The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-10-08

sim III taneously copOurrentiy and indis-
crlminately in any country, where there
are banks 0r money dealers. Ihey en-
1ertalned the oonvictl0ns that the nearest
approach to tine invariable standard is
lts establishment In one metal which
shall compose exclusively .the currency
"The committees did not mean gold /;
IL meant silver as the next page dis
closed. Nor did the oommittee's bill
which made silver the standard pass.
Ihe House after a full discussion sub.
for 10 to ! which as silver at its then
price was under valued. made the
standard gold. The senate oonouIred
with the House and the bill passed with
a silver dollar worth 81. 03, while the gold
multiples OF the dollar were at the rate
OF a hundred cents per dollar, ratio
which made gold the standard and BAN
1shed silver from the country.
Before that time at the ratio of 15 to
| silver had been the standard. Who do
you suppose were the men who made this
change from silver to gold standard
| The vote was in both houses more than
three to one, five to one think. SIN
Rularly enough that list of votes in
House, will be found to contain a rare
United States, franklin Pierce, Jas. z.
Polk and John Quincy Adams of Massa-
chusetts.
''Do you wonder what the fathers of
| that year 1884, in whose number was in
oluded not only Daniel Webster and John
Quincy Adams but Thomas II. Benton,
Franklin Pierce, JAS K. Polk and An
drew jackson would have said could
they have dreamed that their 81 stem would
be adjudged a foreign monetary sys-
tenn by candidate of a Democratic
convention which hurrahs for jackson
and despises his work? Bimetallism
then was not the issue.
II put aside all this talk about the
rise of the value of silver under free
coinage to meet the value Of gold and
the harmony that would come of the
marriage. There Is absolutely no foun-
dation for that faith in either history OF
experience. The statement of the com
mittee Of 1884 remains uncontradtoted
by anything in those SO years of human
history and experience. Remember this
does not touch the question whether
the whole world could circulate gold and
silver together at ratio agreed upon
by all, for that the world has never yet
tried.
"It ought to be added to this, that
the production Of silver has SO increased
in late years, that the problem Is even
more dificult than it ever was before. 1t
seems then, very clear, that II we coin
silver 16 to when it's market value is
so to we should certainly 60 to a silver
STANDARD and that standard will he below
our present one. Suppose we admit that
the Increased use of silver will raise it's
price. Even then no man In his senses
would dare to think 1t would br idge the
chasm. If the coinage of $50, 600, 600,
whore there was none before, lowered the
price, what right have we to think the
increased manufacture of silver would
not lower it's price instead of raising itp
"The demand was suddenly lifted
! 50, 00o, 600 month In 1877 and 4, 500. 600
ounces in 1890. yet the supply overlook
and passed the demand. We may safely
argue this question upon the fact that
what the Chicago convention and its fol-
| lowers ask us to do, is to leave the gold
standard, not for a double standard, but
for another single standard and that a
lower one.
"Cor..rate cooperation has been born
into the world and unires poor and rich
| into one chain Of destiny from which
there ID no separation.
anoe institutions, born of the most holy
desire which can possess the soul, a de-
sire to provide for continued happiness
of those he loves after he moulders in the
grave. Eight millions and half of men
are insured in 35 companies. Nearly
Q, 900, 900 more are insured in small bene-
f1t associations.
"This beautiful business of reducing
debts one half will here strike ten mil
lions Of men. Worse than that, in time
it will strike thirty millions of women
and children. Nor Is this all. 1t Ia not
the north and east that will be injured
alone. The south and west have 50, 50O,-
600 Of life Insurance. the north and east
have 50, 300, 900. This disaster would
we'll aware that these are corporations,
but they are mutual one and made up
of nothing but human beings. They
may not have souls but the policy hold
ers have. So also have they votes.
Fire insurance policies also must
suffer. This time also it Is not the rich
corporations, but the insured. If your
house doubles in dollar price. the insnr
ance will keep stationary. A house worth
1000 gold dollars will be marked 1000 in
silver, but the policy will stay at two.
You must have another policy. which
will pay half the prine for that half price
ID added to the whole price already paid.
will not comment on the savings
banks. They are so clearly open to plain
view of everybody. What others pay
tnem they pay oepOs1t0rs. They are only
trustees and are only responsible for
what they get. If you, depositor, help
pass law which gives them only so per
cent, sthat same law will give you the
same so per cent and no more. 1t, is not
necessary to pose as friend of the wage
Garner in order to point out to him what
this means for him. 1t means lower
wages nothing less than that. From 1851
to 1855 gold was at premium. During
these four years the average price Of COM
modities rose 1872 per oenu, while wages
rose only 4S per cent, about one-third of
the rise of commodities.
1.-The purchasing power of labor went
down 36 per cont. OF course wages final
ly reached par and meantime wages and
wage esrpers suffered loss never re-
paired. Such has been the experience of
all time. Today's labor has already
perished when tomorrow comes. A days
labor must be sold where it Is. Commo-
dfties can be sold anywhere. When
reason and fact oorroborate each other,
truth is found.
"Now contend that the whole world
suffers when wage earners and salary
earners suffer, and suffer more than
when all other classes are afflicted. The
great motive power, the engine which
moves tho whole productive power of