The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1896-09-11


hope into the life of the laboring man,
that enables him to put by, that gives him
q stake in good order in the property Of
the country, Is the policy that should be
our American policy. have resisted In
many campaigns this idea that asdebased
currency could help the workingman.
The first dirty errand that dirty dollar
does is to cheat the workingman MY
friends, a cold statistical inquiry, nonpar-
tisan in its character, was made by COM
mittee of the senate in 1890 and some fol-
lowing years. The committee was com
posed of Democrats and Republicans, and
they set out to study as statisticians the
relative prices of commodities and wages
at different periods in the history Of our
country. This investigation covered the
years of the war; 1t showed how prices of
goods went up and In what proportion la
Dor advanced. Goods went up rapidly be-
cause the pencil process Is quick process.
Wages went up haltingly and slowly be-
cause the employer has to DO persuaded,
and the pencil won't serve Now, have
here somewhere a memorandum of some
Of these facts resulting from that investi-
cation.
Labor in ono period advanced 8 per cent
Goods, the things the men had to buy out
of his wages for. his family an his living,
advanced 10 per cent Through another
period the laborer's wages advanced 10 per
cent and the prices of goods advanced 40
per cent. In another period the wages of
the laborer went up % per cent and the
prices of merchandise advanced 90 per cent.
In another period the laborer's wages went
up 43 per cent and the prices of goods III
per cent. Now, these statistics are the re-
suit Of cold scientific inquiry made by
men of both parties to determine what the
truth was, and the truth they found was
that the enormous disparity between the
advance of the cost of living and the adj
vance of wages falls in exactly with what
we would conclude in advance. Laborers,
men who work, whether with head or hand,
in salaried positions, would do we'll to take
these facts to heart and settle the question
after that broad, deep inquiry to which Mr..
Bryan invites you, as to whether you want
to enter into another experience such as
you had during the war, when wages ad-
vanced so slowly and tediously and the
cost of your living moved on so swiftly.
Who VIII Gain the Profit?
have sSetched very hastily some of the
evils that will result from this change to
debased dollar-a contraction of our cur
rency by the exporting of our gold and
readjustment of everything. I read the
other day in n paper q most amusing de-
scription Of the troubles of the ticket agent
at Laredo, a station on the Mexican rail
way who had to sell tickets to people who
came from the United States with United
States money going into Mexico, and then
to people who came out of Mexico, and
who offered him Mexican money. He had
O large book bound up with yellow paper,
and he had to cover one whole sheet in his
calculation usually when he sold a ticket
That is what would happen everywhere
Everything would have to be readjusted,
the prices Of everything the whole intri-
cate business adjustments of the country
would have to be readjusted, and while
that.process is going onuncertainty would
characterize business, resulting in panic
and disaster.
Now, who will get any benefit Well,
the man who owes debt that he contract
ed upon a.gold basis and Is able to pay 1t
with O 80 cent dollar. He and the mine
owner, who gets an exaggerated price for
the products of his mine, are the only two
people or classes of people that can see
that would have any benefit out of 1t. My
friends, the people who advocate this class
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS lGSlbLtUiOu ldNOTtDl6 W
the mine owners to double the pirce of the
products Of their mines, and who offer this
temptation Of reputation to the better
class-are the party that have for 90 years
been proclaiming against class legislation.
They make strong appeal to tho farm
er. They say it will put up prices. Wen,
in sense, yes. Nominally, yes. Really,
no. If wheat goes from 80 cents to $1.20,
the price has been increased, you viii say,
but If the price of everything else has gone
up in the same proportion bushel of
wheat won't buy for the farmer any more
sugar or coffee or farming implements, or
anything else that he has to purchase. If
that dollar won't buy for the farmer any
more or be better dollar than the one we
have now, where is the good to anybody
Of introducing these fictitious prices that
are not realp 1t would work very we'll for
the farmer II the prices Of wheat hay, oats
and rye would double and nothing else
would double. But If everything doubled,
who is the richer? Who is richer than he
was before9
Shall This People Be Repudiators?
Only the man who bought when we had
an honest dollar and paid in debased one.
Only the mine owner, who uses this gov
cru1u6uU W ttlu OO CtuO5 bO JIG Vhlu6 Oh
every dollars worth of metal that he pro-
duces from his mine. That is not even
Democratic doctrine. 1t involves the idea
that this government of ours shall pay not
only its debt of honor, but that 1t pay tho
interest ON its bonds and the circulating
notes in q debased currency. My country
men, this country of ours during the trou-
blous times of the war may have had Sc
we're trials, but these financial questions
are scarcely less troublous than those.
During those troublous times we had &C
cumulated a debt so large that many Of
our pessimistic Democratic friends told us
we could never pay IT. We had had o cur
rency which we were compelled to make
legal tender and use, that the constitution
might live, but no sooner had the war end
ed than the great conscience Of this people
declared the nation that has crushed this
great rebellion, that has lifted itself in its
pride and its constitutional glory to q
fearless position among the nations of the
earth, should not continue to have de-
preciated and debased currency.
And we walked up to resumption, and
we made tho greenback dollar q par dollar
In gold. Shall we now In these times,
Ill u