The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1898-03-24
The Silver Champion Answers the
Unreliable L. |.
SEVEN QUESTIONS ANSWERED
They Act as a Disastrous Boomerang to Those
Who Originated Them. Wages Increased
Under BimetaIlism and Decreased
Under the Gold Standard.

Sir: l do not often permit myself the
luxury of dispute with newspaper
The newspaper always has the last word
and, when it is q gold Standard newsps-
per, frequently finds an easy descent from
the courtesy of honorable discussion to
the vile manners of the BLACKBOARD. In
this last particular your paper is evident
ly as bad at least as the character of its
cause demands. Your statement in All
editorial this morning that "He Cd will
fully misststes facts and perverts his
tory" is a fair sample of the amenities
OF debate as understood and prscticed by
your class. Fortunately the demonstra-
ton which it clearly affords, namelv.
that YOU lack the ability to meet US BIZ
metallists in fair discussion, is some com
pensation for the offense which gentle
man instinctively takes at the grossness
and insoence of a bully.
have no confidence that if proceed
ed to comment on each of your observa-
tions on myself or my speech you would
give space to the communication. There
fore, in spite of the temptation of your
numerous exhibitions OF both ignorance
and ill-manners, let me come to the ques-
tons propounded by somebody in Oregon
which, you say, have not attempted
and will not attempt to answer. SUP
pose that even you will have the decency
to print my answers after having chsl-
lenged me to make them. There is no
difficulty whatever about the questions,
and should have been glad to answer
them before this if they had happened to
come to my attention. Here they are:
81. Are you, Mr.. Towne, ia favor of
the dollar of the smallest purchasing
power?
''2. Are you glad that in lS97-9S our
laboring people have had to pay higher
prices than usual in recent years for their
-four aud beef?
"3. II you answer No. affirma tively,
explain to our laboring people why you
are glad that their dollars have had less
purchasing power in -four and beef; why
you are glad their labor buys less than
usual of bread and meat.
a. If it has been good thing for the
labOrng people to pay dearly for their
meat and bread, wouldn't it be a still
better thing if they were to receive dol
lars of smallest purchasing power in
payment of wages, so they would have
to pay more dearly for bread, meat, cloth.
ing, groceries, etc?
"5 II it would be good thing for day
laborers to receive dollars OF smallest
purchasing power for their work, and pay
dearly for the necessaries of life, would it
not be good thing for all wage earners
and salary-workers to receive cheapest
dollars for their service and pay dearest
for everything they wear, eat or use?
''6. Explain to day laborers and wage
earners how there can be general rise in
the average level of wages-if We shall
decrease the value of the dollar to the
lowest purchasing power, and thereby
raise the price of the necessaries and the
comforts of life to the highest possible
point.
~. II you answer No. negatively,
Mr.. Towne, please explain to farmers why
you are not glad that they are receiving
good prices for their wheat, cattle, NUT
ton, wool, hay, etc.
ANSWERS.
l. No, am not in favor of the "dollar
of smallest purchasing power" and
never claimed to be. The dollar we seek
to establish is dollar that will approach
as near as possible to constancy Of pur-
chasing power; that shall mean as nearly
as can be the same equivalent of pro-
ducts yesterday, today and tomorrow,
and not, as the gold standard provides,
one that continually increases in pur-
chasing power.
2. l sm not in favor of higher prices
that result from scarcity of product, and
therefore am not glad that our laboring
people had to pay higher prices for bread
and meat while having no more money
than before to buy Nth. Please remem-
Der that it is you, not I, who are defend.
ing the present system under which the
farmer cannot get higher prices than for
many years past except at the expense Of
the poor mans necessities, and under
which the consumption of wheat has in
q few years declined from over six BUSH
els per capita to little over three BUSH