The Peoples Voice. (Norman, Okla.), Vol. 4, No. 34, Ed. 1 Friday, March 20, 1896 Page: 1 of 8
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pnrchiuent or with |**n.
Before the Utw mude oitisen*. the moral
law mud** nim .
Law stands for human rights, hut when
it fat h*ni * right* to give.
Then let Ih <li® my brother, but let hu-
man t eiiur* live.
®lie peoples
mt.
"Our Republic can only exist
so Long as its citizens respect
anil obey their self imposed laws."
Labor Ts The Parent Of Capital, Encourage Labor■ and You Build Up Capital-
VOL. 4.
NORMAN, CLEVELAND COUNTY OKLAHOMA, FRIDAY. MARCH. 2d. i8Qr
NO v|.
Sill IN i
Her Manufacturers. Merchants
and Farmers are Prosperous.
COINTRIES CONTRASTED.
While HiihIiicnh ol'ttll KIikIn Lui -
KillNlieH Here as Itemilt of
Our Foolish Kinaiicial
System, Mexico is
Prosperous.
Justice Walter Clark of the su-
preme court of North Carolina, lately
made a trip through Mexico, anil
while there made a close study of
the condition of the industrial classes
and the effect of the monetary sys-
tem of that country. He writes a
thoughtful article on his observa-
tions to the March Arena, from
which the following extract is taken:
At El Paso we changed our United
States money into Mexican,receiving
nearly two dollars for one. As a few
years back the Mexican dollar was at
par with the American dollar, this
striking fact must be noticed. Either
the American dollar must have ap-
preciated, in which case debtors,
both public and private, and all tax-
payers have been forced to pay
double wha' they should—an enor-
mous robbery of the many for the
benefit of the few, of the wealth pro-
ducers for the emolument of the
wealth consumers; or else the Mexi-
can or silver dollar has depreciated
one-half. If it were the latter then
the prices of all things depending
upon competition would be doubled.
On the contrary, we find in Mexico
that the prices of nearly everything
remain at the same level as ten or
fifteen years ago. Cotton is thir
teen cents per pound, wheat one dol
lar per bushel and sometimes more.
Railroad passenger fares remain two
and three cents per mile as formerly,
and hotel rates the same. This is
true a so of all articles sold in the
open market. There is a slight rise
in the value of real estate and the
price of labor, the latter, heretofore,
and even yet, being very low for
lack of sufficient demand due to the
increased prosperity of the country
and the opening of new industries.
Decidedly, then, there has been no
depreciation in the value of the sil-
ver dollar.
Turn to the United States: There
cotton is seven cents per pound,
wheat and corn fifty cents or less
per bushel and other produce like-
wise brings half the prices of a few
years back, while the repeated cuts
in the vage of labor and the oft re-
curring strikes caused by this prove
beyond controversy the doubling.of
the standard of value, the dollar.
It takes in Mexico the same quanti-
ty of produce to buy a dollar as for
merly while in the United States it
takes double the quantity of produce,
and nearly double the number of
hours of labor to purchase it. De-
cidedly, it is the dollar in the Uni-
ted Stales, which has been enhanced
in value. Who has been benefited
by this ? The holders of national,
state, municipal, private, or other in-
debtedness, who receive practically
double, both principal and interest,
of their just dues. The national
debts in the United States, as well as
every other debt, has been practi-
cally doubled as well as the late of
interest thereon. Nay, further, all
fixed charges, taxes and salaries,
though nominally the same, have
been in effect doubled because it
takes twice the produce and twice
the labor to produce the dollars to
pay them. So, too, of railroad rates
and passenger fares, which, remain-
ing the same, have in effect doubled
in cost for the railroad bonds being
doubled in value and the interest be-
ing payable in the enhanced curren-
cy the public must pay the same
rates or the railroad must go into
liquidation. And o on every band
the burdens of the producers have
been doubled.
