The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-05-16

I a day. I had a little cottage, a good home
/ out here in the suburbs, where Nora and
/ the Babies were happy, and saved SO
/ week ont Of my wages over "a living and
/ paid it on our home. Now I am getting
/ So cents a day as a section hand on the
same road. If you will tell me how can
save SO q week Oh IS cents day ia give
you she floor
Unorganized labor has declined SO per
cent, and tens of thousands are uneaploy-
ed and are getting nothing. This makes
tramps; It makes fallen hopass it makes
discouraged manhood; it makes less of
good citizenship in this country. Add to-
gether the mum Der of vvsrknen organized,
unorgani8ed and unemployed and get
your sum total: then divide it into the
wages they receive, and you have as net
result the gold standard, measured with
even exaetness into the bone. flesh and
blood Of the laboring classes Of the United
States. If dear money is good for labOrers,
then make it dearer and scarcer, till there
is none left to move the wheels of COM
merce.
The Eject on farmers.
They say, Admitting lower prices,
farmers can buy everything as cheap as
they have co sell their property fer so
who's hurt2''
The answer is this: You sell your wheat
the farmers the merchants depend on for
trade sell their wheat for SO cents 1t is
Gus DA1by can 90 anu Dut CALICO anu COuUOu
goods and many other things proportion
stely as cheap as they sell their property.
ManufactOrios are being broken up all
over the country by reason of these falling
prices. Less labor is employed for the con
sumption of those products as result of
it, but still they can go and buy calico
and cotton goods, it is true, but here is
what they cannot do; They can't 90 and
pay their taxes with the same number Of
bushels of wheat that they did in 1873. Tt
takes from two 60 three times as much of
their wheat and other products. They can't
60 and buy anything that is being held up
by a trust or anything that is working un-
naturally against the conditions that arc
breaking down the fabric Of the repu Bile.
They can e buy any Of those.
Arbuckls's trust On coffee viii hold up
coffee. You get on a Pullman car and you
pay as much as you Gid in 1873 You pay
as much on a street car. You pay as much
salary to the county, state and national
officials, and when say you pay as much,
I mean you pay as much in dollars; you
pay twice much in property - your
property and in many instances you pay
much more than that.
How Debtors Are Affected.
Nor can you pay your debts. Take the
debt which a few years ago /, 600 bushels
of wheat or about that would have paid.
It now takes 2, 600 bushels of wheat to pay
that debt. The load of a debtor is hard
enough to bear without increasing his bur
den. When you make a debt, you are
counting it IN dollars. You are counting
on selling your property for dollars to pay
it with. The debt calls for dollars. You
did not count on falling prices except by
honest means, nor on having that by
which you measure your property rise in
an ever increasing scale, as it has done
since 1873. What has been the result?
Men ran out. Of money and went in
debt They contracted debts they never
would have contracted if it had not been
for selling their property at lower prices.
From about So, 000 900, 600, the people of
this country were in debt in 1873, it has
grown to about $40, 600 OOO 600, and it
now is affecting millions of people Of the
country and the property with which they
are to pay it in declining in price all tho
time. How are they going to pay it? 1t
means annually an interest Of over 81, OO0,
coo, OOO
The present financial system, based on
enhancing gold, has forced a majority of
the people in debt and the machinery of
the law made for the collection of debts is
eonhscating the property of the people 1t
is transferring the property of the people
into the hands of the few as effeotually as
the feudal laws of Europe transferred all
the lands into the hands Of the few.
Disturbing Confidence.
They say we are agitators and disturb
confidence and are injuring business. !
That is an argument that has been made
by every selfish despetism in the world
Ostracism and an attempt to suppress free
speech by means of ostracism should never
find sympathy in a republican form of
government Tt is not republican; it is
intended TO drown the voice Of the peo-
plei it is not the argument of honest men. I
An attempt TO suppress free speech is (
treason in a republic. They say it hurts
TO Of
mental principles Of the republic founded /
by Washington and Jefferson. They are
charlatans who do this They are the
Malays Of commerce, who ridicule the men (
they have made poor. If their monetary
system were practical it would need no I
such defense. 1t would defend itself.
The silver Bullion Owners
They say the free coinage of silver is in (
the interest of the silver bullion owners. /
Ask them, If this is true, in whose inter /
ests is the free coinage Of gold? We now /
have the free coinage Of gold. Have you 4
heard any one say this was in the interest I
Of the gold bullion ownersP Money is not (
local Its use is demanded by civilization I
The question to decide is, Out Of what do /
we want so make our primary money? /
And when that question is settled it is /
fixed for the benefit OF all our citizens, and /
without reference to those who may dig it /
out OF the ground. It is fixed, or should I
be fixed, fer the good of civilization.
Independent Action
They say we cannot go it alone.
Do you want to 60 it alone on gold any /
longer? There is nothing to fear by the re-
mone5ization OF silver. When a great gov
eminent like the United States throws its /
mints open to silver and says to the world,
We have esta blIshed bimetaIlism, and
any one can bring 3711l grains Of silver or
%. % grains of gold to our minis and coin
them respectively into dollars then no 1
one is going to take less than a dollar for
that quantity OF silver. Neither VIII tho
foreigner part with his silver for less than