Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1896-10-24
MARTINsBURG. A. SATURDAY, OCTOBER

ON gold basis.
mir. President, / wish that every
workingmaE iii the United States would
read this explanation of level-headed
worlxingman Of great intelligence, Of the
effects and results produced on labor in
a country Of deprecated money. Mark
the cleslrness with which he expresses
his conclusions, first
"'That the fall in the price Of silver,
and consequent rise in exchange has SO
far operated greatly in our favor, as 1t
has increased our working capital in
Mexico TO considerable extent, and
still continues to do SO.
1.-The reason for this plan Isl the price
of exchange is advancing in Mexico,
which means decrease in the value of
their silver currency. Second He
states that with the exception Of articles
imported from foreign countries. prices
of materials in Mexico are not affected
BY the value Of silver. Neither is the
price OF labor
Now, Mr. President, the decrease in
the value of money in which labor is
paid in Mexico does not advance the
price paid to labor. II the laborer re-
ceived 81 day when the money in
which he was paid was worth dollar,
when that money became worth only 90
cents upon the dollar, he would receive
but go cents for his labor; and mark,
further, now, the conditions Of labor in
Mexico as compared with the conditions
Of labor in the United States, as stated
by this man who Is looking after the III
terests of the American owners of the
Mexican mine. He states:
1--WE have, therefore. permanent
and clear advantage over mines oper-
ated in the United States where all ex-
penses must be paid for on gold basis,
while the value Of their product de-
creases with the depreciation Of silver.
"Tha American mine laborer IL paid
in dollar worth 100 cents, while the
Mexican laborer is paid IN q dollar
worth 60 cents. This is the condition,
more plainly stated than have ever
seen it before. Of the effect on labor paid
in a deprecated dollar as compared
with labor paid in good dollar"
This is my record and ! have had no
reason to change it, nor do want to
stultify myself by appearing to do so for
expediency sake. The report to Sena-
tor Stewart also presents the query Does
not the mine owner see the force Of the
| points made to the report, and are they
not trying to use good Democrats like
! you and me 10 pull ont their chestnuts?
aiso recall personal object lesson in
AZ. ~ Nor.
money which | observed while | was
spending a month or two in Karlsbad,
in Bohemia, Austria, in 1884, which you
will pardon me for referring to. The
money in circulation thereIwas fiat pa
per money issued by the state of Boz
hemia, which was legal tender III Bo-
hemia, and for which l exchanged
United States greenbacks and notes of
the Bank Of England side by side for
this Bohemia legal tender money at
about As cents on the dollar, or little
more than two dollars of their money
for one Of our money, and / paid for
everything while there in their own de-
preciated money. In observing the re-
suits in the use Of the deprecated cur
rency, noticed that in hotels and other
living charges the ratio Of So in their
money for 81 in gold or bank notes Of
other countries at a parity was with gold
was the rule. But observing large num-
bers Of laborers on public and private
works, was curious TO know how they
Jared. / found by investigation that
they were paid in their own deprecated
money from 4S cents to 80 cents per
day, which in American money was "a
or rs cents. / felt profoundly grateful
that was an American citizen, aud
that the laboring men of my country
were not as the laboring men of that
country; and now with these object les
sons before us-one Of the deprecated
silver and the other Of the deprecated
fiat money, for Mr.. Bryan stands upon
both the Chicago and the Populist plat
forms, which together declare for both
free silver and fat paper money to be
issued without limit by the government
II feel that it would be objectionable
for me to vote to take this country out
of the front rank of the great CONNER
cial nations of the world and place it
financially with the less advanced and
less intelligent silver nations. 1t would
be turning the hand Of progress back
wards in this great country.
Bimetallism does not mean the mere
coinage Of gold and silver into money.
Bimetallism means the circulation of
the two metals at parity with each
other. If the parity Of the two metals
is destroyed then there is no biinetalhsm,
because the two metals will cease to cir
culatea as theequivalent of each other, and
we will have recommendation of the
cheaper metal.
1t is remarkable TACT that there is
not in the world today single BIZ
metallic country. That is, q country in |
which the minis are now open to the
free and unlimited coinage of both
metals and both metals are maintained
upon parity with each other. Every
silver coinage country is ON q silver
basis with gold at premium, and
every gold standard country is on gold
basis, but the difference is that the gold
standard countries are maintaining a
1oxc,o avnoY1nt Of ailvar In, cis-rulakior, nv, J