There was no pretext for it, since
silver when demonetized, wis worth
more than gold, and there has been
nothing since to depreciate it. That
silver in fact has not depreciated ill
the least may be seen right here in
Mexico, and throughout the fifty mil-
lions of people living on this hemi-
sphere, south of the Rio Grande, in
all which countries the silver dollar
will pay as much taxes, as luucb pub-
lic or private indebtedness, as much
railroad freight and passenger fare,
as ever it did, and where conse-
quently farm produce and land will
bring the same prices they formerly
did. The standard of value not hav-
ing been artificially enhanced, fixed
charges, as debts and taxes, are not
| enhanced, and the saint amount ot
labor will pay them. In the United
States every farmer who last year
sold cotton at seven cents or wheat
or corn at fifty cents or less was con-
tributing just one-half the value of
his preddce to the further enrichment
of those already too rich. The value
of cotton is thirteen cents and up
] wards, measured by the value of the
dollar when the bulk of private and
public indebtedness was created,and
when official salaries anil most other
governmental expenses were regulat-
ed. The loss to the farmers of the
South therefore last year was thirty
dollars per bale, or on an estimated
crop of seven million bales of cotton,
full two hundred and ten millions of
dollars for the year 1895 on that
crop alone. In truth the total
amount of the profits reaped by the
capitalists through the legislation
which has doubled the varlue of the
public anil private debts held by
them staggers the imagination and
fatigues indignation to compute.
The wonder is not that there is wide-
spread and incurable depression
throughout the United States, but
that we can exist under such a state
of things. Were we not the wealth-
iest and most energetic and most pa-
tient people on the face of the globe
we should sink under it.
We know the widespread ruin this
legislative enhancement of the value
of the dollar has made in the Unit-
ed States. It is well to consider the
effect on Mexico cf her wiser course
of letting the standard of values re-
main as it naturally was. In the first
place, her farm and otiier products
are raised on a silver basis and are
sold in the United States on a gold
basis. Coffee, for instance, is raised
at a cost of nine cents in silver, and
is sold in San Francisco at twenty-
two and a half cents in gold equal to
forty-one cents in silver. This makes
the raising of such articles for export
very profitable. Then the railroads
charge at the same rate as formerly
for freight and passengers (i. e, two
or three cents per mile for passen
gers,) with the result that the people
can ship freight and travel at about
half the cost (measured in produce)
as in the United States. The rail
roads are prosperous and becoming
more so each year. In Mexico only
one railroad has been in the hands
of a receiver and that only for a
short time, while in the United States
nearly half the railroads have had to
go into the hands of a receiver, with
the consequent loss of capital stock
and the freezing out of holders of
the second and third mortgage bonds.
Then, too, the premium on gold,
while amounting to a bonus on coffee
and other produce exported to the
United States amounts on the other
hand to a protective tariff of nearly
ninety per cent against the importa-
tion of manufactured poods, ma-
chines, etc., from the United Slates
into Mexico. The result is that we
have lost a vast and growing trade
with Mexico and the Central and
South American States. What goods
we do sell there are sold by our man-
ufacturers at far lower rates than at
home; and even then, under the tre-
mendous production of ninety per
cent, manufactories are springing up
all over Mexico.
As above slated, if the American
people were not the most patient in
the world, they would not have thus
submitted to this enormous and un
just transfer of wealth from the mil-
lions of wealth producers to the
hamtfull of idle rich. 'I hose who
have thus pillaged us, elated with
the success of their plans, now
threaten to still funher contract the
currency by retiring the greenback,
and thus still more to increase the
value of the dollais which the people
must pay and they must receive.
Should that plan succeed, the next
step would be to delare that gold is
depreciated by the opening of new
mines and to insist on more grains
of gold being put into the dollar.
There is no limit to the exactions of
avarice save the refusal to submit to
them. Those who think that even
that limitation is impossible might
learn a lesson from Mexico."
PARITY.
