The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1896-09-23

fore suffer by far the most
Where the Wage Farmer VIII Come In. |
How stands the Of the wage earners
whose product can be raised in price proper |
tionate to the debasement of the dollarl AS
the dollar falls in value the manufacturer or
the merchant marks up his goods. The work
ingman or the clerk, finding himself hard
pressed by the rise in price OF the necessarles
Of life. applies for q corresponding increase
of wages. The head of the factory or the |
mercan tile establishment admits that some in |
crease is called for But" says he, "you are
not the only person in trouble. The value Of
our money is Auctuating. We hardly know
what 1t is today. We surely do not know what
1t will be next week Profits are excessively
close anyhow, We make q sale or purchase
| today and think it is at profit. Tomorrow
| we may find that 1t was at q loss. We hardly
| venture to make a contract to be filled at q
future time, because we can make no safe cal
culations We can increase your wages lit
| tie, but not much. For that you will have to
| wait until things are more settled. Besides,
| this silver free coinage has thrown all bust
| ness into dreadful confusion, and there are
| plenty of people out Of employment who
| would do your work for less than you get
| now" And so the wage Garner has to be sat
isfied with little increase Of pay and wait for
| more while the advanced prices OF necessaries
prey upon him.
Is this mere conjeotureP 1t is the experience
of every country that has been cursed by |
rise Of prices through money Of fluotuating |
value. defy any one to show me in the whole |
history Of the world single exception. Have |
we not during our civil war, witnessed IL with |
our own eyes? In 1862, when irredeemable |
paper currency had begun to depreciate. the
average wages of labor rose only per cent |
while average prices rose IL. In 1885, when |
wages had risen 1917 per cent, average prices |
were 40 per cent higher; in 1864 wages had
risen 25A per cent and prices 901a; in 1895
wages had advanced % per cent and prices III
above what wages and prices had been In gold
in 1851 In other words. the laboring mans
wages had lost In purchasing power more than
90 cents in every dollar. Every country la
boring under similar conditions tells the same
story What reason in the world Is there to |
assume that this universal rule will not oper-
ate In tho case of free coinage2
And what have the apostles of free silver |
coinage to say to this2 Hear Mr.. Bryan him |
self in his famous New York Grafton, "While |
gold standard raises the purchasing power |
of the dollar it also makes 1t more difficult to
obtain possession of the dollar-employment |
is less permanent, loss Of work more probable |
and unemployment less certain" Is that allY |
Yes, all. Docs not Mr. Bryan know that I'M |
dor what was practically the gold standard |
we had In the hftles ono OF the most active |
and prosperous periods this country has eyer |
seen? Does he not know that more recently,
at the time of the return to specie payments, |
we had under the gold standard years OF sig |
nal prosperity with all hands at work. And
does he wish to learn what has been the |
trouble since and what Is the trouble now2
Let him ask the employers Of labor, and with
almost one voice they will tell him that not
the existing gold standard, but the growing |
danger Of its overthrow, that the growing ag-
gressiveness of the free coinage movement,
filing the minds of men with anxious appre-
tensions AZ to dark future uncertainties, has |
served to paralyze that spirit OF enterprise |
which sets the laboring man to work. Let him |
study the history of the crisis of 1903. Not the
gold standard, but distrust Of silver destroy |
~ Nh..o f..xAA nrxn hat Iowa lnf.
Is the truth, and Mr.. Bryan VIII in vain try to |
deny it,
Debtor and Creditor.
Tho free coinage men profess especial solici. |
tude for those whom they call 1.-THE debtor |
class" Who are the debtor class? Our silver |
friends speak as If, Ms rule, the rich people |
were creditors and the poor were debtors. Is |
this correctp In my household am the debtor |
to the cook and the chambermaid and the |
washerwoman tVo or three weeks In tho |
month, and they my creditors. Nor |
are they likely to be debtors to anybody else, |
while / may be, for they have little II
any credit while perhaps have some. am
therefore the only debtor in my house.
The rotations between the large employer Of
labor and the employees substantially the
same. Ordinarily the employer. the rich man,
is apt to be tho only debtor among them.
