The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1896-09-24

tIme-every merchans, every manufacSurer,
u creditor to his customers and debtor to
those from whom he buys. Let Mr.. Bryan
bring on his panic and hundreds IL not thou.
sands OF them, although ever so solvent under
ordinary circumstances will break because
they cannot pay what they owe, being unable
to collect what is due them.
"Cheap Money" Fallacies.
But we are told that the Bryan panic cannot
last forever; that finally the business of the
country will adjust itself to the silver basis;
that then unrest will cease, and that confidence
and prosperity will return. No. the unrest
will not cease, for with the establishment of
the silver basis will come the disappointment
Of those who brought 1t on.
The ultimate result is not at all uncertain.
After period OF infinite confusion, disaster,
humiliation, suffering and misery the Amer
lean pesole will at last regain sanity of mind
and arrive again at some very simple conclu-
sions: That, If you call peck bushel, you
will have more bushels, hut not more grain;
If you call foot a yard, you will have more
yards, but not more cloth; If you call square
rod an acre, you will have more acres, but
not more land, and if you call 50 cents or
cent or a bit of paper, dollar, you will
have more dollars, but not more wealth-in-
deed, a great deal less chance for wealth, for
you will have far less credit, because far less
honesty. We shall then have LEARNED again
that the wit of man cannot-although insanity
tries very hard-invent an economic system
under which everything you have to sell will
be dear and everything you have to buy will
be cheap. And having got hold of these very,
very simple truths, the American people will
then in sackcloth and ashes repent Of this in
sane free coinage debauch. They will then
recognize how wise the great civilized nations
were in adopting the only money in our days
capable of being the money of the worlds
commerce as their own money. We shall then
be sufficiently cured Of prejudice to observe
that under that monetary system those ma
tions have on the whole prospered, notwith
standing serious evils and drawbacks under
which we do not labor, and that the rate Of in
terest is lowest where the gold standard has
existed longest. We shall then understand that
it is q good thing to have the necessaries of
life in plenty and cheap; to have wages rising
and payable in money that does not deceive
to have capital inspired with confidence in the
value of money, and therefore eager to go out
in investment or enterprise. We shall then
readily acknowledge how foolish we were
from the very beginning Of our silver expert
ments in throwing away our gold for silver,
by which we lost confidence credit and pros
perity. Chastened by adversely, we shall then
no longer be tempted to repeat such nonsense,
but with laborious and painful effort we shall
work our way back to that money standard
home and enable us to trade with the nations
of the world on equal terms.
1t is not my habit to boast of a warm heart
for the poor and suffering. But my sympathy
is no less sincere because I do not carry my
love and solicitude for the common people
constantly at my tongues end. If there be
those who are satisfied with every thing that
exists, am not one of them. There are few if
any, who abhor that which may properly be
called plutocracy or detest the arrogance of
wealth more heartily than do. know, also,
that the industrial developments of our time
have brought hardship to some classes of peo-
pie which only the more sagacious, active and
energetic among them have been able to
counterbalance protitably with it's benefits.
There are laws and practices which, had the
power, would promptly change, in the inter-
est of common Justice and equity. But be-
cause I am so minded I must oppose to the
utmost policy which, am convinced, will
immeasurably aggravate existing evils. l also
know full well that large majority of those
who support free coinage are honest and well
meaning citizens, wishing to do right. But
because know this, my blood stirs with in
dignation when see the INSCRIPTIONS efforts
made to goad them on to their destruction.
/ have witnessed in my long life ten presi-
Dental campaigns, but never one in which the
appeals to prejudice passion and cupidity
were SO reckless and the speculation upon as
sumed popular ignorance or rascality so au-
dacious and wicked. Some of the silver ora
tors actually speak as if they believed the
American people to be born fools or knaves,
or both.
Sectional and Glass Prejudice.
They seek to excite the people of the west
against the east because, as MIR. Bryan said
in the Chicago convention, the east injurious
ly interferes with the business of the west.
Aye, the east has irfterfered with western
business, but howp In helping to build west
roll TO lilo Tn cot ,1Y,
western telegraphs, to establish western fac
tories, to build up western towns, to move
western crops, to allay western distress caus-
ed by fire, food OF drought. Has this served
to enrich the easta Yes, and SO it has enrich
ed the west. Their wealth and greatness have
been mutually built up by the harmonious CO.
operation of their Drawn and brain and money
Just as the blood Of the east and the west
mingled on the common battledelds Of the re-
public. And now comes this young man, as if
we had not suffered enough from sectional
strife, and talks of "enemy's country"
They seek to excite what they call "the
poor" against what they call "the rich''-in
this land Of great opportunities for all, where,
now as ever, so many of the poor of yesterday
are among the rich Of today and SO many OF
The rich Of today may be among the poor of to-
morrow. Their candidate for the presidency
presented characteristic spectacle when some
of the governor of New York, who is himself
an example of the poor country boy risen by
able and honest effort to affiuence and distinc-
ton, and when that candidate then straight
way in public speech drew invidious COM
parsons between the elegant houses on the
Hudson and the poor cabins in the west
teaching not the true American lesson of sue
cess won by honest industry, thrift and enter
prise, but the lesson that those who have sue
ceeded less should hate and fight those who
have succeeded more-a lesson utterly I'M
American, unpatriotic and abominable!
They tell the farmer.Spost cruel deception
that he must and will be made indt ,endent
of the world abroad, while year after year
from $500 GOV, OOO to $70O, ZOO, 600 worth of our
agricultural products must seek the foreign
market to find purchasers and while nothing
will hurt the farmer more than serious inn
pairment of the great home market by bust
ness crisis
False Friends of Labor.
They proclaim themselves the special cham
pions Of the toiling masses, while their policy
would rob the laboring man of half of his saw
ings and grievously curtail the value Of his
wages. Am / asked, If the silver standard
will relatively reduce wages, why SO many
employers of labor are opposed to itP The
reason is obvious, because, aside from all con-
siderations of sentiment, the prudent employ
ers of labor know that they would lose vastly
more through the disastrous disturbance of
business sure to be caused by free coinage
victory than they could possibly gain by the
eheapening of labor. And would not the toiling
masses suffer most from that disturbance of
businessp He is traitor to the laboring man
who tells him that he can profit by the ruin
of his employer.
The agitators denounce the gold standard as
the device of monarchs and aristocrats,
while the history Of the world teaches that
from time immemorial it was favorite trick
of Inscriptions despots to fleece their subjects
by debasing the coin of the realm, and that
those who out of the monetary confusion
evolved fixed standards Of values and money
that would not cheat have always been rank
ed among the most meritorious benefactors of
mankind and especially Of the poor and weak.