The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-05-26
CARNEGIE on THE ISSUE OF THE

1
On Saturday, May 16. Andrew Car
negie sailed for Europe. Before his
departure heswas interviewed by a rep
resentative of the Iron Age on the
political issues OF. the day. He was
asked but half a dozen questions. the
first being as to what is the one thing
needful for his country. To this he
replied that the one thing needful is
that this country tread the path of
honor and good policy; '.that is, that
the dollar of the republic s.4all mean
one dollar in gold. worth its face in
any part of the world" He would do
this by su5ordinating all other issues
to thats he would sink parties. saying
no man should be either a Republican
or Democrat but a patriot, and insist
that the coming campaign shall settle
Tor all time the question of standard
of value for this country.
When asked if he attributed the
great depressions and panics that have
occurred in the last few years to the
agitation in favor of free silver C'for
reduction in the standard of value"
as the reporter put it,, he said he did,
declaring that all other causes COM
bined have not affected the country to
the extent that this has; that it is fun
damental; nothing is settled unless this
is settled. ana no genuine prosperity
is possible; that capital at home, equal
ly with capital abroad, has become
alarmed. AMI that it has run into its
MOLE and will not come forth to en-
bark in enterprises which create pros
perity until it is settled that the Amer
lean people borrowing one dollar in
scld will return one dollar, and not
seek to defraud its creditor by return
ing a dollar worth only fifty cents
Asked as to the tariff, he said he
agreed with President George B. Rob
erts, of the Pennsylvania railroad, that
the tariff can wait His further views
on this question are of no particular
interest in this connection.
Asked as to the prospects of the iron
trade, he said;
A great disappointment has come
upon us. think most people looked
Tor repetition of the conditions of
last year. l confess that . did not
There has been something like paraly-
sis in the last two mcnths. No wonder
capital the root of all enterprise, is
alarmed. If capital is alarmed, capital
Will not invest. Proposed railway build
ing and manufactures have been post
poned. Capital must first find whether
the gold dollar is 20 come back There
fore there is paralysis. With sound
gold platforms from both parties and
with sound gold candidates.. a change
viii come over the scene. Every condi-
ton but one favors prosperity and that
IS the pernicious agitation for a lower
standard of value. We have good crops,
the world wants our products, and the
country has been economical for some
years; the only obstacle to the return
OF prosperity. genuine permanent pros
perity, is this question of standard of
value.
He places the prosperity of this, his
own, trade upon the issue of the finan-
cial question.
We agree with Mr.. Carnegie that
the one thing needful to a complete re-
turn to prosperity is final settlement
of the financial question, but not as
to what that settlement should be. He
would have the single gold standard;
we would have the double standard of
gold and silver, with free coinage of
both metals at the ratio of 16 to l.
Until this question is settled all others
must be subordinated to it. If any
desire to make the tariff the great and
issue of the campaign, they
must be content to have it wait. When
a man so prominent in his party as
Mr.. Carnegie is, man who has been
a lifelong protectionist, declares that
the financial question is the paramount
one and that protection can wait, can
any one longer doubt what the real
issue of the day is?