The cuckoo Democrats and the
magpie Republicans continue to coo
and chatter about parity without the
slightest idea of what they mean by
their trifling nonsense. So long as
there is more gold than is required
for other purposes than money, the
coinage value will be the commer-
cial value of gold; and so long as
there is more silver than is required
for other purposes than money, the
coinage value of silver will determine
the commercial value of the entire
slock of silver. This country pro
duces a surplus of both wheat and
cotton which is exported and sold
abroad. Everybody knows that the
price of wheat and cotton in Europe
determine their price in this country,
i'he same is true of every article
produced where there is a surplus
sold in the market. The market
value of that surplus always deter-
mines the market value of the entire
commodity. This is the principle
upon which the parity between gold
and silver was always maintained
while the mints were opened to re-
ceive the surplus of each at a fixed
valuation for each. Such fixed val-
uaiion of course established the ra-
tio. For example the government
of the United States previous to
1873 would give at the mint a dollar
for 25 8 10 grains of standard gold,
and would also give a dollar for
4'2}'3 grains of standard silver. The
surplus silver and not required for
other purposes as a matter of course
found its way to the mint and was
exchanged at the mint for the mint
price. It so happened that the mint
price of each established a ratio iu
value of 16 parts of silver to 1 part,
of gold, and the parity at that ratio
was maintained by the coinage of
the surplus of each metal into money
according to the ratio so established.
It is impossible to maintain the par-
ity between the two metals, which is
declared to be the policy of the Uni-
ted States, unless the government
will take and coin the surplus of
each at a fixed ratio. If the govern-
ment will coin into money the sur-
plus product of gold which is not re
quired for other purposes, the coin-
age value will be the value of all
gold so long as a surplus exists to be
taken to the mint. As we have al-
ready stated, the same is true of sil
ver. If the government refuses to
coin the surplus of silver that sur-
plus is thrown on the market and
sold for what it will fetch, and the
parity is immediately destroyed.
These facts are so plain that the
chattering of the cuckoo magpie
family about maintaining the parity
between the two metals without
adopting the method by which it was
done for four thousand years, and
which is the only method by which
it is possible to maintain it, shows
the utter ignorance or absolute and
unqualified dishonesty of these med-
dlesome and unrighteous birds.---
Silver Knight. Watchman.
Barney Gibbs has at last come out
flat-footed and burned the bridges.
Barney says he would rather vote
the populist ticket without a plat-
form, than to swallow the demo-
cratic record. He never was a fool!
NT I It vol It illlVKI.lt:
Keep on inventing labor saving
machinery; its the proper thing to
do. What ? It turns men and
womeh out of employment ? Well;
what of it ? If the people haven't
got sense to take hold and change a
system that with the improvement of
machinery brings idleness and dis-
tress to millions, who is to blaine?
Don't think they have not been
shown how. Men have starved in a
devoted effort to make the laborers
see their own interests. If suffering
wr.nt make people think; if the ham-
mering away of thousands of disin-
terested, unselfish men and women,
in papers and on the stump, year
after year, wont make the people
think, there is only one thing left
and that is to let the people go right
on taking their bitter medicine until
they tire of it. When people suffer
you'd think they would try to find
the cause, wouldn't you ? When
they suffer you would think they
would listen to those who try to
show them a way of escape? You
wouldn't think they would go right
on hugging the viper that stings
them ? But they do, and the ward
heeler has far more influence than
the humanitarian with the average
victim of our grab game system.
Men will grease themselves all over
in a torchlight procession that
wouldn't touch a reform paper with
ti ngs. Men, whose mortgages have
been forclosed; who have been
I squeezed out of their homes; whose
wife and little ones are denied the
comforts of life, will go right on
voting the ticket that suits the bank-
er that foreclosed the mortgage;
that suits the corporations, trusts,
combines, and syndicates; that suits
the bondholders and gold gamblers;
that suits the land monopolists and
the usury gatherer, that suits the
speculators 111 land and food supplies;
that suits the whole gang of exploit-
ers that climb onto his back and
live in luxury off of the products
of his toil, while those dear to iiim
are pushed relentlessly toward the
depths of degredation. We are in-
dignant at the millions who hug the
chains of slavery.—New Charter.
FitKK HOMK8.
