The times., 1897-12-23
SECRETARY GAGE TAKES IsSUE.
Head of the Treasury Responds TO
Samuel Gun1Ders

Head of the Treasury Responds tt
| Samuel Gompers
In an open letter ADDRESSED ID Mr. Sa me
| Gompers, president . { the American Fat,era
ton Of Labor, yesterday, Secretary of the
| Treasury Gage takes exception to the
resolutions adopted by that orga nization
| In annual session at Nashville Tenn, which
| characterize his rina nciaI policy as ..ar
| undisgused effort u retire Greenbacks
| American people
Secretary Gage writes as follows:
Dear Sir: l have read with care the
resolutions adopted tile 2Utn instant at
Nashville by the convention o / the Fedora
tlOn or LaUor, WlIicn recIte aH follows:
Resolved, 1 hat We ueciare ourselves
mos positively opposed u uur Gagc tinaIi-
clal Dlll recently introduced III congress
ny tne SeCTeldry Oh Tie treasury. 10 ,s
measure tfidt, Al ado i,ueG as a liw VIII
oniy Tie ihO.c ,irfnty fi,rt t.i: Eoiu svai.i-
ara on the peJpic OF the country ana i,-r-
petuuoe It's disastrous eiiecus III every
iorIn.
IesOlved, That we pronounce the Gage
Dill an untfisg uIseu effort u retire our
SfeenDack Currency ana all Government
paper money, VITA view to tie sub
se..u.foi oi national IanK noJes III the.t
stead ana thus iasten the nau,onaI Lank
SYSTEM iof years upon the aInerrdD Leu
pie.
NOW, if it be true that tie gold stantia r,I
by Wniou JnIiiSs nave Deen tneasliIcu d. To
piice Ior tiie last siX5y years IN UntScJungFy
Is ihiiIii~dt 10 tite IHeeiests o. Tie iIboriI:ss
classes OIL tpe United states, then | tnink
IL Is inIfiCai 70 al cadsseS. tnolift.r yvcrt,s
no no. bciie Vc o;...e o> one
Class by another, either through false
WeiSnts, paltiai laws, or a Lad monetary
system, ossu be niaut To wors ror the per
itaLefH benefit OF the exploiting CiaSs
itself or Tor Une general weaf, even were IL
deteiisipie on any ground OF rIErlU or Justice,
WHICH III is not. Granted, therefore, tIlat
the pefit.anence or the goiu Standard tor
Willch i algueI operates IN TINS evil ui-
fectlOn, tnen your resolutions ut conueui-
naUiun are weII founded, ana 1 am 1usLiy
cnarged either with an ignorance which
constitutes me IOOlisn auyiseT or with
peryersity oI motive winch makes me an
evil q dYiSer.
| nave a light to disa vow the charge OF
perversty or evil purpose, since there rs
nothing an my wnoic IIle as Ieia tea to my
fellow men, either in word or deed, from
wnICn the possession by me OF such cnaI-
acteristics can be inferred, -mucn less
demonStra ted.
buv iguoiau.e often uncons sciousl works
as deep INJURY as evil inten might 10, and
10 this Sln or ignorance, If IL he a sin,
must confess niyseir to he a LCsslble Iic-
tim. I his Confession, however, ought II OF
TO classify me as separate from nay fellow
men generally, whether they be con usidercd
as Individual units or as cougregated IN
groups. Ignorance Is a relative, II OF an alb
solutc term, since lew are totally ignorant.
and none is absolutely wise. Nor does
the number constituting the group change
this TACT, since tile wisdom of a gTCEp, how
eIrrlarSe, cannot be grea ter tnan that or he
wisest man in 1T.
1nis remains true whether the subject
matter involving knowledge and judgment
be astronomy, physics or finance. The con-
denination tnen inv olved in the resolutions
referred TO Is MEASURED by the Just or i'm
perfect apprehension of questions relating
to monetary science held by nc wisest man
who supported them.
Laying these general considera tions aside,
let me say To you. and, through you. to
the great body You 20 hOnOIabIy repre-
sent, that If, instead of denuncia tory reso-
Iutions, which are not argument, YOU or
anyone on your behalf Will show that
the views | entertain and advocate are
other than salutary to the great economic
body, or which we are all independent
members, | will abandon them without
heSitatlon- MY present conviction, the
honest fruit OF sincere study and rcfleC-
tlOn, is that a brea k-duwn in our present
money standard would be most dis
astrous bloW TO all our commercial and
Industrial interests, and that upon the
WaSe-wGrkers- as q class, would be en-
tailed the most serious effects OF the
disaster. Believing this, | must SO bear
LYMAN j. GAGE.
President Gompers has not vet retUrne';
from Nashville. where he was in attendance
at the convention OF the American FEEDER
alton OF Labor. Mf. Milford Spohn, Ertsi-
dent of the Cen trai Labor Union which is
affiliated with the American Federation
of Labor, was seen. but he refused, in he
absence OF MI. GoInpers, to discuss tho