The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-10-31
measure notice some OF those with which
the farmer Is saddled. When we have GER

Inc farmer Is Sauuleu' w Ae
tain products, part Of which we export
and a mart consume at home, the price OF
.nh.t 20 consume at home depends exactly |
W " tbe nrice of what we send abroad. The
W ur;o .n Of breadstuffs here, e. g.. depends
,,non their price in Mark-lane, London,
~ Ic controlling grain market Of the world.
NJ one can get any more for his wheat or
corn in Massachusetts, or Minnesota than
= will fetch in Mark lane, minus the cost
If taking it there, all of which we must re-
member is to be estimated in gold. On
the other hand, products Of which none
are exported, but all are consumed al
home, are determined in price, OF course,
bv the home market, and this price. IS IN
cvrrencv So that for what the farmer
sells he gets his price on gold basis, while
Cor what he buys he pays on q currency
49, ~, Lot no see how this affects him:
n Sa,r'' chief exports are, besides gold
smd bonds. cotton, petroleum, grain
and -four, beef, butter, cheese,
i n pork and tobacco 49, the great
hodv of our exports being thus agricultur-
al nroducts. Now you must remember
that the price Of all these commodities
in 90 far as they are sold at home, is de-
termined by the price of those which are
exported. The export price VIII al"ay'
determine the home price, But the g.
port price is rated in gold. and when we y.
have it in currency we have one uolIa, .a ~
gold equal to about one dollar anu ~ &c
cents in currency. Now the great eilolt Vi
the Treasury Department at W asnin saon
and Of our Government procedure eepel e
allv. has been to keep down the PRIV "
coia and this has successfully been gone.
Rnt we have not been able to keep down
the nrice of other things. Ihese nave
.;son according to the inexorable law OF
n n,,rD EXPANDED currency, Cotton goods
woolen goods. boots and shoes, house 1ur-
u;,ura 1abor-these have advanced III
nr;ce because of our expanded currency.
And I certainly state it within bounds
when I saw that this advance Is at leas'
Gftv ner cent. Now put these facts 10,
aather, and if you have not thought OF Il
Refore II will make you open yours eyes
Enr What the farmer sells he gets an au
rance in currency of from only ten u
twelve per cent, but for what ne buys nc Il.
navs an advance in currency OF az ,ea:t
: Sftv ner cent. Here is tact wfich ~ 20
, h;Gb time that the farmers OF this country
sheulJ face for here is the very burdeu
r nb;ch onnresses and hampers the agricul
r tursl interests of the land, more than any
i and all other burdens combined.
: THE FARMERS AND THE RAILROADS
| do not speak without reflection and
say deliberately that there is no evil when
our farmers suffer in their business at all
70 he compared with the evil which press
, es them from the currency they are op'i y
: ed to USE This is wrlnglng IRON theul =,
! per cent of their produce, IS robplng theh
= of this amount every year, ana g'ynins
. them absolutely nothing IN return Oul
farmers feel the burdens, but they 40 no
: understand the cause, and SO they com
J. Main of many things. The extortl1n o.
). railroads is one favorite complaint. l an IN
e NOT Going to take up the defense OF ran
u roads. but must say that the real trouble
II with the farmers is not with these. VA
u high tariff of SO per cent on iron, ana GU
+ e advanced rate of wages amounting also u
d ot least 80 per cent, have prodiglously IN
ie creased the cost of transportation, ana TINS
u of course, is hard for the western farmer
who must get his produce to market, II
II hears people talk about monopoles an(
', great capitalists, and thinks there Is
y great combination to ruin him. so he torm
y q combination to resist--to lower the rat'
!, If freights, and 50 on. But when thes'
4 greedy capitalists look at the problem wha
r do they find? They find that they. hav,'
= nut down 100000, 600 in western railroad
> which they might almost as well have sun
: in the sea, SO far as getting any return
II therefor is concerned Not railroad II
, W;cbiean paws dividend, while only on'
in Indiana, only five in Illinois, only one IL
) Wisconsin,, only three in Iowa, and not on
in Kansas, Nebraska, and Minnesota give
the greedy capitalists who have built then
anv income on their stock. But the tar
mers have got the railroads, have got thet
) without paving dollar for them, and be
; tween them and the capitalists it is not tn
. farmers who have reason to feel sore. NJ
!. II is not the railroads, nor is it the grea
class of middlemen, of whom, perhaps
there are too many, but whom, as class
in a country of such diversified lndustr
= and wide extent as ours, it is very toolts
i to seek to set it aside. ;.
: Neither is it your heavy taxation who
burdens YOU. Your taxation IS heav,
b vastly heavier than it would have been bu
s for our dreadful financial mistake. but yo
# could nav il and It would not hinder yot
!, if this cancer of currency were not eatln
-, out your life blood. You are yet tar frol
= paving 80 or 40 per cent of your whole al
Is nual produce in taxes, but this is what yo
W do nav. or this is what you are Obliged t
4. sacrifice Of your produce every year, bt
CT cause Of the currency you are obliged
~ employ Among all the foolish things tn;
~ are talked about among grown up men,ca
Cd there then be anything quite SO sensele'
~ CONTINUED on third page