Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1898-01-06
PRESIDENT GOMPERS.
The Head of the American FEEDER
alton of Labor
To Secretary of the Treasury Gage In Re-
ply to the Secretary's Exceptions to the
Resolutions Passed by the Federation
Against His Financial Bill.

"ASd1NGTON, O0C 0U-Obnuel OOLA-
pers. president of the American Fed
Grafton of Labor, has replied in an
open letter to Secretary Cages recent
letter taking exceptions to the resolu-
tiOns passed by the federation with
reference to the Gage financial bill.
Mr.. Gompers says, in part:
You take exception both to the
position which our organization has
taken upon your bill, as well as the
language employed. Even if you are
justified in the one, you certainly mis-
apprehend the other. / submit that
you will seek in vain for a single de-
mandatory word either in relation to
your motives, you plan, or your bill.
We realize that denunciation is not
argument, but to declare our position
and the statement of a fact in regard
to the most important and far-reach-
ing measure, affecting the changing
of the financial system of our country,
can by no means be construed as de-
nunciation.
Those resolutions declare against
your plan for more thoroughly COM
hitting our country to the gold stand
ard, a plan for destroying our green
back currency and substituting bank
notes-a plan, in fact, for weakening
the control of the national govern
ment over the most important of all
measures, the measure of values, and
strengthening the banks; a plan aim
ing at what you call currency REFORM
and which we call bank monopoly
THAT you should take offense at these
resolutions, regret, for the right to
express disapproval of the acts of their
servants is one of the rights held
sacred by the American people and
one you will freely accord. We do not
charge you with Ignorance, relative
or absolute" or allege any ''evil pur-
pose" or ''perversity of motive" on
your part. as implied in your letter,
nor upon re-reading the resolutions
will you find them either condemna-
tory or denunciatory, as you say they
are. The resolutions are declaratory
of the views of the American Fedora
ton of Labor, and are entirely imper-
sonal, for of all men in public life, we
have the greatest respect for your pro-
bity, and integrity.
1.-The wage earners of America, rep
resented in the American Federation
Oh LdUOr, DGI1ONe IudG GuS pOSlGlOn
taken in relation to the retirement of
the greenback currency is antagonistic
to their interests, and they are opposed
to your plan for more thoroughly COM
uniting this country of ours to the gold
standard.
You ask what evils have resulted
from our adherence to the gold stand
ard" answer that the evils are those
that have grown and ever must grow
from dishonest measure of values, a
measure of values that interferes with
the just distribution of wealth; that
deprives some men of a part of their
earnings that is rightly theirs and
confers it upon others who have earned
it not. Any measure of values that
thus forces an just distribution of
the products of labor, that deprives
the producer of the fruits of his toll,
cuts down wages and profits, thereby
destroys incentive to enterprise, leads
to industrial stagnation, enforced idle
ness distress and public suffering.
The products of labor are divided
into three general shares. One share
goes as interest and rents to the money
lender and landlord. to capitalists who
hOb ASS OAAClA S"h SoPA-
tai, who seek to avoid the risks of pro-
duction. A second share goes as profits
to employers, a third share goes as
wages to wage earners. The inter
est charges and rents are to
great degree fixed, and profits and
wages are subject to great fluctuations.
This being so, it is clear that anything
that reduces the total money value of
the products of labor must increase
the share of the money lender and
creditor, though nominally fixed, and
decrease the share to be divided among
employers and wage earners. 1t is
equally clear that to increase the value
of money must decrease the value of
the products of labor, and therefore
enrich the creditor at the expense of
the debtor.
Now, if our adherence to the gold
standard has caused money to grow
dearer, you must admit that the gold
standard has done injury to our peo-
pie, brought distress to wage earners
and employers and discouraged enter
prize. Our adherence to the gold
standard has caused money to grow in
value and, of course, forced the things
measured in money to fall in price.
However, it is not alone to the
cheapening of the labor cost of produc-
ton, but also to an actual appreciation
of gold that the fall in prices since 1872
has been in great part due. And this
appreciation has grown out of the
demone tization of silver which has in
creased the demands for gold. This is
a question that every producer can an
swer Has the fall in prices curtailed
my earnings? If the fall in prices has
| been due only to general improved
methods of production, lessening in
| the true cost of production, he has suf-
fered no loss from such fall. Moreover,
the fall in prices since 1898, common to
all gold using countries, fall in prices
of 20 per cent, has not grown out of
| improvement in machinery exclusive
| ly; that the labor cost of production
has not been increased by one-ifth in
these past years, and that, therefore,
| the cause of this fall in prices must lie
| in what, if not in dearer money? and
was due primarily to an appreciation
in gold.
Changes in the value of money have
largely influenced the movements of
prices during the last half century and
were great factors in the price move
ments during one long period. Dur
| ing the quarter of century following
the gold discoveries in California, there
was much progress in the line of in
vention, much introducing of labor
| saving machinery, much cheapening
| in the In bOr cost of DrOGuctiOn This