Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-06-26

who advocate the free and unlimited
coinage Of silver have this argument
placed before them they will say: We
will restrict the coinage to the products
of American mines. Then another
proposition stares them in the face.
What will we 90 with the silver trust,
which will undoubtedly be formed to
limit production and keep up the COM
merciai value OF silver and to enhance
the profits to an enormous amount of
the American producer protected
against foreign competition?
| divide the silver men into three
CLASSES. First. The mine owner and
man of brains who is interested finan-
cially in free silver. He advocates it
from business standpoint and for his
own advantage. Second. The pro-
fessional politicians wishing to be on
the popular side of every movement
without regard for the welfare of the
people, selfish and INSCRIPTIONS, ready
to advocate anything apparently popu-
lar to secure Office. Third The men
who do not think, and for whom the
proposition is too large, and who are
free silver men from hearing others
talk. They are the dupes of the other
two classes. How different are the men
who oppose free silver. The banker,
manufacturer and solid solvent bust
ness man who looks before he leaps,
sees the danger, and very few of them
are to be found among the silverites.
Let us speculate as to the result of the
af l,a fr;,, nf he Ill
veriteS at the national election, as to
results sure to follow before free sill
Yer legislation can be enacted 10 add
horrors to a situation made terrible by
the anticipation OF such legislation.
Men who are creditors fearing the in
fiatiOn OF the currency and the uncer-
tainty of the future will begin to press
their debtors. The manufacturers will
press the jobber, the jobber the whole
sale dealer, the wholesale dealer the re-
taller, who, in turn, will press his GUS
toner and reluctantly and sparingly
give future credits. AS can be plainly
seen a stagnation of trade must follow,
and labor lack employment. Who can
fOreSee. the result when the debased free
silver dollar repudiated by the other
enlightened nations of the world, is ac-
tually made legal tender in this coun-
try and does it's perfect work of bust
ness havoc and destruction? Finally,
who is hardest hit by free silver? 1t is
the laboring man, the wage Garner, the
salaried man. He who has no capital
invested but depends upon his bodily
exertion alone for sustenance. Even
if the widest claims of the free coinage
advocates would in time come true, still
that awful preceding time of change
from one currency TO another with its
failures, its bankruptcies, its unemploy-
ed labor, its lockouts, industrial strug-
giles, strikes and privations is bound TO
come. Goods in stock of the manufac-
turer, importer, jobber or retailer, pur-
chased upon a gold basis, must be dis
posed of at loss, for the new currency
not interchangeable with gold. The
employer must meet this loss before he
can make new stock. His credit at
bank will be diminished and he must
seek TO make up his losses in some way
and the first that always suggests itself
tsthe reduction of the cost OF production
by the lowering OF the wages or labor.
The struggle must then commence ana
the wage earners who, TO be equal to
their present compensation, should re-
ceive in free silver about double the
present wages, would find either no
work or a demand upon them to share
the losses of the employer by working
for even a less rate of wage to be paid
in a deprecated and practically fraud
ulent currency Granting that the la
Dor of the country would have work UNI
der a deprecated currency would 1t get
its dues? BY no means, it would be
ground down TO lower wages or no
work. and the only remedy for it would
be that devastating, destructive and
enervating weapon, the strike.
STABILITY.