The bee., 1896-09-10

in the rate OF wages, but also in the
purchasing power of the money
IN which wages are paid. Is
there free coinage country in the
world where a workingman can
buy as much for a dollar as he can
dow in the United States1
8. Mr.. Bryan and other advo-
Gates of free coinage clam that it
will increase the price of all com.
modities. If it should increase the
the price of the things which the
workingman has to buy and does
not correspondingIy increase his
wages, will he not be most seriously
affected by the changer
a. Is it true that between 1860
and 1865, when the currency was
inflated with paper, that the price
of all commodities rose no per
cent, while wages only rose 43 per
cent?
S. Ifwages onlyincreased about
one third as much as the price of
things for which wages had to be
exchanged between 1860 and 1865,
when hundreds of thousands of la
borers were in the field as soldiers,
do you believe wages would increase
so much under conditions that
would follow Mr.. Bryan's election2
6. The railroads of the country
derive their incomes exclusively
from freight and passenger tariffs
that are practically fixed by laws
enforced by State and interstate
II free coinage in
creases the price of all the COM
modities necessary to the opera
ton of railroads, and their income
is kept down by law, can the large
body of men employed IN the SER
vice hope for an increase of wages1
AS a matter of fact, would not a
cut in wages be about the only
way in which the railroads could
meet the increased cost of opera
tion1
7. The street railway systems
of this city are operated under
municipal ordinances which fix
their income at SC per passenger
carried. If Mr.. Bryan is right in
saying free coinage will increase
prices of all commodities used by
street railways, can you advise the
conductors, motormen and other
street railway employees of this city
to vote for free coinage with the
hope OF improving their condition.
8. AS understand it, your party
has for years made war on pro-
tective tariff because it increased
the cost of the necessaries of life.
If Mr.. Bryan is right, will not free
coinage in this respect be just as
bad1 Will it not also create a gi-
gantic trust and make market by
law for the property of the silver
mine owner at double its value7
9. Is it true that on the Sante
Fe Railroad, operated partly IN the
United States and partly IN Mexico
that the laborer on the American
side receives an American silver
dollar, while just across the imag-
mary law line on the Mexican side,
the paymaster with the American
silver dollar buys two Mexican sill
yer dollars with which he pays for
two days work,
10. Why is it that 37IA grains
OF silver with the stamp of gold
standard America on it, will buy
754 grains of silver with the stamp
of silver standard Mexico on itH
II. If you say it is because the
silver dollar in America is main
tanned at par with gold by the gov
ernment, when the credit OF the
Government is removed by free
coinage and silver stands on its
merits, will not the American sill
dollar sink to the value OF the
Mexican dollar, and will not the
American workingman who re-
ceives it be put upon the low level
of the Mexican laborera
IA. Mr.. Bryan says that gold has
appreciated, That under the gold
standard the gold dollar has grown
in value from Iooc to 2ooc. Wages
is this country are paid in gold OF
the equivalent, The rate of wages
has risen since 1873, Ii the Amer
lcan worklngman receives as many
dollars for days work now as he
did prior to 1873, and these dollars
have grown in value from Iooc to
2ooc, do you think he would be
unwise to swap it for dollar that