The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-09-14


best, gives stability and elasticity, but cir
culates in all sections without depreciation;
that goes and comes without its value BENG
questioned or suspiconed. The foundation OF
that standard among other things should be
labor"
The speaker has believed that double
standard might be maintained through inter-
national agreement. But such agreement
appears no longer probable The adoption of
the gold standard is rapidly being accepted
by all the nations that have hitherto chung
to silver. That the displacement of silver
and the supremacy of gold a standard has
been brought about by conditions not the
effort on the part of banks, banking institu-
tlons or individuals, but from natural CAUSES,
Is rapidly becoming a fixed conviction. 1t
has come as all advancement comes In the
end We adopt instruments and appliances
which seem to be the best adapted for the
work de have to do. This has been none
change has been gradual. One nation has
followed another.
RAILWAY INTERESTS
H. P. Robinson. of Chicago, spoke on
the subject: THE Interest of Railway
Men in the Gold Standard" He said
in part:
By far the greatest interest in the pros
perity OF the railways is that OF labor.
While the railways of the country pay about
Sl2,OOO,OCO year in salaries TO general Of
fcers, and about SIS, OOOOO0 a year in divi-
dends to stock holders, they pay at least
earnings OF railways are seriously curtailed,
or their expenses increased, the burden must
chiefly fall labor-that is to say, on the
wage Garner who gets his living from the
pay rolls. The best evidence of this is shown
from the fact that a result of the panic
Of 1893 about 1150O0 men, who were at that
time in the employ of the railways, were
thrown out of work. The pay rolls of the
companies were reduced by 115, eco Names
and most of these men had wives and children
dependent on them. Under ordinary circum-
stances there about five men in the
service of the railways to every mile of line,
and each mile of line must produce the 81, 750
necessary to pay wages to these five men.
II the earnings fall off that the mile of
line will not produce ttat much money after
paying the necessary operating expenses, the
pay rolls have to be cut.
It is commonly claimed that TIE free coin
age of silver, ii it hurt anybody, would only
hurt the capitalist and the gold bug If the
free coinage of silver would reduce the rail-
way earnings, the men who would suffer
would not be the capit5li-,s or the geld bugs
but would be the .abJr!ng men. The eX-
perience of Mexico shows what happens to
railway compan es in a country with a de-
preciating curIency: In Mexico, though the
the country generally is prosperous, the
Mexican railway companies are unable to pay
their interest charges, ard If they had to pay
to their common labor the same wages as the
American WOrkingman gets, they would be
unable TO hire enough labor to operate their
roads. II the United States on silver
basis, the earnings of the railways would be-
OF course, in silver dollars, or their equiva-
lent
The railways could not put up their gates
and at the best they would only get the
those dollars would purchase less. They
would purchase less machinery, less fuel, less
supplies-thlt is to say, that the expenses
of the railways for these items would be
materially increased. Railway companies
therefore, would have less money to pay In
terest to pay labor and to pay dividends.
First Of all they would pay no dividends
but that would not be nearly enough to meet
the deficit. The interest charges all have to
be paid in gold, ard the companies would
nave to make desperate effort to pay those
charges, but having nothing but deprecated
silver dollars to pay with, the effort would
necessarily be futile. No railway company
terest charges, and there could not be any
thing but bankruptcy ahead. Meanwhile
while the struggle was going on, labor would
suffer. The railway companies would be
compelled to cut their pay rolls and to cut
their wages. There would be fewer men en-
ployed. They would probably get less
wages, and every dollar of those wages would
produce less than 1T does today.
While, therefore, the interest of capita! in
the gold standard is large, the interest of
lSkSr is incomparably larger. Labor would
sutrer most severity by any tamperng with
the currency. In 1896 so per cent of the rail
way men voted for sound money, which is
for William Mckinley. They will 10 it again
whenever the question of the monetary stand
ard comes up. because their interest in the
maintenance of the best standard is over
Whelming.
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS.
M. L. Crawford, of Dallas, Tex, said
IN part:
The unsettled and disturbed condition of
our financial system demands the thoughtful
and patriotic consideration of every man who
honestly desires to promote the public well
rare We should approach the subject as
patriots. animated alone by desire to pro-
mote the welfare and advance the prosperity
OF all sections o. our common country and
all persons, In every condition of l:fe, and
not as partisans Influenced by cosiderations
OF party eXpediency.
The first and most important step is to de-
termine what the standard of value is and Is
to be. Settle this once and for all and the
other defects in our financial system will not
be difficult Of solution. Fairly stated the
question to be first determined is this: Shall
this country maintain the single gold stand
ara. using at the same time much silver
In our currency as the necessities of business
and the convenience Of the people require, or
snail we adopt the single silver standard and
drive gold from our monetary system? The
real issue, therefore, is between a single
coin, and single silver standard with gold
as a commodity. We must take one or the
other or abandon metallic currency alto
gether.
1t is true that the advocate of the free
coinage Of both gold and silver at the ratio
Of 16 to l call themselves bimetallists, and in
slst upon double standard. Not one, so
far as am advised, has openly declared for
the single silver standard. The majority of
them insist that with free coinage at the
ratio of Is to 1, every dollar to be legal
tender, both metals will be coined at the
mint and circulated concurrently notwith-
standing the fact that the relative commercial
value of the two metals is now about 35 to /
When the advocates of the free and unlimited
coinage OF silver at an arbitrary ratio fixed
by law point to a single instance in the his
tory OF modern times where gold and silver
cept on the infexible rule of equality in
value, it will be time enough then to ask
and expect the people Of this country to dis
card the lesson learned from the experiences
of all mankind and accept their financial
theories"
Mr.. Louis r. Enrich, Of Colorado
spoke about The Folly and Futility of
Fighting Evolution"
Hon. Charles N. Fowler congressman.
from New Jersey, spoke on the sub
ject: What is the Best Form of Pa
per Money!"
In part:
Considerably over $3,OOO, 200, COO worth of
promises are held by the hanks of the United
States. These promises are made in writing
and are signed by all classes of people some
OF these people have property like stocks and
bonds, or other forms of collateral which thew
promises. ~
Others have prospects which they virtually
pledge in their promises to pay-prospects az
selling things like wheat, corn, cotton, lum-
Der, iron-also muscle work and brain work
With the proceeds of the sale of these things
they expect to pay their promises These
promises are the loans and bills discounted
held by the banks.
All of this value in promises to pay Is used
as the basis of a currency which has come
gradual.y-steadiiy into use in the " bns iss
of the United States. The operation Ia this:
The man with a promise turns 1t over to the
F Panh W which r, gvfs him Its promise in the
OF his promise, less the discount