The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1884-07-12
The Farm VS.. Wall street.

The recent financial disasters which
have overtaaoa strong establishments
and individuals, particularly in the
East, but involving to some degree
Western interests also, must make the
reflective farmer more than ever salts
fed with the modest but safe character
of his business. These banks and
brokers and spectators were all re-
puted to be making large profits, COM
pared with which the moderate returns
yielded by capital invested in the farm
seemed insignificant. But they had to
take large chances also, and now where
are theyP Money gone, credit gone, in
many instances their good names gone,
and involved in debts and losses from
which nothing but commercial miracles
can ever enable any one of them to
emerge! There comes to the farmer no
grand and sudden fortune; but neither
does there come TO him those swift and
complete financial wrecks which seem
sooner or later to overtake nearly every
individual who embarks his fortunes
and energies in these deceptive and I'M
certain kinds of business From the le-
Ultimate products of his labor, and
from the gradual increase of his CAPT
tai, employed mainly in his own bust
ness, the farmers fortune is built up
little by little, with knowledge of the
value of every dollar and conscious
conviction that it has been honestly
earned. 1t is employed as it is earned
in such a manner and invested in such
way that no panics can sweep it away.
No exposure of "stupendous dshon-
esty," in any quarter, involves the
safety of his capital, and he loses no
placed condolences, bankrupt corpora
tons, or worthless or shrinking stocks
or bonds.
1t seems sometimes, perhaps, as if
the moderate returns from agricultural
operations were too small but after all,
considering their security, there are no
investments that in the end yield so
well. Merchants and manufacturers
may make money, for a time, faster than
the farmer, but sooner or later they are
caught too widely extended in some pc
Rod of stagnation in trade or over pro-
duction, and old houses-the pillars of
the trade--sink into oblivion their
quickly-acquired fortunes disappearing
even more rapidly than they were accu-
INFLATED. and leaving behind nothing
beyond q harvest of bitter memories
and blasted hopes. The capitalist seems
to do better than the farmer, lending
his money at good rates of interest and
taking his ease but sooner or later
there comes to him a time when he finds
his securities have lost much of their
value, or that he has overstepped the
bounds OF safety and embarked in
something which turns his dollars into
ashes. On every side men are engaged
in ventures and enterprises which bring
them world of care and anxiety,
which excite high hopes and are for q
time seemingly prosperous but in turn
they all go to the wall. 1t seems only
a question of hishe,
The farmers sASfie seems to have Sc
curity. His gains are small, but they
are sure. The vicissitudes of the sea-
sons and the fluctuations of the mar
kets, prosperous times and poor times,
speculative periods and periods of de-
preston, may come and go, they can
only exert a temporary influence in in
creasing or; diminishing immediate
profits; but with prudence and economy
these things never attack or destroy the
capital which he has invested in his
land and its equipment. Times like
these should serve to cure the discon-
tent with which farmers sometimes re-
gard their occupation, and admonsh
them of the advantage of investing and
using the accommodating capital on their
own farms and in their own business,
instead of interesting themselves in
outside operations, as many are tempted
to do, lending money, getting an inter-
est in trade OF one sort or another, or
yielding to the delusive promises of
speculation. Be content with the farm
and its legitimate business, for there is
no other industry which will bring, and
deserve, so much contentment and hap
piness, and no other avenue in which
the farmer or his sons can hope, ia the
long run, to do so well. Broad acres
and good live stock are banks whose
shares never depreciate or fail 10 pay a
dividend. Nobody's account is over
drawn, and nobody's confidence is mis-
placed or abused. The shareholder in
such bank can pass through life rs
free from care as falls to the lot of any
human being; and, no matter who he
meets, need never have occasion to
pull down the rim of his hat to conceal
the record on his forehead = Breeders
Gazette.