Omaha daily bee., 1896-09-01
ERRINp or TIE rnE1p nnLLAR.

ffNhiNtB VI Inn 'fff4lF DbLLhh e.
Nothing more inciSivc was said by
General Harrison in his strong and adj
mirable address last week than this:
"Thc first dirty errand that n dirty
dollar does is to cheat the nottingham
All experience attcsts the truth of this.
AS was said by that distinguished
statesman. when the time Of cheap
dollars should come the merchant world
take care of himself. He would mark
up his goods to the new scale. The
capitalist. also, would protect himself.
But what of the workingmanE "lic AN
not 20 to the pay roll with Il pencil and
mark IT up. He has got to consult some
body. lie has to enter into an argu-
ment. He has got To get some other
mans consent before he can mark up
his wages" The grocer ana the butcher
are free to put whatever price upon the
articles they sell that conditions may
appear to warrant. but the wage Garner
cannot increase his pay without the
consent of his employer.
The history of the struggles of labor
under Il system of deprecated currency
to secure an equitable advance in wages
ought to convince all workingmen Of the
utter folly Of the free silycrite p%rctcnse
that they would be benefited by II policy
which would give them Il dollar of re-
duced purchasing power. They should
need no other experience to show them
this than was furnished by the paper
money period in our own country.
Then. rs in all previous experiences of
II similar nature in the worlds history.
the price of labor was the last thing
to rise and it did not rise as fast or as
far as the prices of commodities. TAX
ing prices of commodities and wages
in 1850 ns at Il normal level, the record
shows that by 1865 the prices of food
and clothing and general family sup
plies had been multiplied two and one
half times. But the record also shows
that the average of all wages had only
increased by onc-half. So that while
the nominal rate of wages ut the close
of the war, compared with the rate of
wages before the war, was about
100 to 100, yet the net pur-
chasing power of wages, allow
ing for the higher prices of every
thing. had declined in the same time
from 100 to 60. In later years. under
Il sound monetary system, wages have
advanced and with that advance the
purchasing power of the dollar has in
creased. The wage Garner is now asked
to support Il policy that will change
this and make the dollar he earns less
valuable to Kim and there are some
w~orkingmen so blind to their own in
terests as to be disposed to accept the
invitation and vote themselves Il dirty
dollar"
Daniel Webster once said of the work
ingman: Ills prosperity is in his
hands. His reliance, his fund, his pro-
ductive freehold. his all. is his labor.
Whether he work on his own small
capital or a%notner's, his living is still
earned by his industry and when tho
money of the country becomes depreci-
ated and debascd, whether it be adulter-
ated coin or paper without credit, that
industry is robbed of its reward. He
then labors for a country whose laws
cheat him out of his bread" This is
eternally true. 1t applies today as fully
us when uttered by it's illustrious author.
A debased currency, Il currency of con-
stantly uncertain value. is the mercil2Ss
enemy of labor. The Spectator may
thrive with it, the broker may find it
profitable, the money lender may be
benefited by it. but the man who works
for wage will inevitably suffer from it.
Whatever it may do for others he is
certain to be cheated by it and to be
cheated all the time. Will workingm2n
heed the lessons of experience and the
council of wise and disinterested states
men. or will they follow those who
promise them prosperity through free
silver without ever attempting to show
them how 1t is to be attained?
A CRISIS IN CUBi.