The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-08-13

cause of the inability of the banks to collect their assets, and they still fur ther know that, If the gold standard is to continue indefinitely, they may be compelled to withdraw their deposits in order to pay living expenses,
 Tt is only necessary to note the in- creasing number of failures in order to know that a gold standard Is ruinous to merchants and manufacturers. These buisness men do not make their profits from the people from whom they borrow money, but from the people to whom they sell the goods. If the peo- pie canont buy, retailers cannot sell, and it retailers cannot sell wholesal merchants and manufacturers must so into bankruptcy.
 Those who hold, as a permanent in- Vestment, the stocks of railroads and of other enterprises-1 do not include those who speculate in stocks or use stockholdings as 8 means of obtaining an inside advantage in construction contracts-are injured by gold stand ard. The rising dollar destroys the earning power of these enterprises without reducing their liabilities, and, as dividends cannot be paid until shares and fixed charges have been sat- isfied the stockholders must bear the burden of hard times
 Salaries in business occupations de- pend upon business conditions and the gold standard both lessens the amount and threatens the permanency of such salaries Official salaries except the salaries of those who hold office for life must, in the long run, be adjusted to the conditions of those who pay the taxes and if the present financial policy continues we must expect the contest between the taxpayer and the tax-eater to increase in bitterness.
 The professional classes-in the main-derive, their support from the producing classes and can only enjoy prosperity when there is prosperity among those who create wealth. I have not attempted to describe the effect of the gold standard upon all classes-in fact I have only had time to mention few-but each person will be able to apply the principles stated to his own occupation. It must also be remembered that 1t is the desire of peo- pie generally to convert their earnings into real or personal property. This being true in considering any tempo rary advantage which may come from system under which the dollar rises in its purchasing power, it must not be forgotten that the dollar cannot buy more than formerly, unless property sells for less than formerly. Hence, it will be seen that a large portion of those who may find some pecuniary ad-. vantage in a gold standard will dis cover that their losses exceed their gains.
 It Is sometimes asserted by our op- ponents that a bank belongs to the debtor class, but this Is not true of any solvent bank. Every statement pub lished by a solvent bank shows that the assets exceed the liabilities That is to say, while the bank owes large amount of money to it's depositors it not only has enough on hand in money and notes to pay It's depositors, but, in addition thereto, has enough in the bank to cover its capital and surplus. When the dollar is rising in value slowly bank may, by making short time loans and taking good security avoid losses, but when prices are fall- ing rapidly, the bank is apt to lose more because of bad debts than it can gain by the increase in the purchasing power Of its capital and surplus. It must be admitted, however, that some bankers combine the business of bond broker with the ordinary banking business
 As long as human nature remains as it is there will always be danger that, unless restrained by public opin- ion, those who seek a pecuniary profit for themselves in a certain condition may yield to the temptation Jefferson has stated that one of the main duties of government is to prevent men from injuring one another, and never was that duty more important than to-day It is not strange that those who have made a profit by furnishing gold to the government in the hour of its extrem- ity favor financial policy which will keep the government dependent upon them. believe. however that I speak the sentiment of the vast majority of the people when I say that wise financial policy administered in behalf of the people would make our govern ment independent of any combination of financiers, foreign or domestic. Let me say word now in regard to certain persons who are pecuniarily benefited by gold standard and who favor it. not from a desire to trespass upon the rights of others, but because the circumstances which surround them blind them to the effect of the gold standard upon others. I shall ask you to consider the language of two gentle men whose long public service and high standing in the party to which they be- long will protect them from adverse criticism by our opponents. In 1879 Senator Sherman said:
 The contraction of the currency is a far more distressing operation than senators suppose. Our own and other nations have gone through that opera ton before. It is not possible to take that voyage without the sorest distress To every person, except capitalist out of debt or a salaried officer or annui- tant, it is a period of loss, danger las situde of trade, fall of wages, suspen- sion of enterprise, bankruptcy and dis aster. It means ruin to all dealers
 whose debts are twice their business capacity, though one-third less than their actual property It means the fall of all agricultural productions
 without any great reduction of taxes. What prudent man would dare to build a house, a railroad, factory or barn
 with this certain fact before him.?
 '.As I have said the salaried officer referred to must be the man whose sai-