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

just as the blood OF bh0 east anu boo
mingled on the common battlefelds Of IL -
public. And now comes this young man, -
we had not suffered enough from spC1eo0aA
strife, and talks Of sfenemy's oountryI"
They seek to excite what they call stee
poor" against what they call "the rich'-aAa
this land Of great opportunities for all, whse2p
now as ever, SO many of the poor Of yostsrda&
are among the rich Of today and 30 many -
the rich of today may be among the poor of 49,
morrow. Their candidate for the presidency
presGAted characteristic spectacle when oorno
time ago he was kindly shown over the fnsua
of the governor Of New York, who is hinssE
an e1Auple of the pt'or country boy risen -
able ard honest effort to af1uence and dass4Ae"
tion, and when that candidate then straight
way in a public speech drew invidious eoUS
parisons between the elegant houses ON NE
Hudson and the poor cabins in the wsse-
teaching not the true American lesson Of suo-
cess won by honest industry, thrift and enters
prise, but the lesson that those who have su0''
ceeded less should hate and fight those wha
have succeeded more-a lesson utterly NM
American, unpatrietio and abominablel
They tell the farmer-most cruel deoeptto0
that hee1nust and will be made independents
of the world abroad. while year after yeae
from $500 OOO, 600 to S7OO, COO 900 worth Of oses
agricultural products must seek the forstW
market to find purchasers and while noth5e
will hurt the farmer mere than serious II
ness crisis.
False Friends OF Labor.
They proclaim themselves the special cAaap
pions Of the toiling masses, while their pe3sak
would rob the laboring man Of haR Of hts aa1k
tngs and Erievously curtau the value Of ~
wages Am asked, il the silver stAndas
will relatively reduce wages, why - mGM
employers OF labor are opposed TO ~ m
reason Is obvious, because, aside from ali c111k
siderations of sentiment, the prudent eme3n9A
ers OF labor know that they would lose vAaoe
more through the disastrous disturbance q
1,,,uf fN no 1axz HNAa <r&vns
victory than they could possibly gain by ~
cheapening of labor. And would not the to63A1
masses suffer most from that disturbances 4
business? He is a traitor to the labor1ng na
who tells him that he can profit by ths ru4a
of his employer.
The agitators denounce the gold standard aF
the device Of monarchs and aristocrat4
while the history Of the world teaches tha4
from time ilnmemorial 1t was favortte tr36a4t
of unscrupulous despots to fleece their subtecl9
by debasing the oofn Of the realm, and tAse
those who out of the monetary confusiol.
evolved hxed standards OF valueS and moneatz
that would not cheat have always bes4 ran,DIz
ed among the most mefitcrisus bsnofactors Il
mankind and especially Of the poor and wsaAe
They seek to infiame the vanity Of ths Amse$
lean people by telling them that we are grsa4
and strong enough 10 maintain any moneeaxR
system we like and to keep up the value q
our money without regard to all the wos14
abroad-while our own history teaches us thnf
strong enough to shake of the yoke Of Grsse
Britain, but not strong enough to save the1e
continental money from declining In value ~
nothing; that in recent times the Americas
tic rebellion, but not strong enough to kssd
an indefinite issue Of grsenbacks at par, s14
that this republic may be able to conquer 10
world, but it will not be able to make twtae
two five or to make itself richer by waterin1
its currency.
They speak Of the silver dollar ss the nao1s2s
of the constitution. while they must knsi
that there is not one single word In the eo14e
stitution which, honestly interpreted. could
justify such claim.
jefferson and Jackson, while every reader q
history knows that Jefferson and JsslEso4
would have stood ashast at their Wild sehem4
Of creating by law . false value and would
have kicked out Of their. presence as q pubic
Such things the ftee coinage agitators til
the American people, assuming Them to 81
peals they address to them, assuming them T.,
be without moral sense. .
Immoral Pleas. ~
They have been teaching the people thak
because the prices of wheat and other thine&
have fallen about one-haf since the SO eaIls&
demonetization year, 1871 have shown WIZ
those prices have fallen-it is not equitah6a
that debtors should be held to pay more tha4
half the amount Of their debts In gold, tAs4
they should be released In correspondence
with the decline of prices, and that it would
therefore be right to reduce by free silvVe
coinage the value of the debt paying mou&E
by one-half.
Subject the principle to simple test. WheE
I contract debt. owe what it is mutuaI1S
understood that am to pay. Our whole busof
ness life and social fabric. all human fnteSk
course, rests upon the binding force of sua3f
understandings. Unless it be expressly unds1eS
stood, has the debtor the slightest right q
reason to demand that the creditor shall b
satisfied with less amount in payment
wheat or cotton something else had mesue
while declined in pricef If 50. would not tA(
creditor also have the right to demand tha&
the debtor should pay more in proportion
wheat or cotton or something else meanwhile
had risen In price? II neither Of them had
thought Of proposing of accepting SO adve1f
turous a contract, how can such claims be jus
titled II based upon mere secret mental rsoe
ervation or an arbitrary afterthought2 Ii
not monstrous that such an assumption shoul4
be taken warrant for the reduction g
one sweep Of all debts by debasement OF The
standard Of value? =
And yet he who has watched the free coiN
age agitation knows that just this appeal Il
debtors is one of its m ain allurements. Listed
to their speeches, read their literature, and yo4
meet ever recurring-now in soft spoken ctH
cumlocution, now in sly suggestion, now t1
the language of brazen cynicism-the promtsf
that free coinage will enable the debtor to ga
rid Of his obligations by paying only a part Il
them. 1t is q scheme Of wanton repudiatio4
of private as well as public debts, not as If Vt
could not pay in full, but because we would
prefer not to pay Il fu1l-the practice resorts4
to by the fraudulent bankrupt-and this sanQe
toned by law, as a part Of our national polic1e
The Coming Verdict.
Fellow citizens, think this out. 1t is q gravI
matter-a matter Of vital import to the exist
ence Of this nation. The father who teaches
such moral principles to his children educats9
them for fraud, dishonor and the penitentiary.
The public men who teach such moral princts'
pies to the people educate the people for the
contempt and adherence of mankind. The
nation that accepts such moral principles cam
not live. 1t will rot to death in the loathsome
stew Of its own corruption. If the nation 30
cepting such moral principles be this republic,
1T will deal blow to the credit of democratic
institutions from which the cause Of free gov
ernment will not recover for centuries.
But, thank God, the American people wiz
never accept such moral principles. The
American people will. before election day ar
rives, have fully discovered what all thia
means. They will Indignantly repeal the un-
speakable insult offered to them by the polt-
ticians who have dared to ask for the votes
Of honest men upon the offer of such a baits
They will lnow how To resent the deeD dis