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The Farmer And Free Silver

The Farmer And Free Silver image
Parent Issue
Day
10
Month
May
Year
1895
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Probably the most seductive of the appeals of the silverites is that to the farmer. In dilating upoii the advantages of cheap inoney to the debor, Ihe farmer is the debtor nieant. There is something temptng, no doubt, to the heavily mortgaged farmer on a Superficial view of the case, in the idea that by coining 50 cents worth of silver into dollars, bis debt would be scaled down one-half. The idea is the more seductive because the farmer is persuaded by the silverite that his mortgags is not an honest one, and that it would not be repudiation to pay it in legal tender V) cent dollars. He is told that by vho appreoiation of gold his debt has ben donbled. That it requires twioe as ïuaiiy bushels of 'heat to pay she thoueand dollar mortgage aow as when the debt was contracted. No injnstice would be done, therefore, it is claimed, by taking our silver frorn the mines and converting it into dollars so cheap that he will receive twice as many of theni for his wheat and consequently be able to pay his debt with half the effort he can now, bed sides returning to the one of whom he borrowed as much and as good as he loaned. With this pleasing picture carefully and fully developed in the debtor's mind the silverite pauses. Thè otlier side is not brought out. But the farmer cannot be deluded into believiug that thi's is tue whole of the picture. He understands that there is another side to it. He knows that wliile his wheat has fallen, so have the things he has to buy and proportionally. The farm implements, the household goods, his clothing - nearly or quite all nianufactured goods, in f act - are purchasable at prices as largely reduced as his wue.iii,. uu otner words, his wheat will exchange for as nruch (if not more on the average) of these articles as bef ore. Besides the prices of the farmers' staples are fixed, as President Cleveland rerniüds them in his recent, letter, by the part which is exported and these prices are the world's gold prices. The president's appeal to the farmer is a forceftü one where he says he does not onderstand why they "should be willing to submit to the disadvantages and loss oí snver monometalism, and to content thmselves with a depreciated and fluctnating currency while permitting Others to reap a profit from the translation of the prices of their productions from silver to gold. " Then again vcry many of the farm mortgages, in aocorhance vrith the practice of the silverite money loaners, if not their theory, especially in the west, have been made payable in standard gold coin of the United States, and there can be can no ment of contracts even should the countiy go to a silver basis. This change reqniring payments in gold has been a direct result of the development of the fee silver sentiment and silver legislation during the last fifteen years. Now in the instance of every one of these mortgages which have been made payable in gold, the farmers' burden wonld be made heavier instead of lighter by a decent to a silver basis and the hiding of gold that wonld surely follow. terest rates wonld also advance, since this is alwaya an attendant of a depreciated currency. Where values are stable and eeeórity prime, interest rates tend downward. This fact is too well knowu to neerï coinment. The advantages accruing to the farmer, therefore, as a debtor, from a decent to a silver monometalism, would appear to be rather fatnous than othervisc, while the effects upon him as a bnyer or seller are olearly to his disadraütage. No documenta have yet been mude public showing the precise course of the government of the United States in the recent incidents which chiefly involve Nicaragua.. It is undonbtedly true, nevertheless, that the administration "has won a inoral victory over both the Empire of Great Britain and the sputtering little cornmunity which brought upon its own hea.d a desened ment. President Cleveland is entitled to the credit of having accompished two important objects in the entanglenient of Great Britain and Nicaragua. He ha made her majesty's governruent realize the prudence of voluntarily drawing the British flag from Nicaragnan soil as the only alternative to an nltimate compulsión by the government of the United States to that end. and he has taught the tinstable communitie of South America und Central America that the Republic of the United States will not stistain any of them in violation of international law nor in profligacy as public or private debtors. The British have departed from Nicaragua, the port of Corinto is agaiu open and afïairs there are nxoviug aloug in about the normal fashion, . No new British colony has been planted and the terminals of the Nicaraguan canal háve not been seized. The Monroe doctrine so far as from being observed is as vigorons as ever as is evidenced by the early departure of the British forces from Nicaragua without collecting the smart money at the cannon's mouth - as they threatened, but in London flfteen days after every vestage of their occtipation had been removed. One thing certainly has been established beyond peradventnre by the Nicaraguan incident, and tüat is that the wild-eyed, red-headed jingoists are no more to be relied upon as prophets than as makers of a wise and conservative foreign policy for the natiou. These tail twisters of the British lion should seclude themselves from the public gaze for a term. Argunients before the supreme court on the rehearing of the incoine tax cases were finished yesterday and fears are expressed in some quarters ühat the decission of the court this time will be adverse to the 4aw as a whole. Better thus no doubt that to leave it in the unsatisactory state in which the former decisión left it. As a result of the previous decisión a large part of the great incomes were exempted from its provisions and the burden of the tax was left on those who were less able to bear it, besides the raising of questions sure to lead to endless litigation. The abrogation of the entire statute is better than its inforcement with its present odious discriminations and uncertainties. If the law is overthrown by the court, it is one more victory for wealth in the matter of exemptions from bearing its jnst share of the burdens of government. A farmer down in Indiana was presented by his wife, the other day, with triplets and the poor man's breath was taken away and he called in his neighbors for a consultation. After due consideration of the situation, they advised him to name his daughters after the female members of President Clevelands family and to immediately inform the president of the condition he (the farmer) was in. The snggestion was adopted, the children dnly christened Francés, Ruth and Esther, and his lency informeel of the fact. In due time a kindly worded letter was received from the president which also contained a check for $500 dollars to be used in the education of the baby girls. It may be, however, that the president by offering a permium on such a happening has established a precident that will make dangerous inroads on his pocket-book.

Article

Subjects
Ann Arbor Argus
Old News