The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1869-10-08
Low Prices for the Farmers, and
Hard Times for the People.

(From the New York Herald.)
But brief period bss elapsed since
gold was 14O Spetulatf0n put it down
to 13l, and sanguffIe persons believed
it would fall to 125. Brokers and specu-
lators. in gold. believing in low prices
of gold, sold many millions Of d6llars
of it deliverable ahead, hoping To- real
ize large profits thereby. Instead Of
continuing to fall gold has risen to 1876,
and the sellers are likely to suffer q loss
in lieu of realizing profit. In this un-
expected emergency the sellers appeal
to Secretary Boutwell, to aid them, by
speedily putting upon the market seve.
raj millions of dollars Of gold, and
thus put the price of gold down to
point at which they could make money.
This, the sellers (bears) are confident
he will do they thus assert, and stocks
have fallen largely because they are be
! lieved, and, as they are bis friends, thei,'
cc.i6derrc is probably wcil-foapded.
If gold is made to sink to l30, and 20
| 125, to aid these men, the crops of the
farmers cannot be exported, and prices
of all the products of the farmer will
sink lower than at any period Within
20 years. If the farmers are deprived
of foreign market. except at ruinously
low prices, the goods Of the manufac-
turers cannot be sold to their chief Gus
toners, except in very small quantities,
and at low prices; the manufacturers
would be as severely injured as the far
mers. Both would lose severely on u
years labor.
If gold sinks to 125, cotton, instead
of selling at 20 cents per pound, as ii
undoubtedly will if gold is at l45, will
not bring exceeding Is cents per pound.
The loss on cotton alone; if gold is fore.
cd to l26, will be about One Hundre'
and Twenty Millions Of dollars! Add
to this the prodigious loss of the far
mers on their present magnificent crops.
In the wide and fearful distress which
these vast losses would cause, how, and
at what price, could mechanics anr
manufacturers sell their wares? VIII
will the sales of merchants amount It
and by what means can they turn theii
goods into cash?
Not SO with our European friends
Cotton obtained from our people by
the folly of our Secretary, at l5 cents;
and flour, beef, pork, tobacco, etc, etc,
at their own price!
Nor is this the worst. The balance
of trade against the United States haP
been about $lO0OOO,00O, in gold during
the past year. At this time the Euro
peans hold of United States bonds
about one thousand millions Of dollars.
bearing an interest OF sixty millions
dollars and of State. City, and Rail
road bonds about $500, 600, 600, bearing an
interest of (about 7 per cent? S2l, ,OO0.-
600. In all, they hold American Secn-
rites to the amount OF about thirteen
hundred millions of dollars, bearing
interest, payable in gold, of about SSi
00O,UOO. The goods imported into o.
country cost US about $l00,OOO, 600 nor
than we get for those We export: ad
to this the SSl 100000 weN have to pa,
for interest, aud the amount to be SCI
abroad is the vast sum OF SlSl ,0O0.A'
in gold. This must be paid.
! We have not the gold to send.
actual count, we have, or had Oh
Sth inst, in all the National Bank 0'
this city. exactly $2,435, loops. inc -
ing both gold coin and bars IN.
would make q bad showing if we l."
no other resource.
AS it is, when merchants and BAN.
, wish to make payment, they buy
S. bonds with greenbacks and send thr
bonds to Europe and sell them, and
with the proceeds of the sale make the
: payment For the gold is not here 10
send. Our U. S. bonds are to-day
, worth in Europe little over $50; hence
, it requires, to pay SlSl,OOOOOO abu]
S225.0O00O0 of U. S. bonds to pay t
5 balance against US.
1t is safe to say that 1926, 100000 viii
be required during the next year,
pay the balance against the uni
States.
= Will Europeans buy that 10
amount? If not, how are we to pay
q If they stop buying bonds If they 4.
: back even tenth of the bonds they
: hold, universal bankruptcy will follo~
For how can we pay? We have in O.,
= Banks nearly two and half millions
. of gold, with which to pay $lS0, 100000
! We are in danger of universal bank
ruptcy. And yet our Secretary OF t''t
Treasury allows himself to be quoted
by his friends as disposed to aid in an
effort to break down the gold market,
and thus prevent these large shipment
of grain, and meats, and cotton, TO les
$ sen the awful balance against US.
: A speculator in gold, amid the plau
7 dts of his associates, appealed to him.
: in the crowd to break down the price o:
gOlu, 10 tne ruin OF crop-fhlsers, aHE t''
| the addition to the balance of traGc
against his country; and the Secretary
had not discouraging word for the o.
hibition of ignorance, audacity and dis.
5 respect-not one word! On the con
trary, he is everywhere publicly quote
: as favoring scheme which would m,
his country, while enriching few =
i vorites. Not one of his friends has co,
> tradicted the assertion of the specula.
= tors. He himself has not contradicted it
l. We have, therefore, right to assume
O that the assertion that theSecretary the
|. Treasury tavors reduction of the pric,
of gold, at the time when the crops AZ,
! to be sold-and consequently woulC
put dopn the price Of grain, meats an.
n cottOn-is true. To accomplish this end
:, he puts gold upon the market twice ev
>, cry month. To accomplish this, he is
II expected to soon put large amount o
IS gold upon the market, and sell it fol
W whatever sum it will bring.
Bsg- The old city officials of Nashville
le just before going out of office, fixed sala
= r ,;o, 60, tho;r euccocenre vph;ch war