Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-08-12
THE DISTRICT AND silver
Prevailing Belief That Free Coinage Would
Be Disastrous to Local Interests.
TALKS With BUSINESS MEN AND OFFICIALS

endeavoring by small payments to pro-
vide themselves with homes would be una
BILE to keep up payments. and this would at
enc and the same time increase the amount
of real estate on the market and reduce
the demand for it. bringing ruin to the
small he me investors and heavy loss to
the larger capitalist. 1t Is argued that the
very source Of business would be cut off
and no class Of citizens would escape the
blight II the election should result in
prolongation Of the conditions which
brighten capital and render all investments
unsafe. From q local point of view 1t Is
urged that the success of party favoring
cheap money. opposed to the collection of
sufficient revenue for the needs Of the gov
eminent. favoring nigsardly appropria-
tons. opposed to the civil service law, and
attacking constituted BUSH methods and
institutional. would be detrimental to the
District of Columbia and the interests Of
its citizens.
For these reasons the consensus of opin-
ion among the business men of the District
and department clerks Is against the free
coinage Of silver Talks of Star reporters
with citizens show this to be the case.
The interv ews given below and made at
random among the business men. as well
as officials. give an indica ton of the pre-
vailing views:
Deputy Controller Collins Views.
Mr.. George NJ. Coffin. depaty controller
of the currency, and now In charge Of the
bureau In the temporary absence of Mr..
Eckels. has made a special study of the
free silver question. He says: IF Mr..
Bryan is elected in November and the re-
turns show the election of bare majority
of free silver representatives in the House.
Ia anit of -i1y
garded accomplished fact, for the
Senate already has a majority openly COM
mitted to this policy. and there can be no
doubt that Mir. Bryan, as President would
at the earliest possible date after election,
convene Congress to enact a free coinage
law For this. however. the money mar
kets would not wait. but gold would most
assurediy go to a premium immedi6 teIy
after the election returns had been definite
ly decided.
What would happen then? Why, the
prices of food. clothing and all the neces-
SarieS OF life, now measured by the gold
standard, would inevitably follow the price
OF gold and rise with ii. For similar ex-
perience, any one old enough to remember
the civil war will recall how, when gold
went to premium in 1861. the prices of all
Things for sale advanced also. Perhaps the
Old private soldiers will remember how
"hen they were enduring hardship, danger
and privation in 1stil. their pay was still
si'' month In Sreenbacks worth only ~
cents dollar in gold. And how about peo-
pie VINO were then clerks for the govern
ment or private individuals and working
for wages? The answer is found in Se,re,
tary Carlisle's Chicago speech to working
men. where he stated that the prices of all
me necessaries of life In deprecated cur
rency rose during the war until in 1865
these were higher by III per cent than
they had been on the gold basis in 1850.
While wages had advanced only Is per cent
In other words. a dollar of wages in 1866
would buy only as much TX. cents in
gold bought IN 1StD. which meant a rcduc-
tlCn or DO per cent in wages. II this has
happened so recently, it can and will hap
Chasing power of the currency, as even sill
yer advocates admit that it will.
No Increase of Salaries.
"Can the government clerks expect any
increase in salaries If prices rise? Assuredly
not: IN any event. unless Congress legis-
lates this. ALI salaries to June 30 1897
have already been fixed by law and the
resent Congress will. at Its winter session,
tx them for year ending June 30. 1893, SO
how can government employees expect any
increase. IN any event until June ~, 1S,S,
ard IL prices rise next November what are
Trey going to do about 1t? And do they
imagine for a moment that Congress
elected on platform providing for the
abolition Of life tenure of office in the
civil service and rotation in Office instead
Is going to heed the complaints of govern
nent clerks. who. by the people who elect
free silver Congressman, regarded as
already overpaid? The probability would
be rather to reduce salaries further still
even in deprecated currency. Even
where a government clerk had a mortgage
en- his home. he would have less money out
OF his fixed salary to pay 1t off because he
would have to raise more of it for the in
creased cost of living. And what Is true
for the government clerk is true for every
Nan or woman in Washington who earns
wages or salary with muscle CT brain. AS
one living on a salary, / invite the most
serious attention of every other wage
worker to this aspect of The question, for
what suffering. what los 8 and privation
a rise In the prices of the necessaries in
lie would bring no one can now measure
and yet In less than three months time
this Will happen right here in Washington
II the people decide to have free coinage of
silver
Auditor Baldwin.
Mr.. f P. Baldwin, auditor for the Treas
ury Department.. one Of the few supporters
Of the Chicago ticket among atIninistra-
ton officials says: II have no means of
knowing what Mr.. Bryan, II ele cted Pres
ident, will recommend to Congress in the
matter of the employees In the executive
departments In this city, neither has any
other person. l can only say that from a
long acquaintance with Mr.. Bryan and
from a personal knowledge of the breadth
and fairness of his mind on other public
questiCrs. which I have discussed with
him. / do not hesitate to say that the
valuable public servants to be found In the
departments here have nothing 10 fear
from his election. II any effort is made nv