The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1896-09-29

lent Of a declaration that 60-cent pieces
nre dollars. They might just as well
pass a law that 30 cents Is a dollar.
That would not make IL 80. would IL?
IL would be- n legal dollar: but II would
not buy q dollars worth OF anything.
What Is the effect OF that The mer.
chant would take care OF himself.
"a mar keeps a store down here on
Broadway. and that law IL going into
oDeration tonight. lie an bis
clerks and buys - cents worth Of pen.
ellis, aud before he opens his store IN the
morning he has marked up his goods TO
the new scale. lie can do all that. But
there are great numbers Of people. mum.
berless people. who enlist our interest.
and some Of them enkindle our sympn-
tbies. who cannot use the pencil. Take
the work of man. He cannot go 10 the
pay roll with n pencil and mark Il up.
lie has got 10 consult somebody. He
has 10 enter into m argument. He has
got 10 get SOM other mans consent be-
fore be eau mark up his wages. Then
there Is the pensiOner. those that are re-
cciying pensions from this government
for gallant deeds done In the war. and
others for the loss Of beloved ones. He
cannot take his pension certificates. aud
when u reads eight dollars make IL read
sixteen dollars. lie must wait for an
appeal 20 Congress. and a Congress tnat
IL populistic in character would be nm
sympathetic. (A~pplausel. Take the
men who have life Insurance. Can they.
where the policy reads 5000. make Il
$lU,OOOf No. Can the managers of
these institutions make Il right with
them? Ma. This policy eoerces iuteg-
rty. (Applausel.
"My friends, the men surely do not
contemplate the irretrievable aud extern
sive character of the disaster and dis
turhance and disruption which they are
proposing for all Of US in all our business
affairs. great and simple. Take the la
boring man: how full Of sympathy they
are for him. My countrymen. | never
spoke n false word to the laboring man
In my life. Great %applausel. I have
never sought TO reach his vote or iniiu-
ence by appeals TO that part of his ma
ture that will pollute the In 'ellect and the
conscience. l have believed and | be-
lieve today that any system that main
tnins the prices of labor In this country,
that brings hope into the life Of the la
boring man. that enables him TO put By.
that gives him a stake IN the good order.
the prosperity Of the country. is the poll
Icy that should be our American policy.
(~Applause.l | have resisted in many
campaigns this idea that a debased cur
rency could help the wOrkingman. The
first dirty errand that a dirty dollar does
Is 70 cheat the wOrkingmen. tApplause.l
MY friends, a cold statistical inquiry.
non'partisan in its character, was made
by a committee OF the Senate in 1890
and some following years. The commit
tee was composed Of Democrats ana of
Republicans, and they SET ont TO study
as statisticians the relative prices Of rom
modities and wages at different periods
In the history of our country. This in
%yestigation covered the years Of the war.
IL showed how prices of goods went up
and In what proportion labor advanced,
Goods went up rapidly because the pen-
Gil process is a quick process. Wages
went up haltingly aud slowly. because
the employer has 10 be persuaded and
the pencil won't serve.
"Now. | have here a memorandum OF
some Of those facts resulting from that
investigation. Labor In one period adj
vanced 3 per cent; goods. the things
the men had TO buy out of their wages
for their families aud their living. ad-
vanced is per cent. Through another
period the laborerS' wages advanced 10k
per cent, and the price Of goods ad-
vanced 10 per cent. In another period
the wages Of the laborer went up % per
cent. and the prices of merchandise adj
vanced 30 per cent. In another peri I