The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-09-17

coin silver in unlimited quantities for the
has no silver to be coined is to be bene-
has no silve to be coined is to be bene-
fitted has not been made clear 10 us yet
and | believe it will do the country more
good to open our mines, mills and facto-
ries to the unemployed than to open our
mints to the unrestricted coinage of sill
yer at the ratio of Is to /.
THE per capita circulation is greater
than 1t ever was in the United
States, but so long as it is reduced each
time steamer lands its cargo of immi-
grants on these shores the idle workmen
can have no share of it. The money in
circulation Is what labor looks to and not
the idle dollars which do not circulate"
Passing to the Chicago strike, Mr.. Pow
derby said the lawless element of the city
and not the strikers roted, and added:
Il do not approve of government by
any other power than the will of the
American people; but if we will have
government by trucking time-serving Of
ticials who fear to do their sworn duty,
then we invite government by injunction.
1t was a gratuitous act on the part of
the Chicago convention to endorse the
inactivity of the mayor OF Chicago and the
governor of Illinois, but having done so,
its members should be reminded that
honest labor in no way feels compliment
ed by such doubtful recognition. Gov
eminent by injunction would never be
known had government by incompetency
not preceded it."
Mr.. Powderly then entered into n
lengthy analysis of free coinage of silver
declaring it would drive gold from the
country and enhance the value of silver
at the expense of labor.
Closing, he said:
What about labor with the nation on
~,i1N hnci ,f oil In.t.
One silver dollar then will but half what
it will now, and the man working for
Il dollar Il day will then have to work two
days i'll order to purchase as much for
two dollars ms he now obtains for one
dollar of gold or of silver or of paper
based on gold.
''The proposition that the SILVER dollar
is the poor mans dollar is pure gush
The dollar of the poor man is the dollar
which he earns, whether ii be gold or
silver.
THE workingman is entitled to the
best in the market the gold dollar is as
much his dollar as it is the dollar of the
millionaire and instead of joining in the
shout for Il cheap dollar. for free and
unlimited coinage, he should inscribe on
his banner: The best is none too good
for me-
Hon. Warner Miller was next intro
duced and was greeted with applause
that lasted several minutes. He was lis
tened to attcntively. He declared that
the business depression resulted from the
Wilson tariff bill and free silver agita
ton. He cOmbatted the theory that
there was a lack of currency or that gold
had appreciated in value saying:
"If either was true there would have
been some show of reason in the demand
for free coinage of silver"
He said that the test as to the relative
value of gold lay in wages and interest.
He asserted that wages had increased
nearly 60 per cent since 1860 and about
70 per cent since the war, while interest
had fallen one-half.
Mr.. Miller then took up the silver
question, saying that free coinage meant
silver monOmetallsm: that gold would
disappear and that we will have Il cheap
dollar.
Never since coinage was resorted to-
by nations" said he, has the power of
any nation been able to change the COM
mercial value of either gold or silver"
He says that free coinage would depre-
ciate our money and asserted that the
mine owner and holder of silver bullion
would Ire the only ones benefited by such
legislation.
The following resolution was adopted:
"The wage workers of New York, i'll
mass meeting assembled under the aus
pieces of the Mckinley league, repudiate
the teachings by the convention at Chi
cago. We hold its doctrines to be dis
honest. unpatriotic and injurious to the
best interests of the nation and the work
ingmen of the United States.
'The nations honor and prosperity are
involved and depend upon the election
of the republican candidates and we call
upon wage workers everywhere to sup
nnrt MEX inlny and Hobart "