Kansas City daily journal., 1896-10-18
MIR. BRYAN AND THE pLUroCRATs.

1t is the charge OF Mr. Bryan that the
gold standard has built up in America
class which he denominates "plutocrats
and monopolists." Mr.. Bryan arrives at
this conclusion by the following system of
reasoning: America has the gold standard;
America has the plutocrats and monopo-
lists; ergo. the plutocrats and monopolists
were made by the gold standard. This
sort of argument might be accepted as ra-
tional except for the very good reason that
countries which have not the gold stand
ard have the plutocrats and monopolists
also.
There is now campaigning in Kansas a
gentleman by the name of DR.. ]. L. Haus-
er. who has for twenty-eight years been
doing business in Calcutta, India. His
business Is that of a tea exporter, and his
firm has a house in Chicago which handles
the American end of their trade. DR.. Haus-
er has treated the people of Kansas to
some entertaining lectures upon India and
its inhabitants, drawing political conclu-
sions from the condition of the people there
which may or may not be OF value in
America. But one thing presented by him
is of service. He shows that plutocrats and
monopolists may exist in a free silver
country and attain a power and influence
unapproached by their kind in gold stand
ard countries. India was once the center
Of the worlds highest development in sci
ence, manufacture and art. Long before
the time OF Pharaoh and Egypts greatness
India was the princess Of the Orient. and
while Europe was overrun with barbarians
she was the home of civilization. She has
refrigerated until more than three-quarters
Of her people are in poverty and ignorance
living in mud huts and eking out an ex-
istence from the herbs and weeds. or dy-
ing by the hundreds of thousands in years
of famine. 1t is said that the natives who
cultivate the fields which send millions of
tons OF wheat to the English market can
not afford to eat the grain which they
raise, and must live upon the wild rice
which grows in the swamps and untillable
places. Yet India has princes who are fab
ulously rich; plutocrats who own and con-
troll the better portion of the empire, and
monopolists who absolutely dictate the
commerce of her people. DR.. Hauser de-
clares that in Bombay, Calcutta and Mad
ras may be found merchants who not only
control the Indian market in the peculiar
lines which they handle, but also the mar
kets of the world. One firm of native Hin
docs practically controls all of the wheat
raised in India. 1t has branches in Lon
don, Liverpool, New York, Russia, Argen-
tine and divers other cities or countries. 1t
| is so strong It could swamp the entire Chi
cago board Of trade If occasion arose.
While it may not be fair to argue that
| the conditions in India were brought about
| by free silver and free trade. there cer-
| tainly is as much ground for the argument
| as for Mr.. Bryan's assertion that the gold
| standard builds up a class of plutocrats
| and monopolists. AS matter of fact, Mr..
| Bryan cannot point to a single evil in any
gold standard country which cannot be
| found in silver standard countries in ag-
| gfavated form. 1t does not follow as an
| ard is responsible for this, even II Mr..
| Bryan's system of reasoning does warrant
| it. India and other silver countries are
| about four centuries behind the times. Sill
yer monometallism is the natural and le-
! gitimate accompaniment of their stage of
| development, and not necessarily the cause
| of their poverty, wretchedness and igno-
rance. The two go hand in hand. If it
| were legitimate to judge financial systems
| solely by the character Of the people and
countries using them, comparison of
| America with India and Mexico would
| mark the gold standard as nothing less
than heaven born. Mr.. Bryan is as fool
ish as he is daring to invite such COM
| parison, for it condemns him and his finan-
cial vagaries to ridicule and derision.