Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1898-01-03

taken upon your bill, as we'll as to the
language employed. These resolu-
tions declared against your plan for
more thoroughly committing this
country to the gold standard; a plan
for destroying the greenback curren-
cy and substituting bank notes; plan
in fact for weakening the control of
the national government over the
NEST important of all measures, the
measure of values and the strengthen
ing of banks; a plan aiming at what
you call currency reform and which
we call bank monopoly
THAT you take offense at the reso-l
lutions I regret, for the right to ex-
press disapproval of the facts of their
servants is one of the rights held sa-
cred by the American people Upon
re-reading the resolutions you will
find them neither condemnatory nor
denunciatory. The resolutions are
declaratory of the views of the Amer
lean federation of labor and are en-
tirely impersonal, for Of all men in
public life, we have the greatest re-
spect for your probity and integrity.
The evils that have resulted from our
adherence to the gold standard are
those that have grown and ever must
grow from dishonest measure of val
ues-+a measure of values that inter-
feres with a just distribution Of
wealth, and that deprives some men
of part of their earnings. Any mea-
sure of values that thus forces an I'M
just distribution of the products Of
labor, that deprives the producers of
the fruits Of their toll, cuts down
wages and profits and thereby destroys
an incentive to enterprise leads to
Industrial stagnation, enforced idle
ness, distresss and public suffering ;"
Gompers then argues that the gold
standard causes a dearer money and
continues:
Changes in the value of money
have largely Influenced the move
ments OF prices during the last
half century and were great
factors in the price movements during
enc long period. During the quarter
of a century following the gold dis
coVeries in California there was much
progress by the introducing of labor.
saving machinery, much cheapening
the cost Of production. This, ON your
theory, should have caused steadily
falling prices, but the outpouring of
gold, cheapening gold to a greater de-
gree than the commodities cheapened,
resulted in prices in general 80 per
cent. higher at the end of this period
than at the beginning. Then we, with
other nations, closed our minis to sill
yer. We increased the demand for
gold with the result that gold went up
in value and the prices of commodities
down. You must abandon the ad-
vocacy of gold recommendation unless
you can show that the demonstration
of silver and the doubling of the de-
mand for gold resultant therefrom has
rot caused gold to grow dearer anG
prices lower to the great injury OF all
producers of wealth. You should al
least show that the perpetuation o.
the gold standard will not result II
making money dearer md human
flesh cheaper. Regarding the second
resolution, you admit that the purpose
Of your currency bill is to cause the
retirement of the national greenbaCl
currency and all government paper
money and the substitution of banl
notes. Would it not give banks and
foreign exchanges power to check golt
exports by contraction and by screw