Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-12-30
SCORES CURRENCY SCHEME.
SAYS 1T WOULD MEAN FINANCIAL
RULE BY THE BANKS.
Gives Mr.. Gage Credit for Irrcproach- h.
nbIc PrObity and Integrity. but
Intimatcs That He Knows
Little About Currency
Question.

financial hill. Mr.. Gompcrs says in part:
You take exception both to the position
which our organization has taken upon
your bill. as well as the language EN-
ploycd. Even if you are justified i'll the
one. you certainly misapprchcnd the other.
| submit that you will seek in vain for y
single denuncatory word either in regard
to your motives, your plan, or your bin.
We realize that dcnunciation is not arSU-
| mcnt, but to declare our position and the
statement of 4 fact in regard to IA most I'M
portant and far reaching measure. affect
ing the changing of the financial system of
our country. can by no means be con-
Strued as denunciation.
Those resolutions declare against your
plan for more thoroughly committing our
country to the gold standard, u plan for
destroying our Greenback currency and
| substituting bank notes. a plan, in fact,
for weakening the control of the national
government over that most important of
all measures. the measure of values. and
strengthening the banks-a plan aiming at
what you call currency reform and which
We call bank monopoly
That you should take offense at these
resolutions l regret, for the right to ex-
press disapproval of the acts of their serv-
ants is one of the rights held sacred by
the American people. and one you will
| with ignorance, relative absolute or
| allege any evil purpose or a 'perversity
| of motive on your part. as implied in
| your letter. nor, upon rereading the reso-
| lutons. will you find them either condem-
natory or denunciatory, as you say they
are. The resolutions are dcclaratory of the
| views of the American Federation of La
| bor and are entirely mpersonal for. Of
| all men in public life. we have tho greatest
respect for your probity and integrity.
THE wage earners of America represent
| ed in the American Federation of Labor be-
| Eeve that the position taken in regard to
| the retirement of the grecnback currency
| is antagonstic to their interests. and they
| are opposed to your plan for more thor
oughly committing this country of ours to
| the gold standard.
You ask what evils have resulted from
| our adherence to the gold standard. l an
| swer that the evils are those that have
| grown. and ever must grow. from dishon-
| est measure of values. Il measure OF values
| that intcrferes with the just distribution
| of wealth, that dcprives some men of a part
| of their earnings that is rightly theirs and
| confers it upon others who have earned 1t
| not. Any measure of values that thuS
| forces an unjust distribution of the prod
| ucts of labor that dcprvcS the producer or
| the fruits of his toll. cuts down wages and
| profits thereby destroys the incentive TO
| enterprise leads to industrial staenation.
| enforced idleness, distress and public suf-
| fering.
| 1.-The products of labor are divided into
| three general shares. One share goes as
| interest and rents to the money lenders and
! landlords. to capitalists who do not pro-
| ductively use their capital, who seek to
| avoid the risks of production. a second
! share goes profits to employers. ~
| third share goes wages to waGc-carners.
! The interest charges and rents are to a
| great degree fixed, and profits and wages
are subject to great fluctuations. This be-
! ing so. it is clear that anything that re-
| duces the total money value of the prod
ucts of labor must increase the share OF the
| money lender and creditor, though nomi-
nally fixed. and decrease the share to he
| divided among employers and waGc-earn-
ers. 1t is equally clear that to increase
| the value of money must decrease the
| value of the products of labor and there
| fore. enrich the creditor at the expense OF
| the debtor.
| Now. If our adherence to the gold stand
| ard has caused money to grow dearer, YOU
| must admit that the gold standard has
done injury to our people. brought dis
| treSS to WaSc-carncrS and employers. and
| discouraged enterprise. Our adherence 10
| tho gold standard has caused money to
| things measured in money to fall in price
| However, 1t is not alone to the cheap
| euing of the labor cost of production. but
| also to an actual appreciation of gold that
the fall in prices since 1872 has been in
| great part due. And this appreciation has
| grown out of the demonctiZatiOn of sill
| Yer. which has increased the demand for
| gold. This is a question that every pro-
| ,iuCer can answer. Has the fall in prices
curtailcd my earnings? II the fall in prices
| has been due only to general improved
methods of production. a cssening in the
true cost of production he has suffered
no loss from such fall. Moreover the
fall in prices since 1892. common to all
Eoid-usng countries. fall in prices of 2N
per cent, has not grown out of improve
1rcnt in machinery exclusively. Changes
ir the value of money have largely in
f'uenced the movements of prices during
the last half century. and were great fac
tcrs in tho price movements during ono
During the quarter of a century follow
ing the gold discoveries in California. there
was much progress in the line Of invention,
much introducing of lahor-saving machin-
cry. much cheHpcning in the labor cost of
production. This. on your theory. should
have caused steadily falling prices. Rni
cheap"ned gold TO a greater degree than
commodities were cheapened. and the rc-
per cent higher at the end Of this period
than at the beginning. Then what han
pemed? We. along with many other ma.
creased the demand for gold. with the re-
suit that gold went mp IN value and prices
OF commodities down.
You must abandon tho advocacy Of gold
recommendation, unless you can show that
the decentralization of silver and Tho
doubling of the demand for gold. resultanr
| ther"from. has not caused gold to grow
dearcr and prices lower. to tho great in
| jury all producers of wealth. You shorIlf
! at least show that the porpetuation of tn.
! gold standard will not result in making
money, doarer and human flesh cheaper
And now. just one word as to the secont
resolution TO which you take execution
| This resolution declares. and you admit il
| that the purpose of your currency hill /,
TO cause the retirement of our nationa
paper money, and the substitution of Ln nj
| notes. This YOU hold to be desirab blr
| Why? Would 1t not give the banks IN,
power TO regulate our foreign exchanges
the power 10 check gold exports by con
| traction. and by screwing down aCcOmmo
dation to merchants so as to force. them +,
throw their products on the market n
prices at which our foreign or, ,diitors woui.
rather take such products than our gold
Would II not thus relieve the treasury n
the burden of providing for gold redemn
tions. and make the banks supremeo r'bi
We hold TO he desirable. 1t would max
the banks guardian over our volume q
money and OF our measure of values
! 1T would enable the bankR WORKING I,
the interest of the Spectators to caus.
movements In prices with great cnrtafnty
enable them to depresS prices BY contract
ing the currency, and raise prices hv ex
banks the masters and many the slaves
and would enrich the few and impoyeris,
the multitude.
IN the statement you recently made he
fore the house committee on banking an,
currency in support of your bill YOU re
! peat this truism, that the less the govern
Inent owes the less II will have TO nav
Yet your plan involves the proposition o
rency and greenbaCks, upon which We pa,
/ no interest at all. and the issuance o