Hon. D. T. Flynn's Free Home
bill passed the lower house of Con-
gress last Monday afternoon by an
almost unanimous vote. Before it
becomes a law it must pass the Sen
ate and the President's vetoe. We
hope to see it run the gauntlet suc-
cessfully, as it means so much to the
settlers of Oklahoma; it means the
lifting of a burden of about three
million dollars off of the shoulders
of the homesteaders of Oklahoma
and as most of the settlers in Okla-
homa have already been the victims
of the financial policy of this gov-
ernment it is but right and proper
that this government should deal as
leniently towards them as possible
while they are again struggling in
this new country to open up new
farms. The rapidity with which the
present financial policy of the gov-
ernment is causing the well improv-
ed farms of this country to slide out
of the hands of the farmers hardly
warrants the government in taking a
mortgage on them before tliey are
opened up.
The Death Blow
given to silver so far as the old par-
ties are concerned. 'I'he Roths-
childs, of London have issued their
edict through the Chamber of Com-
merce, of New York and here it is.
"To the commercial bodies and
business men of the United States:
I he Chamber of Commerce of the
State of New York, believes that the
time has now come for a movement
on the part of the commercial bod-
ies and all men, whether engaged in
farming, manufacture, or trade, who
are interested in commercial pros
perity in the United States, to re-
move from political agitation the
question of the permanence of the
standard of value upon which all of
the business of this country is trans-
acted. It invites co-operation to
this end, in an effort to create a
The Tariff Fraud.
Revenue Last Year of McKin-
ley Law, ....
Revenue First Year of Gorman
Wilson Law.
Difference Between The Two
Systems, -
$199,784,991
179,350,000
20,434,99]
Per Capita Difference between
Them, - - 301-2 Cents
And still our Republican and Democratic
friends insists that a paltry difference of 30
cents to each person in this Republic is great
enough to make an issue in this campaign.
A Poiuter—Don't be humbugged by the Tar-
iff Fraud. More money is the issue, and neith-
er of the Old Parties are in favor of it. Get
into line for the Populist ticket.- -'Denver 'RojJ.
strong public opinion in behalf of an Ha line gone, our darling hoy
unequivocal declaration by the III) ! l'H! he will lie blessed
.. . , . , 1 His little hands ace snugly folded,
lltical conventions of both of the 1 folded o'er Ills silent breast.
great parties in favor of the main- When Autumn coines with yellow
tenance of our existing standard,' , banner*.
and of the elimination of all doubt-1 Other lies wm'fast'l^brliTh.^,
ful expiessions in respect to the re- Drooping, fading, like the leaves,
opening ot the mints of the United He baa gone, our darling bov
States to the free coinage of silver. A wl'v'Wimwi", f free
B Away from «ad and sinful weakness.
' 1 he tune is past, if it ever existed, I He with Heavenly hosts will be.
for any halting, doubtful phrasing to \ His brow, no care Bliall slmw,
express the meaning of political oar ,, "no tears will dim
... 1 , | His rosy lips, nn time shall fade
ties upon this important subject. For Jesus called liliu unto Him.
We must have no platforms that can : Precious treasure be Iihs «oiie
be interpreted to mean one thing in ' , if-,HHVl.i'g us so sad and lone.
one part of the land and another 'The* bHghtest'lbiwe'r
thing in another part of the land. ' n0 balm or soothing art
"It is important to every business ' " heal the sorrows of the heart.
God gives us grace, be ever nigh
Thy eomforts are not made to die.
His friend,
(i. W. McHkynoi.ds.
'uracil Polities and Ponographs.
A COUK-US
man, producer, and wage earner to I
put a stop to the enormous cost to
the government and to allofourpeo- j
pie resulting from the continuance j
of the agitation in favor of the free '
coinage of silver, which stands in
the way of a revival of confidence !?'V lh'' fl-ee Sll.ver' K"1,1
,, i ,• II Cleveland Democrats, was held iu the
and national business prosperity.
" I'herefore we ask all citizens to
unite in a vigorous effort to urge the
selection of delegates to the politi-
cal conventions of both great par-
ties who will advocate clear and
distinct platform utterances in favor
of the maintenance of the present
gold standard of value."
When the Chamber of Commerce,
of New York, speaks ten thousand
banks in the United States act.
