The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-10-27
hnoDiED IN THE FREE SILVER
EXPERIENCE OF THE ARGEN.
TINE REPUBLIC,
INJURY TO ALL CLASSES,
BUT TO TOILERs THE DAMAGE H.s
BEEN THE MOST
SEVERE,
WOrkfngmen Paid Relatively Les~
for Their Labor and Charged
More for Necessities.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26.-Mr Ri
chanan. United States minister to the
Argentine Republic, in a report to the
department Of state on money and
prices In foreign countries SAYS: A
majority OF those who have written RI
me from the United States. regarding
wages and prices, have invariably
asked me to give them the result Of NV
observations with regard to the prac-
tlcal workings Of the cheap money svs-
TEN OIL tnls country as it has affected
anu aiIects the farmer and wage-earn-
CT. On this point let me say that, from
an extended and careful observation. +
am convinced that, with possibly a few
exceptions, all classes of workmen here
are To-Day receiving less wages-tbe
purchasing power of their money being
consldered-than they were ten wears
ago.
IL is true that as long as gold was
rising, the farmer who was selling his
products, as he had always done and
continues to do, on a gold price fxad
outside of the country, was steadily re-
celVlng higher paper prices for all that
ne mad to sell and was in consequence
direct gamer by high gold. II ia
equally true that he has been the gain
er IN other ways; he has paid but little
mere rent IT any, for his land than he
paul HVe years ago. Strange as II
seems, ne has paid and is today paving
out tr1f1e more to his Iaborers thai
When gold was on par ten years aeo
ana as ne produces on his farm the
eleaI ana vegetables necessary for his
Ialnliy, ne has the lions share of the
gain In the rise in gold
On the other hand. the vorl,uo,
found 1T very difficult to get an increase
IN ms wages, as gold advanced. 1t re-
CURED Tour years for him to get an
average increase Of 20 per cent in his
earnings, While the farmer had heen re-
ceiVlng the benefits Of an increase in
ne .ne soiu premium, averaging more
lhan gu per cent for the same period
In the meantime the merchant found If
easy and profitable to increase the
price OF MS goods, in keeping with the
rise OF gold. Rents likewise increased
although more slowly, and, as the
prices OF all commodities rose. the la
poref round himself daily being made
pcorer. Agltate as he would, he could
not get his salary increased in anv
reasonable proportion to the increase
IN the premium on gold Strikes were
resorted to, all sorts of efforts were
maze to bring about an increase in his
receipts until finally he last wear
ieaoheu what we may call wage high
water mark
Since then gold has steadily fallen
The first person to feel the decline has
peen the farmer who is complaining
bitterly Of the relatively low prices he
is receiving for his products while he
finds himself obliged to pay the same
prices for what he buys. Low gold
rates do not induce the merchant to
mark down his goods with the same
good will he manifested when he ad-
vanced their prices. The fact that the
unsettled and shifting value given to
the currency of this Republic INJURIES
trade here, there can be no question.
ana 1t can be equally stated as fact
that the wide fluctuations that have
taken place in the value Of the currency
within the past year or two have
brought on commercial situation far
from satisfactory to the merchants.
farmers or Workingmen