The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-03-25


had the gold acknowledgement and
Portugal. The one with population
of 81. OOO. OO0 the other with 1000. 900
thirty-six millions in all. Germany
then went to the gold standard. She
forced FrancSthen all the principal
continental nations adopted the same,
and they were followed by the United
Stat ties. From 36,000,000 in 1871, there
were $50, 0OO, 900 in 1873, who went to the
gold standard. Then was begun
colossal struggle for the yellow metal,
and that struggle is intensified with
every new nation that goes TO the gold
standard. Germany boarded her gold
received from France as war indem-
nifty. To what amount has never been
known by the rest of the world. France
was compelled 70 replace that paid TO
Germany. Austria has boarded H.
600. 900; Russia, il is said, 500, 900; the
United States struggles 10 keep IN its
hoard al 500, 900. Private individ-
uals hoard il, banking houses do the
some On account of this change, the
value of gold and money based on gold
alone, has enormously increased.
Don't yet any one tell you that this IS
not true, for your common sense Will
contradict them You know that de-
mand and supply regulate the price.
Thus the demand for gold is Increased
nearly ten-fold and the supply has not
increased 2 per cent. How is II pos
sible gold has not appreciated? what
is true of the increased demand for gold
IS true OF the decreased demand Tor
silver. If we measure the one by the
other We have what sound money men
call so cent dollar, and what the Sill
yer men call d 81 dollar. One or the
other of them is probably correct or
nearly so. OF course the value of the
one carnot be measured by the value or
the other, unless We have a coinage law
rsgula ting the value. We must meas
ure the two by a common standard If
we can find one. Fortunately it is read
lily found and furnished to our hand
Il is what is known as the Index OF
Prices-with which most of you are
familiar. An average price of all COM
modities is taken for each year and this
| is continued through a series OF years.
| If we begin with the year 1873, when
gold and silver stood equal, we find that
year by year, measured by the gold
standard, prices have declined, until
| in 1893, since which time the tables have
not Vet been issued, prices have con-
stantly declined, or gold increased
which is the same. 1t took then nearly
twice as much of the articles or commo-
dities OF the world to buy gold dollar
as it did in 1873. Except those arti-
cles contributed by the trusts. These
tables were published and distributed
by the treasury department, and may
be regarded as reliable.
Thus we see that an increased de-
mand has increased the value of gold.
Now these index figures tell the same
story about silver-only in the converse
order. Taking commodities as the
commodities as the standard price of
silver it has gone down, but not nearly
so much as gold has gone up. Meas
ured by commodities We have gold en-
ormously increased in value and silver
bui slightly diminished. So the sill
yer man who says: eve have a 81
dollar" Is more nearly correct than he
who says: "Silver would give us
50-cent dollar is freely coined" In
this great change from gold and silver
to gold alone, some one has been great
" wronged. Wo it is? First, it is the
producing class. The producer comes
I'D with his commodities. which he Of
fers fer sale-he finds the price down.
The price perhaps, is 10 per cent off
this year from last. He loses SIS on the
hundred on his commodities for they
sell that much less. The capitalist
makes SIS on every hundred dollars in
gold, for it is worth that much more
this year than 1t was last. This goes
on from year to year. After a, few years
there is a great wide margin between
gold and the products Of the country
Next is the manufacturers-he buys
this years materials to put into COM
pleted articles for next years trade,
but when next year comes the raw ma
4 1,,+ -
compelled to sell this years good upon
the margin of next years reduced
prices for raw materials. If this con-
| tinues he is compelled to do a business
on a declining market. His margins
are all gone. His gains are turned to
losses, and bankruptcy and ruin fol-
low. The same is true of the mer-
chant All he does not sell the first
season he is compelled to sell out at q
lower rate than he bought. That is
the reason why he is compelled to have
special sales, and why the ladies can
buy more with 81 than ever they could
before. That thing We call commod-
ity or produCt-what does it represent?
Whether 1t be sheep on the hill side or
cattle on the plains. the coal and iron
brought from the mines and wrought
into articles of usefulness, corn in the
cTlD, wheat IN the DIN, COllOn III lue
bale or in the bolt, whatever form it as
sumes, it is but the result and the ex-
preston of the energy of the strong
right arm Of the American Iaborer.
Thus we find there are not only mil
lions of this class out Of employment
but his burden day by day is increased
to obtain the dollar. But there is still
another class who suffer still more
that is the debtor II is useless to de-
cry the debtor because he went into
debt. This country never could have
been developed except upon the system
Of deferred payments. Look around
you. See what has been done. Would
II ever have been done by the owners
Of capital? They never build useful
buildings-less than ten stories high
they never put their own money into
business and use II themselves. They
loan 10 the active and the brave. To
him who can work, and has the cour-
age 10 risk. Who is the very best Of
the earth. IF disaster comes he loses
all. but the lender gets all One en-
terprising man borrows capital for his
business. To make il a success ne
must have Il on long time. He Dor
rows today on five-years time. Per
haps. at s per cent He expects his
products to pay that interest, and by
his energy and pluck 10 have increased
Il enough by the end Of five years 10
have paid the principal But at the
end OF the five years declining prices
have diminished his ability 10 pay in
gold currency so that il takes perhaps
10 per cent more product 10 pay the
interest than it did when the debt was
created. Instead Of paying s per cent
he is paying Is per cent Next year
his products have decreased maybe in
the same proportion, and instead of
paying Is per cent he is paying Is per
cent. and so on, by the time the debt
isdue he has 10 pay a two dollar" in
staad Of a ..nnA-inllarn TNhi.h h con-