The Washington weekly post., 1900-09-11
The Prosperity Argument.

Mr. Pryan essays a stupendOus task in
his effort 20 prove that the all-pervaains
prosperity in which every class OF citizens
IS sharing. Is a sham. IL Is never adyis-
able for a public man TO butt his head
against a solid wall OF notorious and in
disputable facts. The statistics Of the
ration's and the peoples finances show,
beyond the shadow of doubt, that there
has been an immense and entirely uneX-
ampled progress since 1886 The fact that
such statistics prove Mr. Bryan TO have
been laboring under delGsion when he
was going Up and down and across the
country foretelling awful disasters in
case OF his defeat, is not good and suf-
fcient reason why he should treat them
with contempt The lessons Of experience
should be more profitably utilized.
The immense gain in our export trade,
the large increase in wages, the addition
OF one 20 two millions Of workers TO the
active lists of our industries. the substan-
tial prosperity OF the farmers, the abun-
dance of capital. the transfer of the
worlds monetary center from London 10
New York-all these are facts that should
not be ignored and which should be a
cause OF oongratulation and patriotic
pride TO Mr.. Bryan, even though their
coming discredits his 1886 forecast.
In one or more OF his recent speeches
Mr.. Bryan has said to the wage-workers:
Il want you to take the cost of what
you buy as a laboring man and measure
IL against your wages and see If The
trusts have not raised the price of what
you buy more than they have your
wages
That was a risky challenge. for the
facts were and are at hand 10 prove that
the workingmen have been prosperous
since 1896 beyond ali precedent. The New
York Press shows that the wor<ingmen
in 1884,, measuring the cost of what they
bought against their wages, earned so
much less than they had to spend to keep
from going hungry that they ate up not
cnly all their wage earnings, but more
than s37 O00,O 600 Of their savings hanks de-
posits: that from 1898 10 1894 the wage
earners were paying so much more for
bread and butter than they were able to
earn in wages that they were compelled
TO diminish their savings banks deposits
from sl,7S5, 1sO,s57 10 s1,7f, $50. The
Press further submits that since the de-
feat of Mr.. Bryan in 1896 the wage-earn-
ers of this country have earned so much
more than they spent-that is 10 say, 20
ng Mr. Rrvapfg axpracefnp rrrfy,
the cost Of what they have bought agains.
their wages, they are so much better off
that in 1899 they had increased their saw
ings banks deposits to s., ,230. .366, ,954. That
was gaisin surplus earnings put in saw
ings banks alone of more than S4S0, ,0)1 00l
over 1884 And. as If all these sockdol-
ayers were not enough, the Press shows
that the returns from New York and
other States thus far received for the
year ended June so. 1900, indicate that
the total savings banks deposits to-day
are more than $500, 100000. That, says
the Press. means instead of a loss OF s37,-
100000 a year. such as the wage-earners
suffered in their savings in 1894. a gain
since then OF more than three-quarters
OF billion OF dollars. All that is In addi-
ton 10 many millions expended in buying
homes, caneeling mortgages investments
in building and loan associations and
other properties-an tha; $50 OO0,OO0 in
savings banks alone since 1894. The Press
says this means that the wage-earners
of the United States, measuring the cost
OF what they buy against their wages,
have not only a large surplus of wage
earnings now. but are drawing in divi-
dends on the s2,5O0, 900 which they have
put in the savings banks-are drawing in
addition to their wages interest dividends
OF more than $4,000. 900 a year"
II would be well for the Republicans TO
stick TO the prosperity argument as their
chief cornerstone, and stop all their
scare talk. 1t would be we'll for Mr..
Bryan 10 recognize existing facts and
stop fitting against them.