The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-08-15
GOLD AT A PREMIUM sINcE 1873
Silver Bullion and Mexican Dollars Are
at Par

Il DSNhA oiAiNC lOto. AZ utS Dteu e16cleu DIV
a deep-laid scheme concocted by shrewd
conspirators for the benefit of the classes
at the expense of the masses.
| Many persons have not yet realized the
fact that gold is now and has been at
| premium for twenty two years, al
though it is now over 200 per cent. in
comparison to, and in measuring, almost
| all other values
| Mr.. Saurerbeck's Index Numbers shows
that in England forty-five principal COM
| modities have either shrunk one-half in
value, as compared with gold, or that
| gold has doubled in value; for q pound
OF gold exchanges for twice as much now
| as twenty two years ago. The compar-
ison has been extended in this country,
and for 100 principal commodities quoted
| in Bradstreet's gold is even more pow
erful here than in England, and shows
| that it is held at a higher premium. In
deed, almost everything Except money
redeemable in gold) such as bonds, mort
| cages, etc, is worth only one-half is
former value in gold or is worth over
double in its exchangeable or purchasing
power. For example, in 1878, 100 cents
of gold was required to buy certain
amount of these commodities; in 1874,
| to buy the same amount required only
9S4 cents in gold; in 1888, Sc cents; in
1899, 72.1 cents; in 1898, 5S cents, and
III 1910, only 40 cents.
The products of labor, the farm, the
factoryand the shop, and the property
of the masses, re-.either worth half price
or less in gold, or gold is worth double
| and ut II premium of over 100 per cent.
| of its value in 1873.
| Labor is the best and truest test of
value. 1t requires as much labor to pro-
duce n bale of cotton, n bushel of wheat
or pound of meat as it did twenty years
ago, while the remuneration or return
| therefor is only one-thrd as much gold
now as then. One dollar Sof gold costs
| the miner, the bondholder, the mortgage
| and the creditor no more to produce it
now than it did twenty years ago. In
| the last case the-owner of the gold is priv
| LEGGED by law in commanding, controll-
| ing and owning three times as much of
| the labor of the first-class with his pro-
| duct as. the tirst-class is permitted to get
| of gold Therefore, the masses must sur
render to the classes through the opera.
| ton of law in establishing the gold stan
| dard threefold more now than then, the
very thing that Jefferson denounced in
declaring equal rights to all; special
| privileges to none.'
| A system that forces the great masses
| to toll three times as much to accom-
pish the same results and to pay debts
as was required twenty two years ago is
vicious and tyrannical, and will result
disastrously to the republic, if not cor
| rected.
Again, Il debt contracted in 1873 re-
| quired in payment thereof 100 per cent.
of the same quantities of 100 principal
commodities; in 1874, 1882 per cent; in
1888, 1913 per cent; in 1889, 1868 per
cent. in 1893, 1888 per cent, andiin 1895,
204 per cent,
All the toilers of the United States now
owe debts contracted in 1878, or before.
Many of them are private debts, and all
of them owe public debts. To pay these
debts they have given up the fruits of
their labor as above, more and more each
year, until 1895 they We're forced by law
to give up to the creditor, all of their pro-
ducts, 204 per cent, instead of 100 per
cent, as in 1878.
The toiling masses who oppose this
system of the classes of exacting double
and treble as much of their products and
property in the payment of debts and
taxes as they were required to pay in
1873, should not be denounced as anar-
cists, dishonest and repudiationists, be-
cause they ask to pay according to con-
tract as much OF the fruits of their labor
as was required then, instead of double
and treble as much.
They are willing to give just as much
of their labor now to discharge dollar
of the debt rs would have .been required
and given in 1873 but double and treble
as much. If n farmer borrowed 500 in
1873 when cotton was worth 90 cents.
and wheat, 81 40, and when one bale or
seventy two bushels would pay the debt,
it is not right to force him, by the gold
standard, to pay four bales of cotton OF
22S bushels of wheat, every pound of
which cost him as much to produce now
| n N1,a o1x 6 . Il
dard should not call their scheme 'hon-
est" and 'sound,' and denounce those
who advocate the money of the consti-
tution-gold and silver as "dishonest''
and "repudiationist," but they should
reverse the classification anu go back to
the principles enunciated by Washington,
Jefferson Jackson, Calhoun, Lincoln,
Toombs, Stephens, Colquitt and Brown.
The gold standard scheme was designed
to rob, and it is working robbery to the
satisfaction of Wall street by enforcing
all payments in dollars at over 100 per
cent. premium, and Mckinley takes hold
as their candidate of the job of confsca-
tionswith the reluctance of PLATE, when
he..wls called upon to commit great
| crime. Z.
Wall street and it's connections held at
the close of the war government obliga-
lions issued in support thereof near So,
600, COO, 900, which cost them only about
the value of $1,000, 100000 of Mexican
silver, or what they now call fifty-cent
dollars. Through the operations of the
gold standard they have already been paid
In gold, or its equivalent, 81, 600, 0O0, 900,
ana at the present rate of payments it
will require $4,000, 000,O 600 more to paw
the balance. This, with the protective
tariff and national bank monopolies, has
made them immensely rich, and given