St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-03-26
SOMETHING WRONG.

A Dakota Alliance Farmer Sug-
gests Il Few Thoughts on This
Line.
Il. ID. Scott, one of the officers of the
Farmers alliance of Dakota, in an arti-
Gle in the Farmers Voice, says: "a re-
mark from one Of the great so-called
statesmen, James q. Blaine, that dur
ing the Republican administration the
great increase of wealth and its equal
distribution has no parallel in the his
tory of our country. Those ac-
Quanted with the condition of
producers will doubt the asser-
ton. The vast accumulation no one
can deny, but as to the equal distribu-
ton, let lis see; being a farmer, L shall
hold to the tillerS of the soil. The tens
of thousands of mortgaged homes in the
most prosperous portions of our agri-
cultural districts do not show that a
great amount of the vast wealth has
gone into the pockets of the farmer (the
principal portion of the plasters have
been placed on the farmers during the
prosperous time referred to by Mr..
Blaine). Now as to the cause. We
frequently are met with the consoling
argument that the
y
This kind of argument is free and
frequently emanates from the kid-gI0ved
gentry who sits in his finely furnished
Office Watching chance to take the adj
vantage Of some poor mans necessity or
some one who is dealing in wares at
good profit. These pretended friends of
the farmers know about as much about
the condition of the farmer as the
average lawyer and professional
politician do about heaven. A peep
in the homes of the average farmer,
with their bare walls and floors, no
music. and in many instances children
brought up in comparative ignorance
for the want of proper clothing and
books to attend school-the argument is
poor consolation. The farmers of Da-
kota are advised to diversity their farm
ing. Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Mime
sofa and many other states have fol-
lowed this advice. The thousands of
mortgages on record in these states do
not show that this is all the remedy
necessary; the wise cry, 'overprOduc-
tion,' this may be the cause. But who
ever heard of any one starving to death
because Of too much to eat? Who ever
heard OF men. women and children
suffering for shoes because of an over
production of shoes? Is there an in
stance on record where families have
suffered with cold because of too much
clothing. but in this land of plenty
where we have the raw material and
thousands of labOrers willing to convert
it into food, clothing and the neceSSarieS
and comforts OF life? There are thou
sands of people suffering for the want
of what goes to make up the necesSaries
OF life: it is evident that
SOMETHING Is WRONG.
Where is the remedy? For the want
of better argument let us attribute our
present condition to the contraction of
the currency, the failure of congress to
give free coinage to silver, the
act to fund the national debt,
in fact a conspiracy to cripple
the financial system of our nation. l
believe that one serious result from pro-
tectivc tariff is taking from the chan
nels of commerce the much needed cir
culating medium. and placing it in the
treaSurer'S vault. 1t might as well be
in the bottom of the Atlantic ocean rs
far as any Immediate good it is to the
people.
The laws of supply and demand con-
troll the price Of money. History will
bear me out in the statement that
whenever there is contraction of the
circuiatiag medium the product of labor
is reduced proportionatcly. Whatever
minor matters may appear to play
conspicuous part i'll causing our present
condition. Believe our financial system
is the principal cause. The discomfort
amongst the producers in nearly every
part OF Tie grandeSt nation OH the face
of Gods footstoOl is something worthy
of serious consideration.