The San Francisco call., 1896-10-17
They Are Told in Plain Words
Why Free Silver Coinage
Is Not Desired.
WILL ALL VOTE FOR M'KINLEY
Cautioned Not to Be Ensnared by the
Vaporings of Reckless
Agitator.

WASHINGTON, D. c., Oct. 16..-The
Wage-earners' Patriotic League OF Mary
land to the number of 200 called on Sec
retary Carlisle at the treasury to invite
him to address them in Baltimore at his
convenience. The Secretary received the
delegation on the south steps of the treas
ury, where II. 4. L. Johnson, the leader
OF the delegation, made al address, in
which he said they were Cleveland and
Carlisle Democrats who proposed to vote
for Mckinley as the representative OF
honest money. Postmaster Warfield OF
Baltimore accompanied the delegation.
Mr. Carlisle mounted chair, and as he
did so some one called out, 'Tell the
truthP He promptly answered, II Will
try to-" Then he said:
Gentlemen, 1 am very much obliged to you
for his visit, and very sorry that 1t is not In
my power to comply with the request which
you have come here to make. The reasons why
l am not able to do so / think are tolerably
we'll understood by the public. Nv business
has been so arranged as to permit me 10 make
few speeches in my own State, but under the
circumstances it would not be possible TO go
elsewhere.
l cannot therefore accept your invitation to
go to Baltimore, but one or two things have
been suggested by the address just made about
which would like to say very few words TO
you while you are here. II there is laboring
man in the United States who really believes
that the money he is new receiving Tor his
wages is too good for him, that 1t is buying
too much food, too much clothing for himself
and his family. or that is paying rent for
better house than he and his family ought to
live in, it is his duty to vote for the Tree and
unlimited coinage OF silver at the ratio OF 16
to 1. (Cheersl If there is any laboring man
in the United States who has saved money out
of his earnings and deposited it in a savings
q
policy of insurance for the benefit Of his fam
lily and who desires to have IL paid back to
him in currency worth about hall as much
as the money he paid out. he also ought to
vote for the free and unlimited coinage OF sill
yer, for that will give him exactly what he
wants.
States, whether he works Tor wages or not, who
wants to preserve the value of what he has
already accumulated and to insure the value
OF what he may hereafter receive, ought 10
vote against the free and unlimited coinage of
silver and for the maintenance OF a sound and
stable currency in this country. lApplause.l
While every man who works Tor wages or
gets fixed compensation for his services must
be interested in the result OF the pending con.
test those who work for railroad companies
and other transportation companies, many of
whom reside in your city and some of whom
are perhaps here, have special interest in
the question involved, because their en-
ployers are confronted by a situation which
makes 1t Impossible 10 SO increase wages as to
compensate for the diminished purchasing
power of the money in which wages must be
paid If the policy OF free coinage OF silver at 16
to is adopted.
These companies cannot increase wages un-
less they can increase the receipts from their
business; they cannot increase the receipts
from their business unless they can increase
the charges for carrying freight and passen-
gers ard If they should attempt to advance
the charges for carrying freight and passen-
gers 1t Is safe to say that the very men. the
very pc eople who are now SO clamorous for the
free coinage of silver would be the first to pro-
test against it and to demand legislation to
prohibit it in all cases where such legislation
is not already existing. The man, therefore,
who works for q transportation company
would find himself the helpless victim of a
policy which diminished the purchasing
power of his wages about one-half and com.
PEELED him to work on and on for the same
number OF dollars he received before, thus de-
stroying all hope of improvement Of his con-
dition.
But, gentlemen, the laboring men have their
fate in their own hands. They have the power
TO protect wages against depreciation and to
protect their country against financial dis
turbances aud ruin, and If they are as intelli-
gent, as patriotic as believe them to be, they
will SO exercise their power that no reckless
agitator will hereafter dare 10 approach them
in behalf of his wild and revolutionary scheme
of finance and civil govern Applause |
Now, gentlemen, thank you again for this
visit, and / tender to each and every one of
you my best wishes for his prosperity in what
ever calling he may hereafter be engaged.
Then the Secretary retired, amid ap-
plause.