The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-09-28
Want MORE HARD TIMES
If You Do Pastor Seudder Says
Vote for the Free Coinage
of Silver.

"Do We Want More Hard Times?' was
the subject of a political lecture de-
livered by the Rev. John L.. Scudder in
the Tabernacle last night IN answering
the question in the negative Mr.. Scudder
had this to say
THE past three years have constituted
one of the most agonizing periods in
American experience. Business has been
paralyzed, enterprise has been checked,
gone begging for employment, money has
been tight, and collections have been next
to impossible. Wretchedness is written
on the face of the industrial world. We
have had an abundance of hard times.
Do we want worse2 The whole nation
swer no. To insure better times We
must remove the cause.
Some maintain that all our woes are
due to the characterization of silver nearly
a quarter of a century ago, but this is
not an adequate cause, for prosperity
reigned in 1890 and wages reached their
high-water mark. That there has been a
twenty years is true, out this has been
due to the general Introduction of ma
chinery and Increasing facilities for ans
portation. The cog of production has
been marvellously reduced, in some cases
so per cent. Now, any n can see hat
when a commodity can be manufactured
more cheaply and carried further for
less money, under our system of COM
petition the price of the commodity must
inevitably fall. The farmers wheat is no
exception to this rule. Its price has fallen
because labor-saving agricultural devices
have made wheat growing easy, thus won
derfully increasing the crop in America
and other countries. Silver has had
nothing to do with the drop in wheat.
in the markets of the world and upon a
gold basis, and silver, like other COM
modities, has suffered a similar decline.
It costs less to produce it than formerly,
and more of 1t is produced. The demand
is not equal to the supply, hence its price
has fallen. and l see no reason why it
should lave special favors from the Gov
eminent. There is a satisfactory cause,
They must be attributed to something
else than the decentralization OF silver.
Other countries are suffering from low
prices also. but they do not attribute it
to the cause pointed out by the silverites
of America.
Doubtless decline In prices has caused
a corresponding increase in the value Of
money; the appreciation of money has
not caused the decline in prices. This
general Introduction Of machinery, though
producing a fall in prices, has been a
blessing to the whole people. n cannot
be regarded as a cause of hard times.
1t always necessitates temporary incon-
venience to the laborers who are thrown
out of work for the: time being, but it
blesses the rest ofsthe world in cheaper
ing goods and bringing them within the
reach of the poorer classes. Machinery
enables the thrifty ind temperate iaborer
to carpet and furnish his fiat and wear
better clothes than did the workingmen
of fifty years ago.
The real causes of our present panic
are twofold. The first has been the
unnecessary tariff tinkering of the present
Administration. For a season the BUSH
ness world was unsettled owing to the UNI
certainty of forthcoming tariff legislation.
Manufacturers became suspicious and ner-
vous. Many refused to put out goods
till they knew whether Congress would
allow foreign competition to enter and
ruin the market. Men did not care to
invest good money on any such an
certainties. A general lack Of confidence
ensued and the seeds Of panic were thrown
broadcast. When the Wilson bill ap-
peared At injured or destroyed many forms
of industry. and this added fuel TO the
fire. Labor was thrown out Of employ
ment and buying was curtailed; failures
multiplied. exports decreased. the Cow
ernment debt grew apace. and We were
plunged into commercial chaos.
The second cause of hard times was
the agitation for free silver and the
changing Of our money standard. Whaf-
ever confidence remained was utterly
shattered by this Wild talk, and no Inn
proyement can take place till after elec-
tion, People do not know whether 4
dollar viii be worth 100 cents 81 So cents.
Or half way between, and until ihey as
know they will keep their dollars QndeF