The employees are, as n rule. only creditors,
and they lay up savings they are apt to be-
come creditors in larger sense. They depos
1t their money In savings banks or invest IL in
building assoeiatons, in mutual benefit socie
ties, in loan companies or In life insurance
policies and become capitalists In a small
way. Tho amount deposited by people OF
small means In the savings banks of the United
States Is at present something over 81. 300, Co.,,
600, that invested in building associations
about $500 COG, 000 In mutual benefit societies
$780,, 100000 aud in life insurance many hun
dred millions more.
The num',or of such creditors belonging to
what our silver friends often call "the toiiinR
masses Is therefore very large. Together
with their dependents IL may. for aught we
know, amount to SIT, 600 coo OF $50, OOOO 900. Who
| are tho debtcrs OF these creditors2 The saw
| ings banks hhd according to the reports OF
| 1884, loaned out about one-half OF the money
| deposited with them real estate mortgages
| and invested the other half In United BbateB
| bonds, state. county and municipal bonds and
railroad and other bonds and stocks. The An
vestments of the life insurance companies
were about proportionately the same. The In
vostmcnts In real estate mortgages are always
| preferably in large amounts, on property be-
longing to comparatively wealthy personsSor
to business corporations. Thus the debtors to
| these creditors belonging to the toiling tnhsses
| are the United States, states ana muhiotpali-
ties. railroad and other corporations and per-
| sons very much richer than the creditors.
Here wo have. then, rich debtors owing 30
many millions OF poor creditors thousands OF
| millions OF dollars.
The silver orators pretend that they have tho
toiling masses greatly Mt heart and that FREQ
coinage is to be introduced mainly for their
benefit How do they take care Of the toiling
masses in this oase2 BY bringing us down
upon the silver basis they simply cut down
the thousands Of millions OF invested savings
| Of poor people to about 80 cents ON the dollar.
| And for whose benefit Is this donef For the
benefit of the debtors Of these poor people, who
will gain about 30 cents on the dollar. And
| who are theyp Aside from the United States
| and the atntaa md muuiCinalitiea. those
debtors are railroad and other corporations
| and more less rich men. whom our silver
| friends profess to abhor very much as belong
Ing to the money Bower Thus VIII thS
| benefit Of the rich debtor. May not the toll
ing masses pray heaven to deliver them OF the
FREQ coinage friendsP
How the Peoples Savings VIII Fare.
And what have these friends to say in their
own defenseP Twill again lot Mr.. Bryan's New
York Grafton speak. He says first, with regard
TO tho insurance companies, 'Since the total
premiums received exceed the total losses paid
a rising standard must be of more benefit to
the companies than to the policy holders"
How wisel And that the companies may not
have this benefit no proposes by tho silver
standard to strip tho policies Of tho policy
holders of nearly half their valued But does
not Mr.. Bryan know that most Of these com.
| panios are mutual assurances, and that what
benefits or Injuries the companies therefore
| benefits or injuries the policy holdersP
I AS to the saving bank depositors he says
| "Undor u gold standard there is increasing
danger that the savings bank depositors will
lose their deposits because Of tho inability of
the banks TO collect their assets" And to
| avert this danger Mr.. Bryan advises policy
| which would by the Introduction Of the silver
standard. at once cut down the value Of those
assets to so cents on the dollar. He further
| says, "If the gold standard 10 to continue In
definitely, the depositors in savings banks may
be compelled to withdraw their deposits In
order to pay living expenses" Indeedi II Is
a remarkable fact that since 1873, tho year of
the great crime until 1895. during the period
| when we had to suffer all the calamities OF the
| gold standard. the deposits In savings banks
have, instead Of being withdrawn for living
expenses, increased-positively increased--
much over $1,000, 600 900. And they would
have increased still more had not some deposit.
ors withdrawn their deposits, not for living
| expenses, but to send them to Europe for safe
ty, out of the way OF Mr.. Bryan and other
friends OF the toiling masses. They win no
doubt bring that money back as soon as Mr..
| BRYAN Il hpatpn