Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-09-22
The WOrkingman's silver
fWritten for the Dispatch)

pay no wages al all, anu uishoii''' i'
pudiators." they have so far failed to finu
suitable terms in which to characterize
the worIingmen. Doubtless they VIII ma
| them in good time. and while they are
| hunting them let us take advantage Oh
| the lull in abuse and consider the interest
| of the workmen in the free coinage of
| gold and silver.
Between sneers at everybody tnat does
not agree with them, the gold-standard
people claim that admitting silver to free
| coinage along with gold will raise prices.
| In this they are unquestionaDiy right
But how they can tell the workmen that
| by keeping the price of everything down.
by keeping the times hard. and by making
all business dull it will help him, is one
of the marvels of paradox that have come
TO the front In this campaign The money
which makes the living of the workmen
reaches them from three sources-the
farm. where the product is made that
brings the money primarily; the manu-
facturers, who work up the raw mate
rial, and the businessmen, who sell lor
both farmer and manufactures. IL the
low prices of products paralyze the
farms. the manufacturer who has lost
his customers shuts down, and the busi-
ness-man has nothing to sell for him. The
! well-to-do farmer stores his wheat In ms
barn waiting for better prices; the farm
er not well-to-do resorts TO borrowing and
mortgage; the manufacturer keeps his
factory closed waiting for better times;
the businessman curtaiis his force or
their salaries. and sits down behind Idle
counters waiting for better times. Inc
farm hand has lost his job, the factory
workman has nothing to do, all trade Is
stagnant the money is locked up In the
banks, and the amount in circulation Is
small And il is at such time az this
that the workman is told by the gold men
that living is cheap and such times are
best for him. Thousands of his fellow
workmen are out OF work; his time may
| come next and yet he is told that these
are the times for him, and that they have
never been better as far as his interests
are concerned.
! They admit that all this might be
changed by the restoration Of silver TO
free coinage; that the farmers might get
more money for their produce; that there
might be more money everywhere, but
tell him that his wages would not join IN
the general rise, and that he would find
himself waiting for the return OF the OLD
\ duh times, with little going on and every
body hard up. And then they produce
tabulated statements without end, and IN
| tricate statistics OF which they them
selves comprehend little. with the fell
purpose OF bewildering him. AS a matter
of history and experience there is no TACT
better established in the history or the
world than that an abundant currency Is
| the greatest boon TO the workman. IL Is
then only that he is in demand, for 1t Is
then only that the employer is hunting for
| the employee, instead of the employee
hunting for the employer. 1t is then only
that labor can name its price with any
hope of getting 1t. 1t is then only that
the workman puts by money. And this
the workmen know well. and have so de-
clared.
He so declared through the General AS
semby of the Knights of Labor at At
lanta in 1889. where the assembly de-
clared for the free and unlimited coinage
Of silver Again at Denver in 1880, again
at Toledo in 1891. and again at st. Louis
in 1892. and their Legislative Committee
| has been instructed to make that one or
the objects of it's chief care. So Interested
in its success Is this labor organization
that it has established 4 campaign labor
bureau at Chicago to "stay the hand Of
this social robber. the single-standard adj
yocate" In Senate Document No. 81 OF
the Fifty-third Congress may be. found
the following petition, sent to Congress
by the great labor organizations:
1--WE demand OF the present Congress
the immediate return to the money OF the
Constitution as established by our fore
fathers by restoring the free and unlimit-
ed coinage Of both gold and silver at the
present ratio of IS to /, the coins OF both
metals TO be equally full legal-tender for
all debts, public and private. as before
the fraudulent decentralization Of silver In
1873. We also condemn the increase OF
the national debt in time OF peace. and
the use Of interest-bearing bonds at any
time"
This memorial is signed by Marion But
Ter, president OF the National Farmers
Alliance and Industrial Union; j. r. Sow
ereien. Grand Master Workman. knights
OF Labor; Samuel Gompers. president
American Federation of Labor; John Nc
Bride. president United Mine-Workers CT
America; p NJ. Arthur. grand chief
| brotherhood OF Locomotive Engineers;
Frank P. Sargent, grand master Brother
hood OF Locomotive Firemen; Henry IA.
Trenor. general president United Brother
hood Carpenters and Joiners OF America;
| c. A. Robinson. president Farmers Mu-
tual Benefit Association.
| 1t is fair to presume that these organi-
cations knew what they wanted, and that
these leaders had studied the subject from
a practical point OF view. They had.
many OF them, studied ii from the stand
| point of want and suffering. and were well
| able to understand the beauties of the
gold standard during its long reign. They
well understood the mockery Of the asser-
ton that wages are good when money is
scarce and business dull. and that the
harder the times are the better 1t Is for
the workman-a theory the absurdity OF
which can only be equalled by some other
theories evolved by the gold lunacy.
Bangor (Me) Commercially: That 500
| 600 900 raised by Mark Hanna on Wall
| ~traat IN defeat the eiectiOn NJ Mr. Rrvan