Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-10-09
The Foes Of the Farmer.

We give some extracts from the speech of
Prof Perry ut the Nebraska state fair, last
week Thursday, because they contain sound
practical common sense such rs is seldom
listened to by u collection of farmers.
Mr.. Perry said perhaps money was the
farmers worst foe. | hold in my hand n
have all seen one. You all seem TO be rs
glad 10 see it us if 1t were an old friend. In
truth it is IN old friend. whom you have
unwisely discarded. but who is inst rs ready
to serve you faithfully us he ever was. This
dollar is reality. There is no sham about
it. There is nothing mysterious about it.
There is nothing magical about it. 1t is just
so much silver metal stamped, but the stamp
adds only II slight fraction to the value.
now hold in my hand so.callod paper
dollar. 1t is not u dollar Mt all. 1t is only
promise TO pay dollar Read it. and you
will see it so. The United States will pay
to bearer one dollar 1t carries the truth
upon its face. 1t is only promise. Unlor-
tunately, also, it is y promise that has not
been kept. 1t is IN unfulfllcd promise
W orse than that, it is u promise that the
promiser refuses to fulfill. 1t is broken
promise. 1t is n dishonorod promise. IL is
.fIiied paper Because it is an uniulfilcd
promise, il is of course worth less than that
which it promises TO pay. 1t is deprecated.
The dollar rs Thing is medium helping
exchange all other things, and rs n dcnomin-
alton is n measure measuring all other vail
ucs. But II measure of other things should
| itself be uniform. A bushel measure should
! be the same thing year in and year QUITO
| buy and sell by. A yardstick should be
thirty-sX inches long, no more and no less,
made of solid material that just holds its
own, and not of india-rubber, expansible
and contructibe, Of one length to-day and
another tomorrow, and nobody knows what
length the next time.
| Fluctuations ON the Paper Dollar.
Why, THIS very dollar bill has fluctuatcd
in value compared with II gold dollar all the
way from thirty-iivo cents up to ninety-throe
cents and u fraction; and yet, we have been
| calling it n dollar all the while; we have
been buying when tho dollar was ut one
value, and selling when it has been ut an
other. A bushel measure holding three
pccks ut one time, four pecks nj another
time, and five pecks ut another, is much
more sensible than such variable dollar,
inasmuch Us the hushel only measures grain,
while the dollar, in the way of estimate,
bargain, or sale, attempts to measure all
values whatsoever. Even during the last
year, 1873, there has been variation of Is
per cent in the value of this paper dollar MS
compared with gold-irom 1864 to ll94, and
now almost back again. These constant
fluctuations in paper money-and they are
inherent in it unless the paper is instantly
convertible into gold-make it abominablo
MS II measure of value for everybody, and
| particularly Tor farmers.
why is Il Worst for FarmersI
An iuconverlihlc paper money, always de-
prcciatod and always variable, is worse fol
farmers than for almost anybody else; first
on the ground of its depreciation, and second
on the ground Of its variability. As the val
ne of money goes down, of course general
prices tend to rise; but unfortunately, they
do not rise equally, nor in equal times; and
some prices do not rise ut all, For exam
pie, manufactured goods are quickest TO eX-
pericnce n rise of price owing to II deprccia'
tion of the currency, because MS u rule man
umcturcrs are intelligent men and know the
tendency of deprecated money to deprecatC
more, and thus hasten to insure themselye:
by putting II higher price on their goods
Wages rise much more slowly than goods
and never proportionaby; because laborer
do not well understand the situation, ant
never act quickly enough TO insure them
selves; and so they are always great suffer
ers from deprecated money. Real estate
rises slowly and irreguarly, though Mt times
tumutuously, under such money, and never
on the average so high MS manufactured
goods; while agricultural products, some
parts of which are exported to foreign coun
tries, scarcely rise In price Mt all. Tho roa
son for tins is, that the foreign gold price Of
that part which is exported largely deter
mines the home price OF the whole crop
There is only one wholesale price of wheat
of the same grade in New York city, wheth
or it is for export or whether it is for hom'
consumption. The gold price in Liverpoo
determines the currency price in New YOrl
just so long as any wheat is exportedi ant
the price in New York determines the pric'
in Chicago and Omaha. Wheat was nj