest right or
reason TO demnn.. that the creditor shall be
! satisfied Wit loss amount n payment IL
! wheat or cotton or SOM thing else had mean
while declined in pricei III So would not tho
creditor also nave the right TO demand that
the dcbto- should pay moro ia proportion il
! wheat or cott N or some taiHg else mcInW hlle
! had risen in Vrlce2 If neither Of them had
! Thought of - posing or of Gcce pting so aGvon-
furious contact, how can sach claims be JUS
tilted II based upon a mere secret mental res
ervation or IA arbitrary afterthoughtI Is it
not monstrous that such an assumption should
BE- taken as warrant FOR 'hc reduction at
one sweep of al debts by dCDasvmcnt OF tie
standard Of V. ucY
Aud yet he who has watched the free coin
age agitation knows that just this appeal TO
debtors Is one Of its main alurernents. Listen
70 their spe0ci cs, read their literature, and you
meet ever recurring-now in soft spoken cir
| cumlocution, now in sly suggestion, now in
the language of brazen cynicism-the promise
that free coinage will enable the debtor 10 get
rid of his obligations by paying only part OF
! them. IL Is "a scheme OF wanton reputation
of private we'll as public debts, not "a II we
could not pay in full, but because we would
prefer not 70 pay, in full-the practice resor ed
toned by law, as a part OF our national policy.
The Coming Verdict.
Fellow citizens, think this out. 1t is a grave
! mattcr-a matter of vital import 90 the exist
ence of this nation. The father who teaches
such moral principles e. his children educates
them for fraud, dishCnor and tho penitontiary
! The public men who teach such moral princi-
Piles to the people educate the people for the
| contempt and adherence OF mankind. The
nation that accepts such moral principles can
not live. 1t will rot to death in the loathsome
stew Of its own corruption. II the nation ac-
cepting such moral principles be this republic
10 " III deal blow 10 the credit Of democratic
institutions from which the cause OF free gov
eminent will not recover for centuries.
But, thank God, the American people will
rover accept such moral principles. The
American people will, before election day ar
rives, have fully discovered what all this
means. They will Indignantly repeal the I'M
speakable insult offered 20 them by the poll
ticians who have dared 10 ask for the votes
Of honest men upon the oEer Of such bait
They will know how 10 resent the deep dis
grace inflicted upon the nation in the eyes OF
the whole world by those Arnt scans who ex-
h.bitcd their own belief that the American
people were capable OF taking such bait.