The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-08-30
A WORD WITH DEMOCRATS.

made by the Bryan leaders in control OF the Dem
Aocratc party made to secure show OF strength
that will lead to Bryans nomination III 1900 as SOFT
OF forlorn but star-spangled hope.
The New York Democracy has chafed under the
conditions of 1906 1t elected last year Cleveland
Democrat to the Court OF Appeals and another Mayor
OF New York City.
This is regarded as high and mighty treason by the
Bryan leaders, who now notice on the knicker-
bockers that they this year indorse the lineage
platform and dance the whole silver figure or take the
consequences.
1t is interesting to the paths into which fusion
is leading these people who follow a name and
treuble in the presence of regularity in conventions
and tickets.
In every fusion made this year the party commits
itself TO an issue of irredeemable paper currency In
California the strongest party in the fusion trinity
undoubtedly the Populist. Take away from the Dem
ocratic ticket the gold national Democrats, who
accept the Indianapolis platform expressive OF the
true faith and the others who don't believe in fusion
and the Populists outnumber both the Democrats and
silver Republicans They were first in the field to
nominate Judge Mcguire and he has signed and ap-
proved their platform, and declares that is identical
with the Democratic platform.
That platform demands free silver at ratio OF 10 to
but it also in decisive tones, demands that the
Government issue irredeemable paper currency in un-
limited volume and arrange for equitably distributing
the same among the people. Every man who votes
the fusion ticket votes for this paper issue In the
stress and emergency of the Civil War the Republican
party was driven into the issue OF the greenback paper
currency The Government agreed to make that cur
rency good by converting it into money. But this
promise to redeem it did prevent its fiuctuation
and the Democrats never tired OF attacking and the
party that was responsible for it We suppose that the
party now will take strictly Democratic testimony as
to the effect of that paper currency upon labor and
trade.
In 1864 there were two organs OF Democratic
opinion in the country which never struck their flags
and held out to the end. One OF these was The Old
Guard" edited in New York by c. Chauncey Burr
and Thomas Dunn English. That magazine dictated
Democratic opinion 1t said in 1904: The issue OF
anv kind of paper promise to circulate money is
fraud upon the producer because the tendency is TO
give him less of moneys worth than he would get II
paid in specie 1t is also cheat to rob the working
man OF the proceeds of his daily labor. This is I'M
doubleday the effect of the paper system; but its first
effect is to cause appearance of prosperity, which
lasts little while, until revulsion ensues.
There being then 5000 100000 OF paper circulation,
"The Old Guard said: This is pretty abundant
currency and the fact that it is is manifest every
dav in its depreciation For instance, in Canada flour
is ST 25 per barrel in coin Ten miles south of the
Canada line the same flour So Is per barrel in paper
The is robbed of 81 so by the depreciation
Of the paper showing its superabundance The Gov
eminent eopardized by the infamous schemers who
seek through paper money to destroy not only the
Union but what remains Of popular rights, even the
right to live by labor"
If these were the direfu effects of issuing re-
deemable paper currency we leave 1t to the Demo
Gratis of to-day to say what will follow the issue OF
irredeemabe paper demanded by their candidate for
Governor.
"The Old Guard" continued its discussion of paper
currency saying: High wages do not long delude
the poor man. for he finds them be very low wages
when he goes into the market to buy the necessares
of life He discovers that his paper abolition dollar
buys less than 81 per cent OF what old-fahoned Dem
ocratc money used to- There is an average increase
of AZ per cent in the price of everything the poor man
must buy with the money ne receives for his labor,
while the nominal increase in the price OF labor is less
that 10 per cent which leaves the workngman poorer
bv AZ per cent And prices are still going up, while
the value of the Republican currency is running
down Let this policy continue three years longer
and the poor Of this country will be brought tc the
door of starvation.
In all that there was the element of general truth.
The price of everything except labor, in an inflated
but redeemable paper currency, did rise as the cur
rency fell The Republican party, mindful OF the
dt;ons that were created in the emergencies of war;
immediately prepared to redeem its promise of con-
yerting reenbacks into money, and made them worth
their face in gold
But we ask every reasonable Democrat if redeem
able paper currency brought the industrial disasters
of which they complained in 1864, what will be the
effect of the irredeemable currency which they are
supporting in their fusions of 1893?