The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-04-16

prosperous and happy in that country.
The Mexican dollar contains 377.17
grains of pure silver or nearly six
grains more than is contained in our
dollar, and yet, not being sustained by
a monetary system which keeps IL at
parity with gold. IL is worth only
about SO cents in our money. Wages
are paid In silver and are very low in
comparison with the wages paid in this
country for the same services.
You have doubtless observed recent
ly what appears to be quite a formid-
able demonstration in favor of the
free coinage OF silver by certain large
manufacturing interests in the eastern
part OF the country on the ground that
IL we continue to maintain our pres
ent standard of value the silver stand
ard countries especially India, China
and Japan. will soon be able TO under
sell them in the markets of the world
Reduced to its simplest form, the prop
osition of these gentlemen is that the
manufacturers of certain kinds of
goods in this country cannot continue
to pay their laborers high wages In
gold, or its equivalent. and compete
successfully in the markets abroad
with the manufacturers of similar
goods In silver standard countries who
pay their laborers low wages in depre-
c!ated silver. and. therefore, they in
sist that a monetary system shall be
adopted here which will give them the
advantage of paying for their labor in
deprecated silver.
The theory is that with free coinage
of legal tender silver, the wages of la
Dor in this country would be paid i'm
silver dollars worth about half as much
as gold dollars, but products of labor,
which would belong to the employer,
would be sold for gold in the markets
oil hta.
could be exchanged for silver at about
the rate of one dollar in gold for two
dollars in silver; and thus the process
would go on, the employer getting gold
of full value and the laborer getting
deprecated silver, which, I'm the opin-
ion OF these gentlemen. would be a most
happy solution of this question. IL the
interests OF labor are to be left entirely
out OF the consideration. and IL IL were
reasonably certain that n sudden revo-
luton I'm our monetary system would at
once arrive, the progress of all our in
dustries and produce almost universal
bankruptcy, this scheme to make the
employer very rich and the laborer
very poor might be worthy of serious
consideration, but the American labor
er has a right to demand pay for his
work in as good money as the employer
receives for his products in any part OF
the world, and when he surrenders this
request he is doomed to the same fate
that has already overtalSen his broth
ers in the silver standard countries.
The speaker then went on to show that
81, SIC. .597 900, now held In savings banks
in the United States. most of 1t deposit
ed by laboring people. as well as the
hundreds of millions deposited I'm others
banks, building associations and other
institutions, and the billions represent
ed by life insurance policies. would
shrink to half by the adoption OF free
coinage of silver. LESS than three
years ago you saw our financial, COM
mercial and Industrial affairs violently
disturbed by the fear that the govern
ment would not be able to maintain
gold payments and that our currency
would descend to a silver basis. III a
mere doubt as TO the kind of money we
to use produced these distress
ing results, what think you would be
the probable consequences of a deliber-
ate determination upon the part of our
people to adopt silver monometalllsm
as a permanent system? The imagina-
ton can scarcely conceive the deplora-
BILE state OF society that would imme-
diately follow the announcement of
such policy, and 1 will not attempt to
describe IL %