The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1896-01-08
CHEAP SILVER AND LOW WAGES

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one OF the officers elected at the alleged
''bimetaliic' gathering in the East last
week said manufacturers have Just been
aroused to the fact that manufacturers
in silver nations are undressing them in
their own markets. instanced the cheap
cost Of production Of buttons n BIZ
cycles in Japan and OF carriages in
Mexico, and cited these things as reasons
for adopting "rree coinage at B to l" in
the United States.
The argument is not a new one. but Il
Is astonishing that worSmen in this oun
try have not awakened to an understand
ing Of its animus long since. The mean
ing Of this plea for free silver" at an
impossible ratio is that the cost Of pro-
duction here would be lessened by cut
ting down the buying power of wages
Only in n way could goods be pro-
dueed here so much more eheaply h
now that they could be sold in open COM
petition with those made by the very low
priced labor in japan. Mexico and some
other countries, such as China and India.
The theory is that with the breaking
down Of the currency unit 10 a the
buying power OF the dollar In gold the
wages OF the toiler would remain nomi-
naIly the same number of dollars per
week as now. but actually only worth
half as much for the buying Of the things
on which the ioilers and their families
subsist. The cost OF producing manu-
fadured articles would therefore be re-
duced to the point at which the product
could be sold in competition with that
offered by the low-priced labor countries.
The argument is as fraudulent as the
general claim that free silver worth 30
rents on the dollar would benefit work
men. The same person said in another
portion OF his speech tina machinery ex-
ported from England to Japan will be
operated al o~ne-eighth to
the cost of what We pay for labor" II
this be true 1t is idle to talk about the
possibility OF meeting the competition by
reducing the pay Of American labor even
one-half. There still would remain so
terribly wide a margin OF relative cheap
ness nat the workers in this country
would not stand any chance Of securing
the products Of their labor sold where
the Japenese goods could be obtained on
equal terms as regards duties. Such
competition would not be possible with
AuVH ,"sNFw- lA-~r 49, --E--
labor TO o~ne-quarter of the present wage
scale, and hat means almost absolute
starvation.
But what would our wage classes say
to such a plea? How can the preslma-
bly, intelligent leaders in the trades
union gatherings stand up before their
less enlightened hearers and deliberately
advise them to vote for 5-cent free silver
dollars when the men at the head Of the
fraudulently called ''bimetallic move
ment' proclaim that one chief reason for
wanting free silver is that it would cut
down the buying power OF American
wages one-half?
1t is a standing wonder that any Of the
workers can be gulled by appeals which
carry with them their own condemnation
when looked at with the eye OF common
sense. Granting all that is claimed for
the good done by trades unions in rails
ing the compensation OF labor in the
past. the whole of the benefit would lie
abolished at one blow by the adoption Of
free coinage at lG to /" Why do not
some Of the labor leaders who possess
common sense try to take a candid look
at the matter for themselves? II they
were to do so they surely would be con-
WINGED that the free silverites are the
worst enemies Of the working classes.
and would inform the rank and file Of
the toilers 10 that effect.