The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-03-04
Appeal to Democrats.


The democratic address is as follows:
10 the People: The surrender Of the
republican, party to the avocates of the
gold st: tN;l ID and monopoly is at last
compile. The present administra-
ton. c; il to power upon the solemn
pledg, u nc republican national con-
ventic.. 80 st. Louis to promote bimet-
allisn.. 4.@, formulated and sent to con-
gress IL bill the leading purpose of
which, the honorable secretary of the
treasury avows, is to commit the coun-
try more thoroughly to the gold
standard.
The country has already, for twenty
four years, been SO thoroughly com
mitted to this standard, partly by law
and partly by the usurpations of the
executive branch of the government,
that its effects are seen and felt on ev-
cry hand; wages are reduced; work is
harder to get; the weight of debt is
doubled; the value of land and other
property is reduced one-half or more,
until the lives of the people are made
bitter with hard bondage" 1t is GER
tainly not in the interest of humanity
to have this condition Of things more
thoroughly established.
The continued rise in the value of
gold, OF which is the same thing, the
continued fall Of prices, must inevta-
bly, transfer the property of all those
engaged in active business, the actual
creators of wealth. whether by hand,
brain or capital to those who, avoid
ing the risk and effort of actual bust
ness, only draw interest.
The increase of 145 per cent in the
val, Of, l.
ing scarcity, from 1909 to 1910, us ad-
mitted by the Leading advocates of
the gold standard, found expression at
that time IN extremely low prices and
condition of unparalleled distress The
discovery of gold and silver in extraor-
binary quantities and the great in
crease in the volume of metallic money
resulting therefrom, relieved this dis
tress and brought in it's stead wonder
full prosperity. Prices rose, business
f1ourished, producers prospered, all
were happy Substantially this con-
dition would have continued if both
the precious metals had been allowed
to remain in use as money, because
they were being found in nearly sut1i-
cient quantity to increase the volume of
money in proportion to the develop
ments of business. Wicked conspira-
cy, however, robbed one of them
OF the power of money. This
was done with the deliberate purpose
Of raising the value of the other by
rendering the supply Of metallic money
relatively Scarcsr as compared with
the demand. From the hour of the
consummation of this crime mankind
has suffered commercial disaster and
social distress in almost constantly in
creasing measure. Just in proportion
to the growth of arts and civilization
and the expansion of commerce, bust
ness and industry the inadequacy of
the volume of gold is known, its
scarcity is noted, it's value increased.
The pursuit of life and happiness,
which is inseparable from long
course of declining prices if continued,
will ultimately stihe civilization. An
eminent American, President Andrews
of Brown university, some years ago
said: "Our national debt on Septem-
Der l, 1895, was two and three-quarters
billions; it could then have been paid
off with eighteen million bales of cot
ton. or twenty-five million tons of bar
iron. When it had been reduced to
billion and a quarter thirty million
bales of cotton or thirty-two million
IONS OF IRON would nave been required
to pay it. In other words, while the
nominal shrinkage of about IS per
cent had taken place in the debt, it
had, as measured in either of these
two world staples, actually been en-
larged some so per cent"
Although more than half of the prin-
cipal of this enormous debt and every
cent of accumulated interest had been
paid by the labor of the United States.
the holders of the bonds still hold a
claim for more of the labor of the peo-
pie than they held before these enor-
nous payments had even begun. This
cruel confiscation of the lives and lib
erty of the laboIing millions Of this
country is the MOST stupendous crime
tESs has been committed in the annals
of civilization. Unless a government
.of the people and for the people, !"
has persisted from the earth, surely
the present boldly avowed scheme. not
only to continue but to increase these
evils. will not be permitted. In addi-
ton to this purpose Of more thorough