Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1896-04-24

put In circulation among their owr
people. whore. at its coined value. 4
Is as good as gold. and has tho same
purchasing power.
The gold then goes Into tho vault.
Of London only to come back to the
United Stateo to purchase our bonds O,
high rate Of interest, The London
bankers take In exchange our silver a,
fifty cents on the dollar. they having
contracted far into tho future at thai
price, knowing that the production Of
silver Is running short.
1t may readily be seen why nations
having silver standard do not care
to join the golG standard nations In
international bin.etallism.
At present tkAy make q profit of 100
per cent upon every dollars worth Of
gold they exchange. but II they Joined
in international bimetallism. they
would be compelled to take in ex-
change for their manufactured articles
our silver on parity with gold, there
by deprlving themselves of the hand
some profit they are in the habit of re-
alizing. for they would have to pay for
our silver 129 29-100 per ounce. This
would leave the gold in our country
and there would no longer be COM
plants of depleted treasury and a
diminished gold reserve fund, and no
need Of further issues Of government
bonds.
Then. too, they would purchase our
raw material. for there would be no
discount on their silver money; but at
present. as we will pay only fifty cents
on the dollar for their silver, they will
not buy of us. preferrlng, naturally. to
deal with some silver standard country
where their silver is taken at par
This proposition appears to me so
simple. so plain. so capable of but one
solution that 1t Is a matter of wonder
ment to me that our so-called states
men and financiers should hesitate
concerning the course to pursue.
If this condition of affairs is to con-
tinue; If our silver Is to be used in this
manner; II we have to compete with
the cheap labor of China and Japan.
what is to become Of our laboring
class. Of our farmers, Of all our in
dustries?
A friend Of mine who has a large
vineyard In California, says that in
consequence Of the continued hard
times it did not pay him last year to
pick the grapes, and that rather than
see them rot on the grosnd he fed them
to hogs. He also said that II the pros
poets were no better this year he would
make no attempt to cultivate his vine
yard. but would allow 1t to run to
weeds.
Buyers Of wheat last fall sought in
vain for the cause of the unprecedented
and continued low prices Of all cere-
ais. The visible supply warranted
higher prices. but instead of going
higher the price continued to decline.
The same cause that affects our de-
pleted treasury and our reduced gold
reserve fund, also affects the price of
all our industries, the price Of wheat,
the price Of cotton, the price of every
thing that is produced in the United
States.
There is only one remedy for all this
and the sooner 1t Is applied the better
it will be for all classes of people in
the country, and that remedy is bimet-
allism.
The cause Of the trouble is the de-
of. silver, which occurred
in 1878, and the deleterious results
have come upon us so gradually that
we have lost sight of the cause in the
effect.
When the people realize that the de-
Of silver is the real cause
Of the hard times, they will demand,
with their votes, the free coinage of
silver on basis of 16 to 1, and when
that time comes, as come 1t must, then
will the tide Of depression turn and
flow in the direction of prosperity.
l predict that the time has come
hat in this year of 1S96-bimetallism
will become law, the only drawback
being that for the past twenty years
he gold bugs have had control of the
press and the press has made the
masses believe that silver is worthless,
md that nothing but gold is money.
l have too much faith in the intel
igence Of the masses to think that
hey will believe longer in the gold
bug theory, and if it does not come
his year, then in 1900 will they pro-
,laim their independence of thought
md demand bimetallism, but failure
his year means four more years of
lard times and low wages.
When the people come to understand
hat there is not one-fourth enough
,old in the world to supply them with
money, then will they rise up in their
t<1,k IL 4