The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1896-08-26

more an increase OF wealth than the
issue by an individual Of his promis-
sorry note would show an increase of
his property. (Applause.) As mat
ter of fact, an increase in the coinage
is no proof of an increase i'm property,
but may be a strong proof of a decrease
in wealth. Let US take, for instance,
this watch case. That is worth its bull
lion value plus the labor that has been
expended upon it. II, now, / melt
that down into a ten dollar gold piece,
it is worth nothing but its bullion val
ue. Here then has been an increase in
the quantity of money, but decrease
in the volume of national wealth. i
could not buy a watch case with the
coin which would be coined out Of this
unless / added something TO il, and
the pretense that men can be enriched
by swelling the volume of currency is
the oldest delusiOn which has affected
mankind since the very beginning of
civilization. (Applause.l
Continuing these illustrations at
some length Mr.. Cochran continued:
Money never can circulate freely and
actively unless there be absolute con-
fidence in its value. (Applause.) Ifa
man doubts whether the money in his
pocket will be as valuable tomorrow
as it is to-day, he will decline to ex-
change his commodity against it, and
this Populist agitation threatening the
integrity of money has been the cause
of the hard times through which the
country is passing and from which it
will not escape until the heel of popu-
lar condemnation is placed upon the
Populist agitation which undermines
the foundations of credit. applause }
The basis of sound trade is sound
money (applause); money which is in
trinsically valuable, money which,
like the gold coinage of this country,
the government can not affect if it
tried to. (Applause) | can take $40
gold piece and | can defy all the power
of all the governments of all this earth
to take five cents of value from it.
(Applause.) Having earned it by the
sweat of my brow, having earned it by
the exercise of my brain, having earn
ed it by the exchange of my cOmmo-
dities, / can go to the uttermost ends
of the earth, and wherever present it
its value will be unquestioned and I'M
challeged. (Applause.) That gold
dollar, this meeting and the Democrat
ic party, the honest masses of this
country without distinction of party
divisions, demand shall be paid to the
laborer when he earns it and that no
power on earth shall cheat him out of
the sweat of his brow. applause.
Now let us see how Mr.. Bryan pro-
poses to deal with this question. /
have looked through his speech to find
out Just what he thinks he is going to
do for the laboring man, and / find
that he dismisses him with very few
and some very unsatisfactory phrases.
But it is perfectly clear that the purpose
of the Populist is to put up the prices
of certain commodities. Mr.. Bryan's
language is that he is going to improve
the conditions of the people of this
country, not all of them, but of the
greatest number. Well, now, l don't
suppose Mr.. Bryan pretends TO any
miraculous power. don't suppose he
claims he can multiply the number of
chairs upon this platform or upon this
| floor, although he has shown his ca
pacity to empty them. daughter. }
If he is going to work any change in
the conditions of men he must increase
the material possessions of some part
of the community.
ONLY LABOR CAN CREATE WEALTH.
1t requires the labor of man and the
labor of man alone to create wealth.
If, then, Mr.. Bryan is going TO enrich
somebody, the thing which he means
to bestow on him he must take from
somebody else. Who is to be despoil-
ed, and who is to be enriched by the
exercise of this new scheme of govern
ment? (Cry of ''silver mine owners
NV friends, the silver mine owner will
get cheated with the rest. Laughter J
If ever the Populist has his way no
body will he benefited, not even Mr..
Bryan. (Laughter.l l will venture
to say here that if the face of Provi-
dence should be averted from this
land, and such a calamity as Mr.. Bry-
ans election were permitted by it, the
man who would suffer most by that
event would be the false prophet who,
having torn down the temple Of credit
and of industry, would be torn to
pieces by an outraged public, whose
prosperity he had ruined. Let us fol-
low this argument little. Let US see
what he means to do, according to his
own light.
We see that he can't enrich one man
without impoverishing another. This
can not be generous, because if it be
generous to one it must be oppressive
to another. (Applause.) 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
eontemplates an increase in the price
of certain commodities. Cry of ''ex.
eept gold" don't think that any
thing any gentleman or Mr.. Bryan
can do will affect gold. Laughter
and applause But, my friends, we
are coming now pretty close to the
woodpile behind which the African is
concealed. Mr.. Bryan proposes to in
crease the price of commodities Ii ht
means anything, he means that, and
( am not quite sure that he means any
{ thing. If the price of commodities b
| increased and the price of labor be lef
stationary, why, that means a cutting
! down of the rate of wages. II, instead
of dollar which consists of giveI
, quantity of gold, equal TO 100 cent
, anywhere in the world, with the pur
chasing power of 100 cents, the lahore
! is to be paid in dollars worth so cent
/ each, why he can only buy half a
: much with days wages as he buy
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