Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1896-08-21

ing prices, and besides. these items there are
| many more. The farmer has thus found COM
plant against tho gold standard.
| Wage Farmers and Free Silver
THE WACO earners have bsen injured by q
gold standard and have expressed them elves
upon the subject with great emphasis. In
February, 1895, a petition asking for the inn
mediate restora tion OF the FREQ AMI unlimited
coinage Of gold and silver at Is to was signed
BY the representative of all or neatly all, the
leading labor organiza tions, aud presente to
Congress. Wage earners know that while q
gold standard raises the purchasing power Of
| the dollar, 1t also makes IL more difficult to
obtain possess on of the dollar; they knew that
employment is less permanent loss OF work
more probable and unemployment loss certain.
Agold standard encourages tho boarding OF
money, because money Is rising 1t also dis
| courages enterprises and paralyz, industry.
| On the other hand. the restoration OF bimstal-
lism will disc outrage boarding because when
| pricos are steady or rising, money cannot
afford to lie idle in the bank vaults. Tho
farm ers and wag, earncrs together constitute
| a considerable majority of tho people of the
country. Why shout their interests b, ig-
nored in on,iIering financial legislation, A
| monetary system which Is pecuniarily advan-
tageous to few syndicates has far less to c. ON
mend it than system which would give hope
and encouragement to those who create the
nations wealth.
| Much solcitude has beon expressed by our
opponents for the depo,itors In savings banks
They constantly parade bsfore these depositors
the advantages Of a gold standard but these
appeals will be in vain, be ,auso savings banks
| depositors know that under gold standard
there is increasing danger that they will lose
| their deposits because of tho inability OF the
| banks to collect their assets: and they still
| further know that if tho gold standard is to
continue indefinitely, they may be compelled
| to withdraw their deposits in order to pay liv-
| ing expenses"
ut is only necessary to not, the increasing
number of failures in order to know that gold
standard is ruinous to merchants and manu-
| facturers. These business men don't mako
their profits Il ON the people from whom they
borrow money, but from tho people to whom
they sell their goods. II the people cannot
buy, retailers cannot sell, and il retailers can
not sell, Wholesale merchants and man ufact-
urers must so into bankruptcy.
How Banks Are Affected.
ut is sometimes asserted by our opponents
that bank belongs to the debtor class, but
this is not tru, OF any solvent bank Every
statement published by solvent bank shows
that the assets exceed the liabilities; that is to
say, while the bank owes a large amount of
money to its depositors, it not only has enough
on hand in money and notes to pay its deposit
ors. but in addition thereto has enough to COW
or its capital stock and a surplus. When tho
dollar /, rising in value slowly, bank may, by
making short time loans and taking good Sc
curity, avoid losses, but when prices are falling
rapidly, the bank is apt to 10 o more because
of bad debts than it can gain by the increased
purchasing power of its capital and surplus.
1T must be admitted, however, that some
bankers combine the business of a bond broker
with the ordinary banking business, and these
may make enough in tho negotiation OF loans
to Offset the losses arising in legitimate bank
ing business.
"As long as human nature remains as IL Is.
there will always BIO danger, more or les, re-
strained by the public opinion or legal enact
ment that those who see a pecuniary profit
for themselves il certain condition may yiold
to the temptation to bril, about that cond-
ton. Jefferson has stated that one of the
main du ties of government is to prevent m n
from injuring ono IA other, and never was that
duty more. important than it is today 1t is
not strange that those who have made profit
by furnishing gold to the government in tho
hour Its extremity favor a financial policy
which will keep the government dependent
upon th1m. believe, however, that speak
the sentiment of the vast majority Of the p,o-
po Of the United States when 1 Say that a
wise financial policy, administered in behalf
OF all the people would mako our government
independent of any combination Of fnanciers,
foreign o. domestic.
1.-THE relatively few whose wealth consists
largely in fixed investment, havo a right to use
the ballot to enhance the value of their invest
ments; have not the rsst of the people the right
to use the ballot to protect themselves from
the disastrous consequences OF rising stand
ardf
1.-The people who must purchase money with
the products of toll stand in a position entirely
different from thos) who own money rec five
fixed income Tho we'll being of the nation
aye. Of civilization itself, depends upon the
prosperity of the masses. What shall it profit
US to have a dollar which grows moro valuable
every day if such dollar lowers the standard Of
civilization and brings distress to the peoplei
What shall it profit If, in trying to raise our
credit by increasing the purchasing power of
our dollar, We destroy our ability to pay the
debts already contracted by lowering the pur-
chasing power of the products with which
those ebts must be paid7
Free Coinage No Experiment
"As against the maintenance of gold stand
ard either permanently or until other atoms
can be united for its overthrow. the Chicago
platform presents a clear and emphatic de-
mand for the immediate restora ii on Of the free
and unlimited coinage OF silver and gold at the
present legal ratio of l6 to without waiting
for the aid or consent of any other nation. We
are not asking that new experiment be tried
we are insisting upon a return to financial
policy approved by tho experience of history
and supp ortsd by all the prominent statesmen
of our nation from tho days OF tn, first pres-
dent down to 1915. When W. ask that our
mints be opened to the free and unlimited coin
age of silver into full legal t,nde money, W,
are simply asking that the same mint privileges
be accorded to silver that are now accorded to
gold. When we ask that this coinage be at
the ratio OF l6 to |, Wa simply ask that our
gold coins and the standard silver dollar
which, be it remembered, contains tho same
amount of pure silver as tn, first silver dollar
coined at our mints, retain their present weight
and fneness
IF thers are two kinds OF money; the option
must rest either with the debtor or with the
creditor Assuming that their rights are equal.
we must look at tho interests of society in gen.
eral in order to determine to which side the
opinion should be given. Under the bimetallic
system, gold and silver ar, linked together by
law at fixed ratio. and any PERSON or persons
owning any quantity of either metal can have
the same converted into full loyal aender mon
ey. If the creditor has the right to choose the
metal in which payment shall be made, it is
reasonable to suppose that he will require the
debtor to pay in the dearsr money if thore is
any perceptible difference between tho bullion
values of the metals. This new nemand created
for the dearer metal will make that metal
dearer still, while the decrease demand for
the cheaper metel will mako that metal cheap