Semi-weekly register. (Brookings, Brookings Co., S.D.) 1894-1898, 1896-08-26

money In MS pOckeC VIII Dc as ValuaDle tO-
morrow as 1t is today, he will decline to
exchange his commodity against 1t, and
this Populist agitation threatening the in
tegrity of money has been the cause of the
hard times through which this country 5
passing and from which it will not escaL
until the heel of popular condemnation IS
placed upon the Populist agitation which
undermines the foundation of credit
Basis Of Trade Is Sound Money.
If, then, Mr.. Bryan Is going to enrich
somebody, the thing which he means to
bestow on him he must take from some
body else Who Is to be despoiled and who
Is to be enriched by the exercise of this
new scheme Of government
My friends, the silver mine owner will
get cheated with the rest If ever the Pop
ulist has his way, nobody will be benefit
ed, not even Mr.. Bryan. will venture to
say here now that If the face Of Providence
should be averted from this land and such
calamity as Mr.. Bryan's election were
permitted by it, the man who would suffer
most by that event would be the false
prophet, who, having torn down the tenn
pie Of credit and Of industry, would be
torn to pieces by an outraged public whose
prosperity he had ruined, Let us follow
this argument little. Let us see what he
means to do, according to his own lights
We see that he can't enrich one man
without impoverishing another. Govern
ment never can be generous, because IL it
be generous to one : must be oppressive to
another. Mr.. Bryan does not pretend that
by any power given him from heaven he
can find anything on the surface of this
earth that has not got an owner, and, there
fore, he can't honestly bestow it upon a
favorite.
But his financial scheme contemplates
an increase In the price Of certain COM
modities. do not think that anything
Mr. Bryan can do with reference to gold
will ever affect 1t.
A Cutting Down of Wages.
But, my friends, we are coming now
pretty close to the wood pile behind which
the African is concealed. Mr.. Bryan pro-
poses to increase the price of commodities.
If he means anything, he means that, and
am not quite sure that he means any
thing.
Now, IL everything In this world or In
this country, including labor, be increased
in value tomorrow, in like proportion, not
one of us would be affected at all If that
was Mr.. Bryan's scheme, he would never
have Populist nomination to give him
importance in the eyes Of this community
If that were all that he meant, he would
not be supporting 1t, and ! would not be
taking the trouble to oppose 1t.
If everything In the world be increased
10 per cent In value, why, we would pay 10
per cent in addition for what we would
buy and get 10 per cent n.ore for what we
would sell, and we would be exactly in the
same place we occupied before. Therefore
it is fair to assume that is not the lame and
impotent conclusion which this Populist
revolution contemplates. What, then, is it9
1t is an increase in the price of COM
modities and allowing of labor TO shift for
itself. If the price of commodities be in
creased and the price of labor be left sta
tionary, why, that means a cutting down
of the rate of wages, II, instead of a dol
lar which consists Of given quantity of
gold equal to 100 cents anywhere in the
world, with the purchasing power of 100
cents, the laborer Is to. be paid in dollars
worth so cents each, why, he can only buy
half as much with a days wages as he
buys now.
A Test Question for Mr. Bryan.
III UuS ttluc VI UilS Iopulibp UAOu
Is to be tested, let the lEboring men Of this
country ask Mr., Bryan and his Populist
friends simple, common, everyday ques-
ton, "Where do / come in?''
Mr. Bryan himself has giimmering
idea of where the laborer will come In, or
rather of where he will 60 out. There is
one paragraph IN his speech which, wheth-
er 1t was the resultTof an unconscious
stumbling into candor or whether 1t was
contribution made In the stress of logical
discussion l am utterly unable to say.
But 1t shakes flood of light upon the
whole purpose underlying this Populist
agitation. Wage earners, MIR. Bryan says,
know that while gold standard raises the
purchasing power of the dollar, 1t also
make it more difficult to obtain possession
of the dollar. They know that employ
ment Is less permanent, loss Of work more
probable and re-employm9nt less certain.
II that means anything, 1t means that a
cheap dollar would give him more employ
ment, more frequent employment, more
work and chance to get unemployment
after he was discharged. Well, now, II
that means anything in the world to a sane
man, 1t means that II the laborer Is willing
TO have his wages cut down he will get
more work.
High Wages and Prosperity Go Together,
There never was the boss Of an estab.
| lishment yet that meant to make a cut in
wages that did not say that. have never
yet heard Of anybody who attempted to cut
down the rate of wages telling his men
| that he did 1t because he liked to do 1t.
| They would tell their men, "If you do not
stand such a cut In wages, cannot en-
| ploy you more than half the time"
And that Is what Mr.. Bryan proposes
| for the laboring masses Of this community
that they take dollar of less purchasing
mower 60 that emnlnymenh will BECOME