The climax. [volume] (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1887-1897, 1896-10-28
AN ADDRESS
TO WORKINGMEN.
Shall We Have More Money and
Increased Prosperity, Or-LesS
Money AID Harder Times.
THE GREAT QUESTION.
Present Suffering the Result of Causes
Wholly Artificial, Which Can
Easily Be Removed.

Federation of Labor, Urges Working
men to Vote for Bryan and Free
Coinage the Best and Only
Means for bringing Pros
perity to the Country
Once More.
LleTA-the Workingmen If the United
EN- 10 the rate of thei:ls days now
, tnfore you Will be called upon t'oeSe!N
else the sovereign power granted you
by our constitution-the right of suf-
terage.
Before casting your ballots permit
Inc, as one of your number, to make
few pertinent suggestions.
The one great fact that stares US all in
the face is that of the wretched and
beart-broken condition of millions of
our fellow-workmen.
How can the awful suffering of our
people be alleyiated is, know, your
greatest concern.
Reflect, then, for moment and rea-
son with yourselves as to whether the
distressing condition prevailing are the
result of natural or artificial causes.
\ natural cause would be the failure
OF our soil to yield sufficient food tc
sustain our people. Famine would re-
suit and financial panic would be q
natural consequence.
An artificial cause would be the fail.
uIe upon the part of the people, in the
event of bounteous harvests, to get the
grain from the granaries.
Now, to obtain our food supplies,
what does modern civilization require
from us? The medium of exchange
money.
Therefore, you are directly concerned
as to the volume of money in circula-
tion, for upon that depends the oppOr-
'tunity of exchanging your labor for the
necessaries and comforts of life.
If the quantity of money be limited
as it is in China to say one or two dol
lars per capita, very low state of civili-
zation prevails and human beings are
practically transformed into animals
for the benefit of individuals called
mandarines or roblemen. If the guam
| tity be greater, as in Mexico, or Spain,
| or Italy, or Portugal, higher state of
! civilization prevails and the people are
! in a much better condition than the
! Chinese. If, as in France, a $40 per
| capita prevails, we reach high grade
| OF civilization and find that nearly 40
600 600 of human beings can exist COM
| fortably within that small area of ter
| ,ritury.
Therefore, III my Judgment, whether
in this land of fertility our per capita
| of money be one dollar or $40 directly
concerns our welfare and determines
whether we are TO be free men or slaves.
/ The following resolution of the Penn
sylrania republican convention of 1895
is in point here:
1--WE, the republicans OF Pennsylvania
! in convention assembled, repeat for the
regulation and government of the national
currency the following principles OF
| finance, which were announced to US al
our last state convention, and which since
| then have received the overwhelming ap-
prevail of our citizens:
! 1--WE favor the expansion of the circu-
| latirg medium of the country until the
same shall amount to $40 per capita of ouI
| population"
The farmers also, through their Ma
manded q circulating medium Of $50
per capita. to keep pace with our re
quirements.
II our soil yields us sufficient for oul
needs, and representing that need i:
small volume of money, panic is the
result and distress is general.
This is an artificial panic, AMI the
81. ia nf afTa r.
are the few who become noblemen OF
masters, and the sufferers are the
many who, through long continuation
of such a system, become slaves.
Now, let me call your attention t.
some figures.
The volume of gold and silver in th'
world is estimated at $1,000, 100000
about equally divided between the TIVE
metals.
If, as the gold men fear, Americ;
shall be deluged by flood of silver, le
us see what that flood would amount t.
in the event of the fulfillment of thei
prophecy.
If the entire worlds stock of silver
dollars $4,000 ,O0O) were exchange,
for american labor and products, how
much would we get? Fifty dollars pc
capita. or a mere tri1e more than tn
volume of money France employs TO
day--a country possessing about one
tenth of our area.
just think of i'll To accomplish sucl
result we must deplete the treasure
of every country upon the face of tn
globe! France must yield to US one
half of its specie wealth and contrac
its volume of money CORRESPONDENCE
Mexico, China and India must surren
der their all, and thereafter do bushes
upon some other basis than q speci
: one.
Yet, this is the dire prediction of tn
; gold standard advocates in the even
of the United States adopting b
metallism.
Do you believe such result woul
follow, our return to bimetallic pol
cy? And. if you do. would you not b
quick TO vote for a financial policy tina
would practically give to us one-hal
! the specie wealth of the world7
Let us examine into our stock {
gold There are no available proof
that T,e possess gold stock of $3.50,
, oUo, 900. or five dollars per capita. But
for argument sake, I will admit of sucl
a stock on hand.
If, is the bankers of the countr,
lemani, we destroy our greenback
and tr sasury notes, and If. as Secretar.
Cariisls says. silver dollars are redeem
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