The Chamber of Commerce,
dictates the platforms for the two
old parties and names the candidate
to run on each ticket. Neither one
of the old political parties dare take
issue with the New York Chamber of
Commerce. 'I'he correct interpreta-
tion of the financial policy of the
two old parties as set forth in their
next platforms will be for a gold
standard, it matters not what the
wording of the platforms may be.
The Rothschilds through the Cham-
ber of Commerce, of New York, hath
decreed what the platforms sha
new court house on Monday nigiit
March tub. Preacher Worley wit*
chief Mogul, and made a very good
Populist talk iu the beginning, which
created a bit of enthusiasm. lie out-
rageously denounced the leaders nt
both old parties and wound up by ad-
vising all to stay in the Democrat
party"
Las'. nig'it they met again, there
wasonly eleven in all, one preacher,
one postmaster, two M. Ws. three law-
yers, three Pops and a coon. There
was also a little 10 cent fake show on
the street which got the big crowd
and after the mixed crowd of the lonely
eleven told a few smutty yarns and
burned up about 10 cents worth of Un-
cle Sain's coal they adjourned to the,
Republican caucus which was said to
be in vogue somewhere in the city,
but up to this writing we have not
found out where the Ueps hung out,
hut is believed by some that the Deuio-
aiiver.rep-li goldurats went 111 kahoot-
under lock. We can safe y say that we,
know of a few who are under lock at
Paris. Tex., for boot-legging Lexinj-
ton poison.
Purcell and Lexington are at lager-
heads on the new railroad and bridge
mean, the politician's work is to so (question, lhemoasbacks and money-
word the platforms as to mean all jmun Luxi Kl°" /""nt the new
. . .. 1 rdad to terminate at Lexington with
things to all men. i . , , • ,
round house, machine shops, etc, while
the main dads in the little v ill lige
(West Lexington) across tha river
want the bridge where it is, at Walker
and run a calamitj tap or spur down
as far as the Sand bar Saloon, thence
across the great sandy desert to Pur-
cell under the hill where a mammoth
tunnel will enter Berringer hill at the
foot of Coon alley, and the car* will
come out on the ofT hand side of the
city.
| SMOKE THIS. W will get the
road and the bridge both at the same
time, but not until the people are
ready for it. After the people vote
the Coxey non-interest bond into na-
tional law, Cleveland and Pickens
counties Oklahoma will mike arrange-
ments with the new railroad (which
will be a government road.) to build a,
combination railroad and wagon bridge
and extend the road through to Cape
Horn, if necessary.
TUDMUCKLE & HAYSKKD.
Dealers in blooded Geese, and fast
Dogs, railroad stocks, bailed hay and
stove wood. Civil engineering and un-
dertaking a specialty.
Come out and hear the speaking at
the Opera House Saturday afternoon
at 2:30:
IN MHMOICY.
Of Everett Britt, who died Thurs-
day Morning March o, of pneumonia
aged 12 years. He was a member of
Pleasant Valley Sunday School and al-
ways had hi* lessons perfect and his
class will miss him very much.
When the Death Angel warned him
of his coming he bid his father, broth-
ers and sisters good bye and stated
that he could see his mother beckon-
ing for hi in who had gone on only
three months before- He had a pray-
ing father and mother who had taught
him from infancy to live near the
Cross. Everett was a manly little fel-
low and a great favorite of the family
j and friends, and oh, how it breaks up
! the great fountain of our sympathies
to surrender our little ones to cruel
I death but the master has said, "Of
such is the Kingdom of Heaven*' We
would not wish them back, no.
Hut while our hearts are bleeding
O'er the spoils thai death hath won
I We would at this solemn moment,
j Calmly Say, Thy will he done,
j Cease ye mourners, cease to languish
O'er the graves of those you love,
j Pain and death and nitfht and anguish,
I filter not the world above.
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Allan, John S. The Peoples Voice. (Norman, Okla.), Vol. 4, No. 34, Ed. 1 Friday, March 20, 1896, newspaper, March 20, 1896; Norman, Oklahoma Territory. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc116827/m1/1/: accessed April 24, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.