The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-30
He Defends Resolutions Passed by the
Nashville Convention DenOuncing
the Secretary's Financial Plan. 4
1T WOULD INJURE TOILERS
BY MAKING GOLD DEARER AND La
BOR PRICES LOWER, HE SAYS.
He Also Condemns the Banking
scheme and UphOIds the SiIverite
Theory Concerning DemonetixatiOn.

| WASHINGTON, Dec. 29.-SaInuel Com
pers. president of the American Federation
of Labor. has replied in open letter to
| Secretary Cages recent letter. taking ex-
ceptions to the resolutions passed by the
federation with reference to the Gage finan-
cal bil Mr.. Gompers says In part:
/ You take exception both to the position
which our organization has taken upon your
| bill, as we'll as the language employed.
| Even if you are justified in the one, you
! certainly misapprehend the other. | sub
nit that you will seek in vain for single
| denuncatory word either In regard to your
motives, your plan. or your bill. We real
| lied that denunciation is not argument. but
| to declare our position and the statement
| of a fact in regard to most important and
| far-reaching measure, affecting and chang
! ing the financial system of our country,
| can by no means be construed as denuncia-
ton. Those resolutions declare against your
plan for more thoroughly committing our
country to the gold standard, plan for
| destroying our greenback currency and sub
| stituting bank notes. a plan in fact for
weakening the control of the national gov
ernment over that most important of all
measures the measure of values, and
strengthening the banks, plan, aiming at
what you call currency reform, and which.
we call bank monopoly
THAT you should take offense at these
| resolutions, / 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 free
| ly accord We do not charge you with
| ignorance, relative or absolute or allege
| any evil purpose a 'perversity of mo-
tive on your part, as implied in your LETT
will
you find them either condemnatory or de-
nunciatory as you say they are. The reso-
| lutions are decaratory of the views of the
| American Federation of Labor and are en-
| tirely impersonal, for of all men in public
life we have the greatest respect for your
probity and integrity.
| The wage earners of America represents
| ed in the American Federation of Labor be-
lieve that the position you have taken in
regard to the retirement of our greenback
currency is antagonistic to their interests.
and they are opposed to your plan for more
thoroughly committing this country of ours
to the gold standard.
ALLEGED EVILS.
you ask what evils have resulted from
our adherence to the gold standard. / am
| swer that the evils are those that have
| grown and ever must grow from dis
| honest measure of values a measure of
| values that interfere with the just distribu-
| ton of wealth, that deprives some men OF
a part of the earnings that is rightly theirs
| and confers it on others who have earned
| it not Any measure of values that thus
forces an unjust distribution of the prod
ucts of labor, that deprives the producers
of the fruits of their toll, cuts down wages
| and profits, thereby destroys the incentive
| to enterprise leads to industrial stagnationr
enforced idleness, distress and public sur
| fering.
| three general shares. One share goes as NJ
| terest and rents to the money lender and
| landlord, TO capitalists who do not produc-
| lively use their own capital who seek to-
| avoid the risks of production. A second
snare goe as as wsges 70 wage earners The
| interest charges and rents are to a great
degree fixed, and profits and wags are SUB.
| ject to great fluctuations. This being so, *
| is clear that anything that reduces the
total money value of the products of labor
/ must increase the share of the money lend
er and creditor, though nominally fixed,
| and decrease the share to be divided among
employers and wage earners 1t is equally
clear TINT to increase the value of money
| must decrease the value of the products
OF labor and therefore enrich the creditor
| at the expense of the debtor
| Now if our adherence 20 the gold stands
| ard has caused money to grow dearer, you
| must admit that the gold standard has done
injury to our people. brought distress TO
| wage earners and employers, and dtscour-
aged enterprise. Our adherents to the gold
value and of course, forced things meas
| ured i'm money to fall in price.
| However, ii is not alone to cheapening
| 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 denometzation of silver, which has
| increased the demands for gold This is a
question that every producer can answer.
| Has the fall in prices curtailed my earn
ings? If the fall in prices has been due
only to n @ p9e eos OF o po
| duction, he has suffered no loss from such
| fall. Moreover the fall in prices since 1893,
| common TO all gold using countries. a fall
! in prices of 20 per cent. has not grown out
| of Improvement in machinery exclusively;
| that the labor cost of production has not
| been Increased by one-fifth in these past
four years and that therefore, the cause OF
this fall in prices must lie in. what. ie not
in dearer money. and was due primarily
| to appreciation in gold.
PRICE MOVEMENTS.
Changes in the value of money have
| largely influenced the movements of prices
during the last half century. and were
great factors in the price movements dur
ing one long period. During the quarter OF
a century following the gold discoveries in
California there was much progress i'm the
line of invention, much Introduction OF la
bor-saving machinery, much cheapening In
the labor cost of production. This on your
theory. should have caused steadily falling
prices. But. what ha 'Dened? The outpour-
ings of gold cheapened gold to greater de-
| gree than commodities were cheapened and
the result was that prices were in general
| 30 per cent. higher at the end of this period
| than at the beginning. Then what hap
| pened? We, along with many other ma
| tions, closed mints 10 silver. we in
creased the demand for gold. with the re-
suit that gold went up in value and prices
of commodities down. You must abandon
the advocacy of gold monometallism, un-
less you can show that the decentralization
! of silver and doubling OF the demand for
| gold resultant therefrom has not caused
gold to- grow dearer and prices lower. to the
! great injury of the producers of wealth. 81
You should at least show that the perDetu- II
alton of the gold standard Will not result in
making money dearer and human flesh
| cheaper.
And now, just one word as to the Sec
! ond of the resolutions TO which you take
! exception. This resolution declares and
! you admit 1t. that the purpose of your cur
rency bin Is TO cause the retirement
of our national greenback currency IN all
| government paper money aEd the substftu-
tion Of bank notes. This you hold TO be de-
slrahle. Why? Would II not give the banks
the power TO regulate our foreSgn ex-
changes, the power TO check gold exports
by contraction. and by screwing down a41
/ commodations to merchants. so as 10 force