Semi-weekly register. (Brookings, Brookings Co., S.D.) 1894-1898, 1896-08-26

SlO, aVallaDle IOr UNe payment OF OChor
labor, there would be eight chairs at S32,
and thus tfe larger my wages the larger
my product the greater the prosperity in
the chair making industry.
Now, applying that principle to every
other department Of trade we can SEQ that
the man who works on a tunnel cannot
take part of the tunnel home with him
for his wages the man who paves the
street cannot take part Of the highway
| with him. but each one takes the money
| equivalent of that part of the product
which is the result of his daily toll, and
the laborer is the man who has the most
vital interest in the character of the money
which Is paid to him.
Some of Mr.. Bryan's Contradictions.
Now, when we come to find out just how
Mr.. Bryan expects to increase the wages of
labor, we find ourselves lost in maze of
contradiction and in haze of obscure ex-
pressions. No man can tell how or where
or when the wages of the workingman are
| to be increased but any one who examines
the scheme can see that the inevitable tend
ency, the inevitable consequence of de-
basement in the standard of value, must
be reduction in the rate Of wages and
that is the conspiracy in which the Popu-
list is engaged
| Now, Mr.. Bryan tells us that he wants
to cheaper the dollar that he wants to In
crease the volume of money. do not be-
lieve that any man who ever lived could
quite understand a Populists notion of
what money Is further than that he be-
lieves it is desirable thing to get and
that he is not very particular about the
means by which he can get his hands on
it, Nothing is more common in Populist
oratory than the statement that the volume
Of money must be increased for the benefit
Of the people-which means that part of
the people that runs and manages and ad-
dresses Populist meetings.
remember that in one of the speeches
which Mr.. Bryan delivered on his way east
he declared that any man who objected to
too much money ought to vote the other
ticket Now, my friends, / will ask you
to indulge me for a moment while / state
to you here the only conception that an
honest man can form Of money, in order
that in discussing this thing hereafter we
will be able to understand the economic
expressions which the Populist uses for
the delusion of man and for the confusion
of his Judgment
| The basis of sound trade is sound money.
Money which is intrinsically valuable
money which, like the gold coinage of this
country, government cannot affect II 1t
tried to. l can take $40 goldpiece and
can defy all the power OF all the govern
ments of this earth to take 5 cents of value
from it. Having earned it by the sweat
of my brow, having earned it by the exer-
else Of my brain, having earned it by the
| exchange of my commodities, l can go to
| &lo .,,6
wherever present it its value will be un-
questioned and unchalIenged. That gold
dollar, this meeting, the Democratic party,
the honest masses of this country, without
distinction of party divisions, demand
shall be paid to the laborer when he earns
it and that no power on earth shall cheat
| him of the sweat of his brow
Mans Labor Creates Wealth.
Now let us see how Mr.. Bryan proposes
| to deal with this question. ] have looked
through his speech to find out just what he
thinks he Is going to do for the laboring
man and find that he dismisses him with
very few and some very unsatisfactory
phrases. But it is perfectly clear that the
purpose Of the Populist Is to put up the
prices of certain commodities. MIR. Bry-
ans language is that he is going to i'm
prove the condition of the people of this
country; not of all of Them but of the
greatest number Well, now, don't sup
pose Mr.. Bryan pretends to any miracu-
lous power. don't suppose he claims he
can multiply the number of chairs upon
this platform or upon this floor, although
he has shown his capacity to empty them.
If he is going to work any change in the
| conditions of men, he must increase the
material possessions of some part of the
communitN Now, If he got possession of
the government tomorrow, he could not
create one single thing of value by any ex-
ercise of governmental power in the world.
Money and Property Not Identical.
Nothing is more common than the mis-
take that money and property are iden-
tical They are not. A redundancy of
money does not prove any prosperity.
There may be very large volume OF cir
culating medium and very great poverty.
The issue of paper money simply Is no
more an increase of wealth than the issue
by an individual of his promissory note
would show an increase of his property.
| AS matter of fact an increase In the coin
age is no proof of an increase in property,
bat may be a strong proof of a decrease in
wealth.
The volume Of money plays but small
part even in the ordinary transactions OF
life 1t is not the volume of money, but
the activity of money that counts. If a
person wants to see just how q dollar
works in the ordinary exchanges, in wha'
might be called retail business, he has
but to take dollar out of his pocket and
go out into the street and buy some fruit
Now, the fruit dealer would take that dol
lar and buy some vegetables The green
grocer with the same dollar could buy
neckties. The dealer in neckties with the