Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1896-09-24
FROM SILVER MEXICO.
Opinion on the Silver Question by
a German Manufacturer.
Special Correspondence of st. Louis Globe
Democrat.

The clearest and most important ex-
pressions on the silver question come
from foreigners. other than Americans,
in business here. Mr.. Edward Hart
man, German and leading manufac-
turer in Durango, said:
;'If you get free coinage in the United
States it will give you protection
against gold standard countries by the
difference between silver and gold.
Your manufacturers will gain. They
will be relieved of competition from
gold standard countries"
THAT argument presumes that sill
yer is not going to be on a parity with
gold?"
'Certainly. l do not see how any
body can really believe silver is to be
at par with gold, To the laborer in the
United States the adoption offree coin
age is not going to be a benefit. This
whole campaign, from the free silver
standpoint, is treated as in favor of the
workingman. He isn't going to gain
anything except in the sense that he
may have more work. Collectively
you might say American labor will
gain by the adoption of free silver, be-
cause it will shut out foreign-made
goods and increase home manufactures.
But individually labor will lose, be-
cause in so far as American manufac-
turers can advance their prices labor
will have to pay more for what it con-
sumes. Wages will not ad vance cor
respondingly if prices Of commodities
do increase History proves that. Sta
tistics show that when. on a depreci.
ated currency, prices go up, wages fol
low only half way. II the cost of living
is advanced 100 per cent wages rise on
! ly so per cent. Your currency was de-
preciated IS per cent during the wal
and your wages advanced only 40 pei
cent. That was time, too. when labor
had an advantage in tne absence Of
those who had gone into the armies
1t would be the same now if the United
States adopted free silver. While la
Dor, collectively, might gain some
thing, as said, in the amount Of work
to be done, the individual workingmer
would lose because the cost of living
would be increased without compensa
tion in the advance of wages. | car
see in free silver gain for the Ameri
thing for the exporter who would bu.
certain American products for silvel
and sell them for gold in gold STANDARD
countries. But can't see anything il
it for anybody else. If the people o
the United States intend by free coin
age to pay in silver every dollar the,
owe, that means ruin"
"There is another phase of this ques
tion," continued MIR. Hartman. 9Th
United States buys agreat deal of re,
material from countries on silye
basis. In fact, most of its imports c
raw material are from silver countries
This raw material is manufactured i
4 the United States on GOLD basis, an
sold for gold. The cost of the raw mi
terial will not remain what it is now
when the United States adopts unlin
tied coinage and ner money drops t
the level of that in all of the cour
tries on a silver basis. Raw materi,
is now bought for gold, which repr,
sents twice the value of the silve
money in the silver standard countrie
When the United States drops to silve
she will have to pay double what ST
does now for this raw material, ar
prices of the articles manufactured
: the States will have 10 be increased
, correspond. From this increase
price American manufacturers wi
gain no advantage. as it will simp
: represent what was paid in gold, b
\ must now be paid in silver to Il
silver countries. From this
v crease in prices, the consumer in Il