The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1896-10-06
THE EFFECT ON
WACE-EARNERS
4 NOOtcd Question Is Fully An
sWered In the Railway
Age,
WHERE MINE.owNERs PROFIT
While Cost Of Snpplic, Advances and yalu,
Of None, Decreases lader Free Silver
Coinage the Wages Remain
Stationary.



Kcokuk. Iowa.
To the Railway Age
| have read your circular "Thc war
on the Uage-cafncr, and I must con-
fcss myself much puzzled over II. and
am anxious 20 be Informed by you.
Please tell me. How We can benefit the
mine owners By giving railway EN-
ploycH 52-ccnt dollar? II the dollar
II only worth half us much. how will the
minc-owner gain2 J. II. DlMoHD.
4 great many correspondents have
asked uS this same question. and from
the tone Of many letters II II evident
tina, the writer's really think that they
have caught NJ In bad corner. and
that the difficulty which they present is
unanswerable.
How can silver mlnc-owncrs derive
any benefit by getting twice as many
dollars for their silver n those dollars
are only going to be worth half as much
Apiece II they only get Two JO-cent
dollars where now they get one lOO-cent
dollar. how can they come Out ahead?
OF course they cannot. II looks that
way, does II not2 Let US see.
! There Is a silver mine. say. In Colora-
io. which employs 400 men. Wages
average $3.50 a day The pay roll. there
fore, amounts to $1,000 a day Let us
can II 100000 a year.
| The other expenses Of the mine are
100000 a year
! Tnc total expenses. therefore are
/ St5O.Oo0.
The output Of the mine iE s50OODO.
The proat therefore. Is $4,000 a year.
This Is plain. Is It not?
! Now, suppose thai free silver IL adopt
ed, The output of the mine. instead OF
being 100000 year. is now taken TO
the mint and coined into tl.OOO.OOO a
year.
They are 5o-ccnt dollars, however, and
It takes twice as many uf them to buy
machinery and supplies OF all kinds,
the prices OF which have been marked
up.
Therefore. the general expenses" in
stead of being 100000 year. are in
creased 10 100000 year So far the
mine owners are NOT much ahead.
The pay roll is the same as before. |
because though the silver output Is
doubled In its dollar value. II is only the |
same amount Of silver and no more
labor Is employed In getting II out The
pay rolls therefore, are $3.50 600 year.
The total expenses then are $3.50, 900.
The output, as We have seen, is ST.
OOO, 900.
The profits are N50OO0.
Now, the profits at present, as we
have seen. are only $4,000. The net gain
by the adoption OF free silver TO the
mine owners is 100000 "A year.
Now, We are beginning to get at the
meat OF the situation, The free and
unlimited" l6-to-i dollars would be in
fact and in purchasing power only 80
cent dollar. II would Immediately be
necessary to pay twice as many OF
them 10 buy any article abroad, or any
imported article in this country. Ev-
cry manufacturer who uses imported
In his goods would have to
raise his prices. and so, by degrees, the
prices OF everything would 60 up, Ev-
erything would ultimately cost twice as
much as II does now-just as II does
in Mexico or just as 1t did in this coun-
try when we had a deprecated curren-
cy. But one thing would not go up in
price-or at most II would go very A.,
that is labor. .
Wages would stay where they are.
Fewer men would be employed, as a
result Of the general injury TO business,
Those who We're employed would get
the same wages, or very little more
The employees OF railways would GER
Ioinly not get any more. The employees I
N various lines of manufacturing would q
probably get more after considerable O
'AAhN aAAh hANNl NANg Hau eAhANNh III
awhile and then struck The employees 4
n silver mines would be in the same
position.
The mine owners can well afford to let
prices of most commodities go up, They
an well afford to pay twice as much o
or most things that they have to buy; II
because they will pay the same for la 81
,or. 81
They can well afford to have each d
ne of their million dollars a year worth
My half as much when they get five
lines as many OF them In net profit.
That is the terrible part of the free
liver program. 1t is what we have al
Ways called Ii. a WAR on the Wage 81
Garner" It singles out for punishment d
he man who works for fixed salary G.
r for wages. The prices Of everything t
viii so up. His wages will only be n
1orth half as much-and there will be a.
10 way in which he can double them. il
the wage-earners can pro- II
ect themselves by voting for honest tC
money; and they intend to do 1t. But
he curious thing is, that the wage
arners In the silver mines do not seem Il