Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-09-21
A RAILROADER
Replies to Some of the Alleged Arguments
ola Gold Bug, Anti-Labor Union Haii
rnnd Pnnnr.


road Paper.
To the Editor of the Register.
McMECHEN. W. Va, September Ill
have lately been reading pamphlet en-
titled straight Talks to Railway EN-
ploves and Other Wage Farmers by the
Railway Age. A few of the arguments to
be found in the same l will endeavor to
answer.
In talk No. . the Age purports TO an
swer some enquiries from railway en-
ploye. and says:
our correspondent asks for the 'rea-
sons and premises on which the general
conclusions in our article of last week
were based. The general conclusions were
stated as follows:
The exhaustion of gold; the immedi-
ate arrival at purely silver basis; the
total Withholding of all outside investment
from this country; the universal default
of every American commercial institution
on all interest or other obligations payable
abroad: the entire severance of CONNER
mercial relations with other countries, eX-
cept in so far as we were still willing 10
sell them our goods for silver at our terms
and pay other countries for their goods at
their terms-all these things are as GER
tain and as demonstrable as Is the GraVl-
tation of a stone toward the ground IL
dropped from the top of the Washington
monument 1t is not necessary TO go ana
drop the stone to see If 1t will so down.
ward.
You will notice it gives the exhaustion
of gold" as the first argument against
free coinage. and says: Now, silver IS
a commodity as well as when coined
medium of exchange. 1t is quoted ana
can be bought on the various markets OF
the world
Can the Age mean that gold is not also
a commodity? and does not his partic-
ular journal know that gold is a COM
modify and was inferior to silver at the
present ratio during the years of our gov
eminent II to 81 inclusive. or to make it
palmer. from 1872 TO 1873? We do not deny
that vicious legislation has deprived sill
yer of nearly half its value and the citi-
zens of the world in general. and the
United States in particular. of nearly, or
quite. one-half of their wealth. or to state
the same thing in another way it has en-
that II takes double the amount OF our
products to purchase the same amount
of money. and as wealth is measured in
money and consists of our products, 1t
has curtailed the purchasing power OF our
wealth one-half. By way of Illustration
the following problems are presented: If
the debt of the United States in 1866 was
So 773. 236, 1859, and wheat sold for Sl.4S per
bushel. how much wheat measured in
bushels would it take to liquidate this
debt? Ans. 1873. COZ bushels.
3. The debt of the United States in 1893
was 81 .549. 55G. $3.50. wheat being worth
79S cents per bushel. what number of
bushels would il take to pay the national
debt? Ans. 1911 100000.
3. 1874 100000 minus 1S73.20O0o0 equals
GS 100000 Now. it will take 6S6o0,oO0 bush
els of wheat more than in 1866 to pay our
national debt which has been reduced over
two-ffths of the whole.
It seems to a "'possum up a gum stump
that if there is danger of exhausting the
gold at the ratio of i6 to l with free coin
age. there Is also danger of eXhausting
our products, to say the least. eXhausting
their purchasing power, but. at the same
ratio that had existed prior to 1873, and in
a greater ratio since there is not much
danger of exhausting the public debt, If
measured in our products.
1t goes on to explain that London cap
italsts will trade their silver to us at par
with gold. take this same gold and buy
our silver at a ratio of 81 to l. trade us the
silver again at par, and so on until they
get tired of bleeding us! oh! what pity
a man with such an intellect should waste
his time editing a paper in the interest of
sound CD money, when under a system of
free coinage in the United States he could
move to London, engage in business among
the dummies i'm Lombard street. whom,
# appears. have not as yet studied out
the advantages of free coinage in the
United States, judging from their attitude
on the question. and leave the erecord of
jay Could. Commodore Vanderbilt and a
few others so far in the shade that his
name would go laundering CD down
through the coming ages like unto a can
non ball through a board fence.
withholding Of all outside investments
from us
I notice. if statistics are correct. that
foreign capital was not withheld TO any
great extent previous to 1873 even in bonds
"pavable in lawful money of the United
States" even including the greenback,
worth about 81 or 80 cents measured in gold
and silver.
"The universal default of every Ameri-
can institution on all interests or other
obligations payable abroad" 1t then goes
on to state: This might not matter if
the United States did business inside a
Chinese wall"
HOW long since the same papers that
are now talking so much about Chinese
wall. were claiming that this United
States could do without a foreign trade
at all. and advocated Chinese wall Of
protection?
our obligations ara payable in gold, and
we are I'm honor bound to see that they are
so paid" 1t is true. most of the bonds
held in Europe are payable in gold. that is,
corporation bonds. but not so with ma
tional bonds. and there are enough bonds
held in England that are payable in coin
10 force the issue in England. Why and
how? some will ask Simply because of
the enormous amount OF bonds, of this
nature held in England alone. that when
payment is rendered in coin. such howl
will 20 up from the classes of money lend
ers in England that Parliament will re-
monetize silver in less than six months
after the first payment is rendered. Why?
YOU ask. In sef-defense, to assist in
bringing this same silver, to which they
are now so opposed. to a parity with gold
TO insure themselves against loss.
But TO go back little
a. THE entire severance Of commercial
IT,. Nth otbar countries exceDt in