The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-16


brilliantly high in Mexico, because
they have to be paid for abroad in gold
and the depreciation of their money is
so great that it requires nearly two
dollars in silver to pay one IN golo.
You have doubtless observed re-
Gently what appears to be quite
A FORMIDABLE DEMONSTRATION
in favor of the free coinage of silver
by certain large manufacturing inter-
ests in the eastern part of the country,
on the ground that if we continue 10
maintain our present standard OF
value the silver standard countries, es.
pecially India, China and Japan, VIII
soon be able to undersell them in the
markets of the world. Reduced to It's
simplest form, the proposition OF
these gentlemen is that the manufac-
turers of certain kinds of goods in this
country cannot continue to pay their
laborers high wages in gold or its
equivalent and compete successfully IN
the markets abroad with the manu-
facturers of similar goods in silver
standard countries, who pay their Ia
borers low wages in deprecated silver,
and therefore they insist that a none
tary system shall be adopted here
which will give them the advantage
of paying for their labor in deprecated
silver The theory is that with free
coinage of legal tender silver the
wages of this country would be paid
in silver dollars worth about half as
much as gold dollars, but
THE PRODUCTS OF LABOR
which would belong to the employer
would be sold for gold in the markets
abroad, and the gold thus obtained
could be exchanged for silver at about
the rate of one dollar in gold for two
dollars in silver; and thus the pro-
cess would go on, the employer get
ting gold of full value and the laborer
getting deprecated silver, which, IN
the opinion of these gentlemen, would
be a most happy solution of this ques-
ton. If the interests of labor are to
be left entirely out of consideration,
and if it were not reasonably certain
that a sudden revolution in our none
tary system would at once arrest the
progress of all our industries and pro-
duce almost universal bankruptcy, TINS
scheme to make the employer very rich
and the laborer very poor might be
worthy of serious considerations; but
the American laborer has right to
DEMAND PAY FOR HIS WORK
in as good money as the employer re-
ceived for his products in any part
of the world, and when he surrenders
fate that has already overtaken his
brothers in the silver standard coun-
tries. 1t is but simple justice to say
in this connection that the great body
of employers a vast majority of me
men who have embarked their capital
in industrial enterprises and are re-
lying for success upon their skill ana
energy in the prosecution OF. their
business, do not want the present
h0na1ISa
they know that the establishment of
silver monometallism would be rulnous
to them"
The speaker then went on to show
that $3.50, 597 900 now held in savings
banks in the United States (most OF
it deposited by Eaboring people,, as well
as the hundreds of millions deposited
in other banks, building associations
and other institutions, and the billions
represented by life insurance policies
would shrink to one-half by the adop-
ton of free coinage of silver. This he
argued would not only put hardship
upon
THE FRUGAL AND THE CAREFUL,
but would have a tendency to dis
courage the spirit of savings that is
now becoming so prevalent.
But" said he, IF free and I'M
limited coinage of legal tender silver
at the ratio of 16 to 1 is established
in this country very large part of
the money deposited in these various
kinds of savings institutions will not
even be repaid in deprecated silver,
but will be wholly lost, because such
a reckless monetary system would pre-
cipitate a financial panic, which very
few, if any, of the repositories could
survive I doubt that there is single
financial institution in the country that
could sustain the pressure that would
be Immediately made upon it by it's
depositors and other creditors, when it
became apparent that our standard of
value was to be lowered and our cur
rency deprecated by free coinage.
Payment of all our obligations held
abroad would be
DEMANDED IN GOLD AT ONCE.
Every investment of foreign capital in
this country would be instantly with
drawn; every man who owed a debt
at home or abroad would be called
upon to pay it; all depositors in banks
and other institutions would want to
withdraw their money at the same
time; no loans could be negotiated,
and no credit would be given, because
no man would lend money or sell pro-
solute certainty that he would be paid
in a deprecated currency. Creditors
would not wait for the actual passage
of free coinage law, but as soon as
such a measure had received the ap-
prevail of the people at an election
they would demand their money, and
If not paid they would enforce its col
lection by judicial proceedings and the
forced sale of property. 1t is use
less for you and me or anybody else
to say that depositors in banks and
other creditors ought not to pursue this
course
WHEN A CRISIS COMES,
or is apprehended, for they always
have pursued it, and always will, un-
less human nature itself should be
changed.
LESS than three years ago you saw
trial affairs violently disturbed by the
fear that the government would not
be able to maintain gold payments,
and that our currency would descend
to a silver basis. You saw the opera
tons of industry interrupted, banks
failing, great commercial houses I'M
able to meet their obligations, credit
seriously impaired, mills and factories
closed and thousands of laborers
luIOWu Jul VI S1HplOy illSLl, anu d , I'd lC
of panic and business disorder prevail
ing in every part of the country. If a
mere doubt as to the kind of money
we intended to use produced these dis
tressing results, what think you would
be the probable consequences of a de-
liberate determination on the part of
our people to adopt silver monometal-
lism as a permanent system? The
imagination can scarcely conceive the
deplorable state of society that would
Immediately follow the announcement
of such policy, and I will not at
tempt to describe it"