The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-09-12
A workingman's Question.


W. L. TimbeIlake, conductor on the
Mobile, Ala, Lstreet railway. addressed
these queries through the Mobile Regis
ter to the gentlemen announced as speak
ers at Bryan ratification meeting In
that city recently.
~ Will the free coinage of silver ut a
ratio OF 16 to increase the rate Of wages
now paid the work1ngmen in the United
Statesf II you say 1t will, please name
me some free coinage country In which
the workingmen are paid wages as high
as they now receive In the United States.
(2) We are not only interested in the
rate Of wages, but also In the purchasing
paid. Ia there a free coinage country in
the world where nottingham oan buy
a. much for dollar az he can now In
the United StntesP
(3) Mr.. Bryan and other advocates of
free coinage claim that 1t will increase
the price Of all commodities. If it
should increase the price of the things
does not correspondfngly increase his
wages, will he not be most seri ously
affectsd by the changer
az Is it true that between 1860 and
1866, when the currency was inflated
with paper, the price of all commodities
rose 116 per cent, while wages only rose
4S per cent?
s. If wages only increased about one
third as much as the price of things for
which wages had to BIZ exchanged be-
tween 1860 and 1866. when hundreds of
thousands of laborers were In the field as
soldiers, do you believe wages would in
Grease 30 much under conditions that
would follow Mr.. Bryan's electionP
(6) The railrsds Of the country derive
their income exclusively from freight
and passenger tariffs that are practically
fixed BY laws enforced by State and in
terstate commissions. If free coinage
increases the price of all the oommodi-
ties necessary to the operation of rail-
roads, and their income Is kept down
by law. can the large body of men en-
ployed In the service hopo for an increase
OF wages? As matter of fact, would
not o cut In wages be about the only
way In which the railroads could meet
the increased COST Of operationS
~ The street railway systems Of the
CITY are operated under municipal ordi-
nances which fix their income at five
cents per pa ssengsr carried. II Mr.. Bry-
an is right In ing free coinage will in
crease prices Of all commodities used by
street railways, can you advise the con-
way employees of this city to vote for free
coinage with the hope of improving their
condition?
(S) As understand it. your party has
for yenrs made war on q protective tariff
because it increased the cost of the neo-
essaries Of life. If Mr.: Bryan Is right,
will not free coinage In this respect be
just as bada Will 1t not also create
gigantic trust and make market by
law for the property of the silver mine
owner at double its valued
(0) IL it true that on the Sante BE
railroad operated partly in the United
States and partly in Mexico, the laborer
in the American side receives an Ameri-
can silver dollar, while just norOss the
imaginary line, on the Mexican side,
the paymaster with the American silver
dollar buys two Mexican silver dollars
with which he pays for two days work.
400 Why is it that 871L grains of
silver with the stamp Of gold-standnrd
America on 1t will buy 754 grains of sill
yer with the stamp of silver standard
G1) II you say it is because the silver
dollar In America Is maintained at par
with gold by the government, when the
credit of the government is removed BY
free coinage and silver stands on it's mer-
its, will not the American silver dollar
sink to the value of the Mexican dollar,
and will not the American workingman
who receives it be put upon the low level
of tho Mexican laborer9
(12) Mr.. Bryan says that gold has ap-
preciated, that under the gold standard
the gold dollar has grown In value from
100 to 800 oents. Wages In this country
are paid in gold or the equivalent. The
rate of wages has risen since 1878. II
the American worklngman receives as
many dollars for days work now as he 1
did prior to 1878 and these dollars have
grown in value from 100 to 200 cents, do
you not think he would be unwise to
swap it for q dollar that Mr.. Bryan
frankly tells him would DO worth only
half as muchp
Q3) Will the workingman, under free
coinage, have to work as hard and as
many hours for dollar as he does nowP
Upon your answer to the foregoing
questions depends the vote Of myself and
a large number of workingmen of this
community who have made mp their
minds that the interest of themselves
and their families IL superior to any
question Of allegiance to party.
n r mimi IN n Annnlnlr