Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1896-09-28

going to hurt him. My friends, I
would rather risk the laboring man to
decide what is good for him than to
leave his interests IN the hands of his
ancient enemies. And what do tho 10.
boring men say? 1t is only little
more than year ago that a petition
was sent to Congress asking for the
immediate restoration OF the free and
unlimited coinage of gold and silver,
at the present legal ratio of 16 to l.
Sithout waiting for the aid or consent
of any other Nation, and it was signed
by the leaders of every prominent la.
Dor organization in the United Status.
Who can best be trusted9 The men
who have led the labor organizations
in the fights in the past. on the men
who in the past have used their power
to defeat the only protection of the
laboring man. namely, his organiza
tion. Now, why did these laboring
men demand the restoration of silver 7
Because they know that when the dol
lar goes up property goes down, and
they know that when property is fall
ing all enterprise is retarded and stag
nation follows. They know the gold
standard encourages the boarding OF
money, instead of the expanding OF it
in the development of the resources Of
the country, and now this policy of
boarding is driving thousands and
tens of thousands and hundreds of
thousands of workingmen out in the
streets, where they beg for the privi-
lege of working for their daily bread.
These worknen know thar they cam
not separate themselves from the till
ers of the sell. These laboring men
know that there can be no prosperity
in business in this country unless the
farmer is selling what he produces for
more than what 1t cost him to pro-
duce it.
Now, l want to suggest these ques-
tions: When you meet man who is
opposed to our platform, you find out
what busines he is engaged in. Find
out whether he has any pecuniary in
terest that will lead him to take a po-
sitIon against us. Ask him if he is in
favor of a gold standard. If he says
he is, ask him if it is not queer that
there never was party in the United
States that Was in favor of gold stan
dard. Tell him that he is q man with
out party in the United States. If
he says that he is opposed to gold
standard, and lis in favor of bimetallism,
you ask him how much he is in favor
OF bimetallism. If he says he wants
other Nations to help, ask him what
other Nations he wants 10 help and
what chance he thinks of their doing
it. You ask him whether he thinks
thst creditor country. whose rulers
profit by the rise or the value OF the
dollar, whether those countries are
very good people to expect to come
and help US to stop the thing that is
doing them good. Ii he says that he
does not think this country is large
enough to have o financial policy of
its own, ask him what he thinks this
Nation is large enough to have.
If he says that we are not able to
legislate for ourselves on the greatest
question that can come before the
people, ask him what right we had,
anyway, to declare our independence
a hundred years ago.
You tell him THAI under free coinage
the dollar will be the same size that it
is now, the same weight and the same
ineness. 1t will be legal tender
better than it is to-day. because while
The silver dollar to-day is legal ten
Ter, unless somebody contracts against
i, the new silver dollar will be of legal
ender no matter whether man here
after tries to demonetizo by law what
The Government calls money. You
;ell hkn that if dollar is worth q
hundred cents to-day, because you can
pay taxes with it, and pay debts with
1t, and buy property with it, how he
knows it is going to be less when you
make it better than it is to-day.
If he says that when you melt that
silver dollar down it is not worth more
'han 53 cents. you tell him it is be.
cause the law says that if the dollar
nelts you cannot have it coined again,
out must use it to make spoons out of,
out you intend by law to say he can
AXE 1T to the mint and have 1t re-
stamped again just as he can take a
gold dollar to-day and have it re-
itamped if it melts.