Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1896-04-22
HAD A LABOR AUDIENCE
CARLISLE ExPoUNDED GOLD THEo-
RIEs At CHICAGO.
Touched Upon the Evils of Disturb
ing the Monetary system Vow
i'm Use.

Gnle3EO, April ID non JhIAA ~. Neti ifH w. |
spoke on the. currency question at the |
Auditorium tonight before an audience |
that filed the great holl to the utmost. |
The address was delivered under the aus |
pices of the laboring men of Chicago and
they were there in FUN force. near
three-quarters OF the crowd being WORK
ingmen.
Many local democrats were anxlous o
obtain an interview with Carlisle on tie
political situation in Kentucky but Ire
refused to talk politics in any way, lTe
said that he had come to Chicago to male !
an address on the currency question ald |
that nothing could induce him 20 "a k |
politics. His address, which was greet d |
with much applause, and which gave So i
isfaction to his hearers, was as follows
Mr.. Carlisle opened with the ASSERT u
that the effect OF instability Of curran |
must fall with more force upon the poor
than upon the rich man.
Said he;t Labor can not be hoarde T. |
the idle day Is gone forever; lost waE 5
are never reimbursed; and Therefore
steady employment and good paying 2
mand in money is essential to the comic t
and happiness Of the American labor r
and his wife and children, ana he Will he
unfaithful to himself and to them If ht
does not insist upon the adoption ara
maintenance of such policy as will most
certainly preserve the value ana stablli
of all our currency and promote the reg
lar and profitable conduct of all our ia
dustrial enterprises"
He then went on TO argue that the opau
ing Of minis to the unlimited coinage Of
silver at the ratio of 1G to OF gold won
drive the $62o0000o0 of gold now IN use oat
of the country and at the same time reduce
the purchasing power of ain other moueg
actually reduce the amount of circulating
medium instead of increasing il.
The secretary then took up the silver
question ana the ratios established s
Hamilton and jefferson. lie said tha
when silver dollars contained 37lH graia=
and the gold 2i& grains ana the diGerenee
In value was about a cent and an eighth
silver drove the gold out Of use and oui
OF the c0dnlfy ana i1Uin TILT Time we had
silver monometallsm until after the pas
age of the acts OF 1894 and 1887. The faa
that the silver was put into the form of
coin and made legal tender the same
gold and that both dollars were declared
to be worth 100 cents each did not i'm
crease the value Of the 37lM grains of si-
yer to any extent whatever. In 1894 aott-
gross determined to restore gold to tic
circulation and 50 the ratio was chang,
to 16 to !. This was a slight over-vniu
ton of gold and Immediately the situation
was reversed. Silver fed from the cou-
try and gold came In. After the war.
when 1t was determined TO change a
character of our currency again By tla
resumption Of specie payments, the laN
was enacted four years in advance Of ttc
time when II was to take effect in ora
that ample opportunity might be afford. q
to adjust the business of the people to the
altered QOn6ifiopa an IS
conservative and prudential considers
tons that have usually coatroilcd In the
settlement of great financial questions
seem to be utterly dlsregarded ana We
are confronted by an organized and ass
gressive movement to destroy by a sing
blow the measure of value upon which |
all existing contracts are based and thus
subvert the very foundations Of our mon
etary system without allowing "A sing
day to prepare for the change. IN H. |
confusion and disorder resulting frora |
such radical measure, what will be the |
condition of the American laborer? WI
he be benefited or injured ~ reducing ii |
value of the money by which wages are |
paid and at the same time increasing the |
prices of the commodities for which his |
wages are eypended2
After struggling for more tAafi a quarter |
of a century through labor organization |
and otherwise 10 secure a rate Of wage |
which would make the proceeds of a day |
work equal to the cost of a days subsist
ence for the workngman and his family
YOU are asked by the advocates of free
coinage to join them in destroying one
half of the purchasing money Ia which /
they are paid and impose upon yourselves |
the task Of doubling the nominal amount |
of wages hereafter: that Is, 10 strHgg', |
for another quarter Of a century 10 rails.
your wages in a deprecated currency to
a point which viii enable you to purchaa,
with them as much of the neeesslries 81
life as you can purchase now, and a. |
after years Of contention you should as |
last succeed Ia so adjusting the wagcs |
that would procure at the higher prices 81 |
commodities just what they viii pHeaHtt /
now at the existing prices what woIid |
you have gained by the change from the
old to the new conditions?
The speaker then quoted from the re |
port of a Subcommittee of the committee |
on finance Of the senate submitted March |
5. 1888 on the course of prices of labor and |
the prices of 223 articles Of general CON |
sumption during period OF 50 years, III |
Guiding the time when specie payments |
were abandoned after the beginning of the
civil war.
In 1868. he said, the price Of labor ha1 |
Increased 1o1s per cent and other pre
40 per cent. In 1864 the advances were |
25iA and 9liz respectively; IN 1866 they were |
4s and III per cent. He further calls at
tention to the fact that during those
years the government, by It's army and |
navy, had withdrawn hundreds Of thous
ands Of men from competition of the la
Dor of the country Our neighboring re
public of Mexico. with a constitutional
government very similar to our own
with an area Of 10000 square miles ana
population of only about 100000, with
almost marvellous natural resource
awaiting development and Offering a
most inviting field for the investment 8
capital and the employment of labor
has the silver standard Of value, gold not
being in use, and if cheap money is
blessing TO the laborlng man be ough
to be prosperous and happy in that noun-
try. The Mexican dollar contains 377.f7
grains Of pure silver. or nearly Six grains
more than is collected IN our dollar. and |
yet, not being sustained by monetary |
system which keeps IT at parity wit
gold, II Is worth only about So cents Ia on
money. Wages are paid ia silver and
are very low in comparison with th
wages paid in this country for the sam
services