The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-08-15
The False Cry Of
Classes and Masses
Editor Of The Tribune.

Sir: The breeze the other day blew TO
us the truth that the fathers of this
republic were neither fools nor knaves.
They accepted facts and from these drew
their principles. A dollar with them not
worth one hundred cents was q fraud.
The grand old ocean says to the melting
SHOWS of the mountains on every conti-
nent and to the rivulets and streams. II
you wish to pass current throughout the
world you must become salt Salt Is
good. and the world is entitled to the best
and for the purpose for which 1t Is good
1t is solely and always good. Pure salt Is
purely good. SO with gold. 1t is the best.
1t il TO finance and business what sal. Is
for the oceans business. You may have
currency in silver. iron. copper. nickel.
but for stability. for surplus earnings TO
buy the necessities and homes with. for
safety gold only is BEST 1t floats silver
"copper" bank notes as the ocean floats
ships. The silver dollar Of the fathers
looked into the face of gold and said: II
am as good as you are" Gold could have
said: because you are like the honest
bushel packed down and running over.
think you are a little better. three cents
better. If you wish to float drop your three
cents" The mine owners OF Colorado
say the less silver the better and they
would have the 5O-cent dollar look in the
lace OF tHe SClu one anu say ALI just dS
good as you are IL 1t were possible the
silver would blush into a respectable
size looking like gold at the thought. but
the silver turns pale, and wonders that.
itself with no soul, intelligent human
beings supposed to have soul should
stamp on its face such lie.
Il II II
"Oh, yes" says Bryan, my poor far
mer ! love you. no one else as much as I,
therefore take from me, president of the
United States of America, a fifty-cent sill
yer coin and we will call ii a dollar and
in order to make 1t good We will tax these
gold bugs ten, twenty five, fifty per cent, of
their income wipe out the Supreme court.
change the republic and make 1t pure
Democracy; stopping railroads when 1t
suits our pleasure, burning bridges, etc.
with impunity, and the halcyon days
of the people will be with us. We will
shut out those hated English from whom
we sprung who We know have learned
something Of business through the long
centuries and we will live In a Chinese
wall. self satisfied Celestials." We can
learn something from our rivals experi-
ence. Mr.. Bryan thinks with little knowl-
edge of history and less experience, with
a few years In college and a few years
belligerency in the law, he thinks he can
be the special friend Of all labortng and all
business men and can tell It in honied
words. That is enough. "Wil you walk
into my parlor said the spider to the fly.
It 10 the prettiest little parlor that ever
your did spy."
II II Il
These fiedglings in finance say nothing
about the prosperity Of Europe today on
gold basis at the expense of America
threatened with a silver basis. II a gold
basis is gooti font England. Germany.
France, Sweden. Russia. who have re-
peatedly tried silver to their ruin, 1t Is
good for America. If through long CEN
turies they have learned that the people
by experience will demand the safest,
most stable and best currency based on
gold for all its silver. paper and govern
ment issues. for all its bank checks, for
all due the laborer and all interest due the
lender then 1t 10 best for US. Our silver
dollars coined at four million and half
ounces per month lie idle in government
vaults by the ton and from the day OF
their coinage have lain idle In the vaults
of the government, and this Is what
brought the panic of three years ago and
hard times ever since. 1t ruined conn-
dence In the government, ruined confidence
in business which every clear-eyed man
saw was rushing on to silvered bank
ruptcy. instead of golden prosperity.
Bryans theories are all bosh, In the light
Of history and experience.
POpulists IL prejudice, class enmity, revo-
luton. and falsehood. On these they base
their theories. and with sophistry expect
to fool some Of the people some Of he
time, to the extent of capturing enough
electoral votes to give them political pow
er They talk Of the classes and the
masses. They define classes to be the
Vanderbilts. Wall street. and the masses
the poor; another name for classes Is the
creditor and for the poor the debtor.
They put up q man Of straw to fight him
down. The real persons they propose to
ruin as classes are not the very rich alone,
farmer with his farm paid for Is a capi-
talist. every laboring man with his home
earned and paid for, every employe with
any surplus of earnings saved, Is = gold
bug for his farm. his home. his saved
he has saved In gold worth for
each dollar 100 cents. Prejudice and class
enmity say nothing Of this. The man
who earns a days wages becomes cred
itor at the end Of the day and his employer
is a debtor however rich he may be. If
the employer has in his right hand pocket
a silver dollar worth So cents and in his
left a gold dollar worth 100 cents, he will
pay his creditor the cheaper currency and
keep the better and in turn the laboring
man when he pays for his supplies will
do the same thing. He will keep the 100
cent dollar and pay out the 5O-cent dollar.
This is what is rightly called demonetia-
ing gold. Gold is now demonetized al
ready. Why? Because Of the fear that
there may be a bare chance that the 80
cent dollar will win. So long as this ex-
lists the $500 O00, 600 Of gold is out Of the cur
rency of the people and hard times will
This is not fancy. 1t is expe-
rience and history.
But experience and history and facts
are no longer current in the newly fiedged
party. They deal in theories
Give US the 50-cent dollar and they say 1t
will jump silver to sl.29 per ounce. How
do they know? Has such a fact ever oc-
CURED. does history present such a case2
Suppose It should jump that way. VIII II
buy just as many more barrels of -four,
will 1t buy as many more spades with which
the digger digs, will he have left at the
end Of the year his small surplus In gold?
We have had and now have q glorious
1t is such because a republic, not
q democracy. No democracy ever yet
to anything. A republic is q
democracy. Our success,
therefore, is phenomenal because self
control Is the glory of America. No
where else has the poor man such a
chance from poverty to wealth. No where
else do patient, economic toll win in the
long run of each mans life so many and
great rewards. The rich man and the poor
man have each only one vote. Nearly
all the rich men have come I'm from Dov-