Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1899-01-31

coinage OF silver. from the bank of
nature, they are directed to borrow OF
the banks who are endowed with the
free and unlimited issue of notes. freely
given and guaranteed to them by our
own Treasury! we to pay from to IL
per cent. year interest for every dol
lar we can borrow to replace our stolen
silver!
Here was treason to God. to nature,
to country. constitution. people and
common honesty; for all contracts, OBJ
legations and debts were at once dou
bled against the debtors: not only
doubling all private Indebtedness. but
the public debts. county, city, State and
National, which the people will have to
pay, principal and interest. in doubled
taxation. AT the same moment (unex-
ampled enormity), all wages, prices and
values fell to half-price. and credit
fled bowling.
But we are assured that II there are
half-wages. half-work. and half-values,
and no credit all Is made even by half
prices and half-demand for productions.
Even If that were SO. labor and pro-
duction are brothers, and neither wish
es to live off the others misfortunes;
but where is the evening? Are half
wages and half-work, or no work, Off
set by half-price for necessary products
which labor itself produced? But the
half-price. or grading, does not extend
to debts, taxes and many others, UNI
affected by the scaling of wages. prices
and property values. After the laborer
buys his necessaries Uf he CAM, he dis
covers that, If there is any cash over,
1t must go to these fixed obligations,
| and he has no surplus at all for COM
forts. luXuries. or pleasures. He has
| to wear his old clothes to rags; his wife
cannot buy new calico frock Cheap
as 1T isl. and she is ashamed to go to
church as she is; the children cannot
go to school because they have no shoes
for the cold weather, or they have to
be put at some thing to help support
the wretched family.
! Dazed for q moment, he seeks relief
| in his wife's and children's resources;
but their butter, eggs. chickens, vege-
| tables. fruit, and small crop of corn
and potatoes, sadly needed at home,
bring little in trade "at the store" and
there is no demand for his work or
theirs. He is forced to recognize the
cold fact: that he ana his have been
put down several button-h holes lower in
life. He and they must find cheaper
lodgings Ca cellar, or any hoveD; the
children must be kept from school; no
more church for any OF them and the
whole decent little system of cleanliness,
Goodness, common comforts. respecta-
bilty, love and decency must be aban-
doned forever for the slums and slum
life. That's what has happened to
many n decent and honest man since
1873. directly on account Of the scarcity
OF work and money; and without a res
toration of silver, or some public relief
equivalent to that in our currency, la
bor-Amercan labor@even IL it can live
at all. has been degraded In 25 years
to depth of hopeless toll and poverty
which it took centuries of wrong and
the laws of trade" to drive the Euro
pean peasantry to.
Nor is the small farmer much bet
ter; or the small manufacturer. His
values and securities are so reduced
that he cannot borrow, nor go on credit
as formerly; and he makes little or
nothing on the slow sales of his pro-
ducts If the large farmer, or manu-.
facturer, can live, it is because he can
yet obtain some credit, or discount. or
both; he can pay his employees in
scrip Gas many miners and manufact-
urers and large farmers do) and let
the holders trade "at the store" The
equality of conditions" between labor
and production in this country and
other nations and continents is rapidly
coming. Perish the balance of trade!
perish expectations! perish all foreign
commerce! IL they can only be main
tanned on such malign conditions!
Rather let us have Dictator like DIR.
| francia and another Paraguayan par
adise OF foreign non-intercourse!