The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1889-02-15
Friday. Feb. 15, 1850.
Why Times are Hard and Farmers
Poor.

Six hundred and thirteen millions,
seven hundred and seventy.nine
thousand, five hundred and sixty
seven dollars is the amount of specie
gold and silver-piled up in the
treasury of the Uuited States accord
ing to the official report of January
1st, present year. And this is about
the same amount-sometimes few
millions more-that is shown in the
monthly statements right along
324,773,666 of this sum is in gold,
the balance silver. The sum, vast
as it seems, could be readily doubled
in few years we have no doubt, if
it were an object to do so (The gold
party tried hard to prevent the silver
going there.) This is not the desire,
however. of the powers shat shape
the financial "policy'' of the govern
ment and have been directing and
controlling it for quarter of cen
fury. 1t has not been the Admins
tration or the Congress, intended to
be the peoples servants, that has
shaped the financial policy of the
nation, but class of Wall Street,
English and German money kings
who have been dubbed "gold bugs"
by the rest of mankind. Their work
has been pursued silently but, stead
lily, untiriDgly with the object single
in view, OF gaining complete control
of the money Of Europe and the
United States, and that power as fast
as gained has been used to shrink the
value of property and enhance the
value of money.
The first step of these conspiritors
against the producing class of the
world and more especially Of this
country, was to get an act of Con-
gress making government bonds pay
able, principal and interest in gold.
Their next move was to induce the
United States to demonetize silver,
an object they have accomplished in
all the governments of Europe. Sill.
yer being no longer money became
an article of merchandise solely, as
any other commodity, which shrunk
the volume OF money to one half its
former quantity. or the inability to
increase the circulating medium
which monetized silver afforded. AS
the volume of business and popula.
ton increased, diminishing the ratio
Of gold to that increase, this metal
of course increased in value measur
ed by its power to purchase property.
This "gold bug' class as they are
termed, hold virtually all the bonded
debt of Europe and the United
States, which being payable in gold
only, remains equal to gold. 1t mat.
tered not how dear gold became by
the disp-oportion between that metal
and the commodities of the world
whicE represent labor, by the in
crease of population and business,
the debts held by this gold class. re-
NAMED the same as gold, because
made payable in that coin. During
the war the government bonds were
purchased with greenbacks at par.
Gold ran up as high as two dollars
and two and a half in greenbacks for
one. Wheat was also two dollars
and two and half per bushes. Fifty
bushels Of wheat or less then would
purchase a hundred dollar govern
ment bond. Now it will take about
one hundred and fifty bushels of
wheat to purchase q hundred dollar
United States bond.
1t will be seen that the debts Gre
ated in those days remain the same
while the ability to pay them has
hundred and fifty per
cent. ~Or in other words the obliga-
lions of the government and of in,
dlyiduals created quarter of Gen.
fury ago or less have, in place of
Diminishing by constant payments
made on them, actually grown
greater. The Indebtedness Of the
government to day, though the nom
NAL sum has been decreased one
bali, is greater than it was..at the end