Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1896-05-21

considerable silver and very little gold,
it has recently adopted the gold stand
ard of value.
Our neighboring republic of Mexico
! has the silver standard of value, gold
not being in use, and if cheap money is
blessing to the laboring man he ought
tobe prosperous and happy in that coun-
| try. The Mexican dollar contains 377.17
grains of pure silver. or nearly six grains
more than is contained in our dollar.
and yet, not being sustained by none
tary system which keeps it at parity
with gold, it is worth only about SIS
cents in our money. Wages are paid in
| silver and are very low in comparison
with the wages paid in this country fol
the same services, il many instances not
being half as much. while the prices of
commodities generally are much higher
than they are here.
THE prices of imported articles espe-
cially are exorbitantly 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
So in silver to pay 81 in gold. Although
our own silver dollar contains less fine
silver than the Mexican dollar, ono OF
ours is nearly equal in eXchangeable
value to two of theirs, because here the
coinage is limited, and the government
issues the coin on its own account and
has pledged its faith and credit to keep
them as good as gold, pledge that has
been faithfully kept up to this time,
! notwithstanding the complaints and de-
nunciations of our free-trade oppo-
nents.
IF we are to have free and unlimited
| coinage of legal tender silver for the
benefit of the owners of the bullion,
| the value of our dollar would be no
greater than the intrinsic or commercial
value of the silver contained in it, and
its purchasing power in the markets
would be diminished about one-half,
but the wages of labor would remain
for long time atleagt, substantially mt
the present rates, or, if they should be
nominally increased on account of the
depreciation of the currency, experience
IN the past shows that they would not
increase in proportion to the increase in
the prices of commodities. Rises in thu
rates OF wages take place very slowly,
while the prices of commodities move
| rapidly, at some periods changing sew
eral times in the course of a single dav,
and these movements are always more
frequent and more harmful when the
currency is in an unsettled condition.
IF the solution of this question affect
ed only the character and amount and
purchasing power of the future earnings
of the American laborer, it would still
be a subject of the gravest importance
to him, but its Importance is greatly
increased by the fact that the safety
and value of very considerable part o.
his past earnings are also involved. The
thrifty and provident workingman is
not debtor, but a creditor, and the
corporations and individuals having the
custody of his earnings are indebted to
him and ought to pay what they owe
him in just as good money as he put
into their hands.
The banks, trust companies, build
ing associations and other similar in
situations owe the people of the United
States to-day $5,353, 13s,521 for money
actually deposited. a sum nearly eight
times greater than the total capital of
all the national banks in the country,
while the life insurance policies held by
the people in the various kinds of cor
porations and associations and in force
to-day amount to $10.203, s04. 357, a
larger sum than has been actually in
vested in all our railroads In view of
these facts, which cannot be success
fully disputed, | submit that you ought
seriously to consider all the conse-
quences to yourselves and your fellow
citizens before you agree to the free
and unlimited coinage of legal tender
silver at a ratio of 16 to 1 in order that
these great corporations and associa-
tions may have the privilege of dis
charging their debts to the people by
paying 81 or 50 cents ON the dollar, for
that is exactly what it means Every
dollar the people put into these banks
and trust companies and other institu-
tons and every dollar they paid for in
surance was worth 100 cents and would
procure 100 cents worth of commodi-
ties in the market when they earned it
and when they invested it, and they
have an unquestionable right to de-
mand that it shall be refunded to them
in dollars worth 100 cents everywhere.
The greatest crime short of absolute
political enslavement that could be
committed against the nottingham in
this country would be to confiscate his
labor for the benefit of the employer
by destroying the value of the money in
which his wages are paid; but. gentle
men, this irreparable wrong can never
be perpetrated under our system of gov
eminent unless the laboring man him
self assists in forging his own chains"
Coin ut school.