The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-09-08


1915 '''.',.'... .;,t,...r.... lao 929
1879 1855 $500. ........... l47 S61
lo91. ....,. 80. ..t.... 1855 1873
1880. ......... ~. i. ..... 161 1910
The purchasing power of gold and of
wages move along different lines. but in 1889
70 1891 they are substantially the In
contrast, the purchasing power Of silver was
IN ls9l substantially the same as in 1872, while
IN IN 1888 II was Il per cent less. Do you wish
me purchasing power of your wages re-
ouced TO what they were in 1872? Do you
wish wnen you go to the market to be able
10 purchase nve objects where now you buy
seven! Or do you have hankering to try
Inc experiment of the free silver coinage and
nave everything on the silver basis?
Wna1 VIII free coinage do for the working
man. | have in part answered this. The
1ree coinage advocate says 1t will restore the
coholtlons OF 1870. l am inclined to think
that he is right upon this point. 1t will do
that very thing. 1t will take the laborer
PACK TO time when his wage will purchase
only two-thirds as much as now. 1t will take
MIN back to a condition of affairs In which
MS chance for securing work Is less than
now This conclusion l base not only upon
the experience of the United States since 1870,
but that experience between 1860 and 1870.
Those years were era of cheap money
such as our free silver friends advocate, as
contrasted with the years from 1870 to 1895
of sound money, such as they oppose.
have said nothing about the workingman's
loss upon his savings bank deposits, his life
insurance policy and his other savings. They
have been treated at length by others. That
loss through free coinage In these lines will
simply be stupendous. The man who will
vote return to the purchasing power Of
wages which existed in 1872 will vote to cut
the value of hts savings in all forms In twain.
No other will. No one else can or will try to
injure himself in that way.
But some one will say, The E1ne owners
promise to enable US to steal under cover OF
law one-half of our debts by enabling US to
pay 100 cents of debts with 80 cents worth
of silver.
1 believe the wage-earners of the United
States are too honest and too Intelligent to
be misled by appeals to their dishonesty ana
that they will be guided, as they always nave
been, by intelligence and honesty to vote for
sound and honest money and not that imam
cial will-o the wisp, the proposed free coin
age of silver. So
Mr.. Christopherson then presented
Hon. Sidney M. Owen. Mr.. Owen re-
marked by way of introduction that II
his hearers knew how hot 1t was up In
the balcony they would expect to hear
a red hot speech from him. To protect
his eyes from the sun, Mr.. Owen asked
permission to keep his hat on while he
spoke. The crowd acquiesced with
shout, and repeated the applause with
which they first greeted the speaker,
who was evidently destined to please
them.
Mr.. Owen said in substance: ''Mr.
Chairman and Ladies and Gentlemen
You are here to listen to discussion OF
political economy from two distinct
standpoints I want to ask you from
whence comes the, need Of employing
%, 000, 900 wage earnerS in this country.
Whence comes the occasion for the
immense number of manufacturing
and mercantile establishments Of this
country What is the existence of
1SOOOO miles of railroads due to? What
do all these things mean, and why do
they exist? / will tell you. They exist
largely to supply the artificial wants
of man. Let men and women confine
themselves to the absolute necessities
of life and the millions of laborers
would be idle and the 100000 miles of
railroads would be nothing but streaks
of rust extending across the length and
breadth of this country.
81 say to YOU. continued Mr.. Owen,
'that I am for the free and unlimited
coinage of silver. because. it will double
the quantity of primary money in ex-
istence. I am for this because / know
that with a greater volume Of money
prices will advance. For the first time
in the world the gospel Of low prices
is being preached. 1t is a gospel not
three years old. It is yet in it's swad-
ding cloths Naughter) Only two
years ago the preachers Of this gospel
were telling you that the cheap coat
made the cheap man. daughter) A
new faith, you know, requires new
gospel. Today, in your market reports,
you will notice signs Of returning conf
dence. And why? Because this week
wheat advanced two cents a bushel
We must remember that agriculture is
the foundation of our we'll being. The
earth with the husbandman acting upon
it is the good mother from which We
gain all our Sustnance.
"But not e-fourth of the farmers
once filling the soil, are farming today
They have ffocked to the towns and
cities to become competitors with or
ganized labor there because Of the
great decrease in the prices Of farm
Replying to Commissioner Powers
statement that the prices Of meat, hogs
and sheep had not declined since 1873,
Mr.. Owen quoted statistics showing
that hogs formerly bringing ST were
selling in the Chicago market as low as
81 to 81. Mr. Gwen said he would
like to know what invention or discov-
cry had cheapened the production of
hogs. daughter and applause) 1t was
noticeable, however, that the meat
trusts had putup the price of meat just
'I have that confidence in my country
to believe that Uncle Sam will never
coin dollar worth less than 100 cents.
To say that is an insult to our govern
ment, and no man who says it really
believes it. The men who are loaning
money have made them payable In
what? In coin, which means gold and
silver.
Nov these gold men say that the re-
monelization Of silver will crash the
commercial world and wreck the gov
eminent. Yet these men agree to in
sure against all horrors and calamities
at the rate Of half of one per cent per
annum. Do you believe that ruin
awaits the government? Cries Of mo,
no.'O
1.-THE widest divergence known in 200
years, between the mintage and coin
age value of silver was less than 3
per cent. This existing gold standard,
which the gold men say we cannot
change without the consent Of foreign
countries, was put upon us by consent
of the people of the United States 1t
was done by official ruling. The gold
standard has given the creditor the
option of saying what metal he shall
be paid in. So long as this system ex-
lists prices will continue to go down
and ruin must be the result. Gov.
Flower, of New York. says that the
lower prices benefit the 1aborer. IL
that Is true.ethefll all the laborers of
this country ought to emigrate to
| China The surest and safest guar
anty of good wages and permanent
work is our absolutely sound and
stable agricultural interest. Admit
that the farmer can buy as much
merchandise as the laborer which is
not the case. But unfortunately he
| has to buyAwhat the gola standard
men do not mention. The mortgage in
| debtedness of the farmers of Mime
sofa has increased, 70 PEI cent between