[Ives, Charles J.]:

RAILROAD PRESIDENT IVES TRIES TO LINE UP THE RAILROAD EMPLOYES [sic] AGAINST THE FARMERS. THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXACT COPY OF A CIRCULAR SENT BY THE B.C.R. & N. RY. CO. TO EVERY ONE OF ITS EMPLOYEES IN IOWA...

[n.p. 1896?]. Broadside, 5.5" x 12". Printed in black ink using several different typsettings. Tanned, minor edgewear. Very Good.

Charles J. Ives [1831-1906], the son of a farmer, became president of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern [B.C.R.N.] Railway. This self-made railroad mogul opposed Free Silver policies of William Jennings Bryan, the Democrats' 1896 Presidential candidate. Ives, like most of the creditor class, feared that Free Silver would increase the money supply, cause inflation, increase prices, and permit debtors to pay their loans in depreciated currency.
Ives's Letter to BCRN employees, printed here solely for purposes of rebuttal, asserts that they are better off on a gold standard: Ives pays them a decent salary. "Is not this money good enough for you? Why should any man, and especially a railroad man want money which will purchase but half as much as this...DO YOU WISH TO VOTE TO INCREASE THE PRICE OF THE SACK OF FLOUR, OR THE MEAT YOU BUY? If Mr. Bryan is our next President... THE NUMBER OF MEN EMPLOYED MUST BE REDUCED. DO YOU WISH TO TAKE THE CHANCE OF ITS BEING YOU WHO WILL BE OUT OF A PLACE?"
Rebutting Ives, this pro-Bryan and pro-Free Silver broadside explains, "President Ives raises the issue squarely between the railroads and the farmers." The railroads and "these corporations" oppose Free Silver because free silver coinage "will raise the price of flour and meat, it will also advance the price of every other product of labor and benefit every laborer in the land." This is good for farmers. Moreover, "Free silver coinage will stimulate business of all kinds, and more business will necessitate the employment of more men, and the increased demand for men will bring with it an increase in wages."
Not located on OCLC as of January 2024. Item #31969

Price: $500.00