The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-08-19

lion value Here, then, has been an
increase in the quantity OF money, but
q decrease in the volume of national
wealth | could not buy a watch case
with the coin which would be coined out
of this. unless I added something to II;
and the pretense that men can be en-
riched by swelling the volume of cur
rency is the oldest 'delusion which has
affected mankind since the very begin
ming Of civilization" (Applause)
CONTINUING THESE ILLUSTRA-
TIONS
at some length, Mr.. Cochran continued:
Money never can circulate freely ana
actively unless there be absolute con
fidence in its value (Applause.) If a
man doubts whether The money In ms
pocket will be as valuable tomorrow
as it is today, he will decline 10 ex-
change his commodity against It. ana
this Populist agitation, threatening the
integrity Of money, has been the cause
of the hard times through whlch TINS
country is passing and from winch II
will not escape until the heel OF popular
condemnation, is placed upon the propa-
gandta which undermines the foundation
of credit. (Applause.)
The basis of sound trade is sound
noGey-(applause which is
intrinsically valuable, money which,
like the gold coinage of this country,
cannot affect if it tried to. Gap
plause.) l can take a $40 gold piece
and 1 can defy all the power of all the
governments OF this earth to take
cents of value from it. (Applause)
Having earned it by the sweat OF my
brow, having earned it by the exercise
of my brain, having earned it by the
exchange of my commodities, can go
to the u6terEnost ends of the earth, and
wherever | present it it's value viii be
unquestioned and unchallenged. Cap
plause.l
Now, let us see how Mr.. Bryan pro-
poses TO deal with this question. [
have looked through his speech TO find
out just what he thinks he is going to
do for the ldboring man, and l find
that he disrnisses him with a very
few and some very unsatisfactory
phrases. But it is perfectly clear that
the purpose of the Populist is 10 put
up the price of certain commodities.
Mr.. Bryan's language is that he is go
ing to improve the condition of the
people of this country-not Of all of
them, but Of the greater number. Well,
now, l don't suppose Mr.. Bryan pre-
tends to any miraculous power. l don't
suppose he claims he can multiply the
number of chairs upon this platform,
or upon this floor, although he has
shown his capacity to empty them.
Naughter) If he is going to work any
change in the condition of men he must
increase the material possessions of
some part of the community.
1T requires the labor of man and the
labor of man alone to create wealth.
If, then. Mr.. Bryan is going to enrich
somebody, the thing which he means 10
besltow on him, he must take from
somebody else Who is to be deSpoil-
ed and who is to be enriched by the
exercise of this new scheme of gov
eminent. (Cries of "silver mime own
ers.'D My friends, the silver mine
owners will get cheated with the rest.
(Applause) If ever the Populist OBJ
tains his way, nobody will be benefited
not even Mr.. Bryan. Naughter) 1
will venture here to say that if the face
of providence should be averted from
this land, and such a calamity as Mr..
Bryan's election We're permitted by it,
the man who would suffer most by that
event would be the false prophet who,
having torn down the temple of credit
and of industry, would be torn to
pieces by an outraged public whose
prosperity he had ruined. Let us fol-
low this argument little. Let us see
what he means to do, according to his
own light.
I'VE see that he cannot enrich one
man without impoverishing another.
Government never can be generous, be-
cause If 1t be generous to one it must
be oppressive to another. (Applausa.)
Mr.. Bryan does not pretend that by
any power given him from heaven he
can find anything on the surface of
this earth that has not an owner, and,
therefore, he cannot honestly bestow
1t upon a favorite. But this financial
scheme contemplates an increase in
the price Of certain commodities. Cry
of, Except geld.'0 L don't think any
thing Mr.. Bryan can do will affect
gold. daughter and applause.) But,
my friends, we are coming now pretty
CLOSE TO THE WOODPILE
behind which the African is concealed.
Mr.. Bryan proposes to increase the
price of commodities. If the price of
commodities be increase and the price
of labor be left stationary, why, that
means a cutting down Of the rate of
wages; if instead of a dollar which
consists of a given quantity of gold
equal to a hundred cents anywhere IN
the world with the purchasing power
of a hundred cants, the laborer is to
be paid in dollars worth fifty cents
each, with which he can only buy half
buys now. Wage earners, Mr.. Bryan
says. know that while a. gold standard
raises the purchasing power of the DOL
lar, it also makes il more difficult to
obtain possession of the dollar. They
know that employment is less perma-
nent, loss of work more probable and
less certain. If, then, it
means anything it means that a cheap
dollar would give him more employ
work and a chance to get re-employ-
ment after he was discharged. Naugh-
teri Well, now, if that means any
thing in the world to sane man, it
means that if the laborer is willing to
have his wages cut down he will get
more work"
Mr.. Cochran devoted much attention
to this particular question. He argued
that there should
NOT. BE HIGH WAGES
unless there is an extensive production
in every department of industry, and
claimed that wages is the sole test of
the country's condition. The Populist
loves TO say that the creditor is a per-
son who Expresses the western farm
ers He likes to declare that the money
lender and the creditor are ALWAYS
synonymous expressions, but as a mat
ter of fact the creditors of this coun-
try are not the bankers. They are not
the so-called capitalists: they are the
labcrers, and it is at the expense OF
labor that this change is made. Gap
piause.) Every great industrial enter
prise has for chief creditors it's own
laborers. The pretense that the far
mer of Nebraska is suffering under
the weight of a. mortgage contracted
under a metal which has steadily in