Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1896-05-22
Tho Act Of 1879.

/
But" they say, 'by the Bland-Al,ison
act OF 1873. silver is now full legal tender
| money"
The answer is this: BY that act silver wa 6
made legal tender only in the sense tina
greenbacks are full legal tender. 1t was
lett crippled by limited coinage Free
| coinage was not given to 1t, as enjoyed by
gold. None Of those rights were conferred
on II enjoyed by gold and that are necessary
| under true bimetallism to restore pa ritv
In commercial value between the two
metals. Nor was full legal tender given to
/ 1t. "A clause was inserted:
UNLESS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN THE
CONTRACT"
! This gave the money power n n onnort,,n,+,,
! 10 continue their war on silver. The coun-
try was flooded with notes for you to sign
payable In gold, and when the law thus con-
terred the option on the creditor as to
which metal he would demand another law
IN Dlmetallism was violated. Where before
1873 the debtor had the option gave It to
lhe WEAKER metal, II either was and thus
maintained the commercial parity the
Bland-Allison act gave the option to the
creditor. who would always demand the
dearer metal, and the dearer it became the
more apt he would be to demand it. IN
stead OF the government debating what
was money. by this act, the creditor was
allowed to dictate, and since then the
money lenders have bound this country
and It's people up in billions of dollars worth
OF bonds. notes and mortgages, payable in
gold. The debtor. as a rule, has no option
when ne goes to sign note for borrowed
money: At such time, money is such a
necessity to him, that he is putty in the
hands OF the money lender,
Nor does he, as rule, know that he Is
assisting In piling the demand on gold
and further increasing it's value. He is
hopeful and expects the tomorrow to take
care OF Itself When he goes to pay the
debt. he linda that dollars have risen and
that prices have fallen, and that he has
to give up more of his property than ever
In exchange for gold, or it's equivalent
Improved Facilities.
They say improved facilities ana not
ocnonetizatton is responsible for low
prices
The answer to that is this: From 1850 to
1873 was period OF great Improvement in
Inventions and improved facilities, greater
by far than for the same period either he
fore or since, and yet in the face of i'm.
proved facilities. prices advanced. II i'm
proved facilities have lowered prices since
1913, why did they not do it before 1873?
Cost OF production Is not what makes
prices.
What makes prices is this: 1t is tho
relative quantity of the two, money and
property, and the demand for each.
The Quantity of Money.
They say we have as much money now
Per capita as In 1879. The answer is this: 1t
Is true we have in gold and all forms of
credit money as much per capita as we had
In 1873. But over two-thirds of this money
IS credit money, and less than one-third
topheavy. 1t shakes confidence in it all
Primary money fixes the sea level OF prices.
and will support only On equal quantity
CT creolt money; any greater issue of credit
money does not help the situation but on
the contrary. it is harmful. We have less
tnan one-haif as much primary money
now as we had per capita In 1873.
Ne have only half as much sound money
now rs In 1873. When YOU consider
the money boarded up in bank vaults
not to go again in circulation. except in the
form OF loans, which Is hurtful there is not
TO exceed five dollars per capita in circula-
ton to-day in the United States. 1t Is not
money to loan that gives healthy tone to
business; 1t Is money-seeking inyestmen
-purchases-that benefits tNade.
Fast of producing Silver.
They say 1t costs less to produce silver
now then formerly, and that makes 1t
cheaper When man makes that state
1t not also cost equally less to prsduce gold?
Wagss snd Mage Farmers.
They say wages have not declined.
Store clerks in the city of Chicago in 1873
got $l2 week, about an average of that,
They are now getting on an average about
six dollars week,
Cnorganized labor has fallen proportion
ately. 1t is only organized labor that has
held up prices. and 1t has done that in two
ways: One is, that organized labor is
among the frst-class mechanics where eS-
perts are required. and the supply of that
kind of workmen is limited. But organized
labor holds itself up by reason of its unions
TNl,aH,c to n <o,
as brotherhood of men fighting in a COM
mon cause: And yet in spite OF their or
ganization, labor has had wages partially
reduced. The best answer l have heard to
that was by an Irishman in Chicago re-
Gently. A gold standard man was expattat-
ine on the purchasing power of gold, and
saying that wages had not declined The
1rishman. after listening to him awhile,
said: Mister in 1878 was q section hand
on the railroad, and I got s.. a day had
little cottage, good home out here in
the suburbs, where Nora and the babies
were happy, and l saved nine dollars a
week out of my wages over living. and
paid 1t on our home. Now am getting SIS
cents day as section hand on the same
road. If you will tell me how can save
nine dollars week on S. cents a day, I'll
give you the floor"
UnorganiZed labor has declined 20 ner
cent; and tens of thousands are unem-
ploycd and are getting nothing. This makes
tramps; II makes fallen hopes: 1t makes a
discouraged manhood; 1t makes less Of
good citizenship in this country. Add,
together. tne number of workmen organ
lied, unorganized and unemployed and get
your sum total, then divide 1t into the
wages they receive, and you have as net
result the gold standard. measured with
even eXactness into the bone. flesh and
blood of the lahoring classes of the United
states. # dear money is good for laborers.
then make it dearer and scarcer. till there
Is none left to move the wheels Of COM
mefce.
The Effect on Farmers.
They say; Admitting lower prices,
farmers can buy everything as cheap as
they have to sell their property for, SO
who's hurt?"
The answer is this: You sell your wheat
the farmers the merchants depend on for
trade. sell their wheat for 90 cents 1t Ia
true they can go and buy calico and cotton
goods and many other things proportions
ately as cheap as they sell their property.
Manufacturers are being broken up all
over the country by reason Of these falling
prices; less labor Is employed for the con-
sumption of those products as result Of
IT, but still. they can go and buy calico and
cotton goods, 1t Is true, but, here is what
they cannot do; They can't go and pay
their taxes with the same number of
bushels of wheat that they did in 1873; 1t
tahes from Two 10 tnree tunes as much OF
their wheat and other products. They
can't go and buy anything that is being
held up by trust. or anything that is
working unnaturally against the condt.
lions that are breaking down the Fabric
OF the REPUBLIC. They can't buy any Of
those.
Arbuckles trust on coffee will hold up
coffee. You get on a Pullman car and you
pay as much as you did In 1873. Youpay as
much on q street ear. VOW pay as much
salary to the county, state and national
officials. and when l say you pay as much,