The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1889-11-05
No. 80

responding date in 1887, which cron
was no earlier than the present one
The buyer interest early in the sea.
son flooded the papers of the country
with articles advising the farmer to
sell his cotton while prices were high:
and later they had long articles pub.
lished showing that the cause of the
high prices was corner in the Liver.
pool market by German speculator.
and Immediately on the heels of that
they had the Liverpool corner to
break all to smash, and in consequence
spot cottons in New York only
dropped a quarter of a cent in two
days, and the next day went up an
eighth, thereby proving the folly and
falseness of the claim that the Liver
pool corner was the cause of the high
prices. But these efforts having
failed, the next move was to resort to
a more effective and certain method,
and that was to reduce the volume of
money in the country, and thereby
force reduction in the value of cot
ton. This they accomplished by
"selling" million dollars in gold for
Great Britain and really exporting
one and half millions of dollars ID
gold; but, as that had tendency to
produce general depression in prices,
stocks of all kinds went tumblin9
down also and came very near pro-
ducing panic in New York, as the
demand for money to make good the
margins on declining stocks ran up
the rate of money on call to from 8
to IL per cent The whole thing had
been planned to follow immediately
after the break of the cot
ton corner in Liverpool, and
it was thought that when
they strained the stock market by the
forced depression consequent upon
the expectation of the large amount
of gold, cotton, being already weak
and declining, would become demoral-
lied and let the bottom drop out, so
that the cotton spectators could ilI
up. But they were doomed to dis
appointment, and cotton went up an
eighth. They are not yet defeated,
but will rally again; and now, farmers
of America, mark the prediction. The
money in the United States Treasury
will be thrown behind the New York
bankers, so that they can take care
of the precious spectators, who might
suffer from fall in general prices in
the range of stock gambling, and then
the volume in circulation will be
forcibly and quickly diminished in
order to compel the farmer 10 turn
their cotton over to the speculator.
True, it may break many legitimate
business enterprises that cannot resort
to the United States Treasury for
breaking, but the "anointed must be
cared for.
This is fight between the farmer
and the speculator, to get what the
spinners are going to pay for cotton,
and not to raise prices. The spinner
does not generally buy till he needs
the cotton to spin. If the speculator
can make money scarce, and thereby
reduce prices and compel the farmer
to sell at once, he will gain the differ
ence between such price and what he
can it up to by the time the spinner
needs it. If the farmer can hold till
that time he will make that gain.
Is there any farmer in America
who will claim that the farmers have
as much right to ask for the tempo
rary use of the money in the United
States Treasury as the Wall street
spectators have; and say that since
the cotton will be demanded by con-
sumption within year, it is the very
best collateral, and that those who
must consume it will be forced to pay
its full value in less than twelve
months; therefore if the government
will advance some of the treasury sur
plus on their cotton in hand there
will be absolutely no risk, and it viii
enable the farmer to make cotton
raising prosperous again If there
be a farmer in this country bold
enough to advance such plan he is
worthy of death and damnation ac-
cording to the laws and usages of the
speculative class.
But what say the intelligent, con-
servative, thinking farmers of Amer
lea !? What should be the attitude
of the government when the interest
of the agricultural producers of this
country and the interests of the stock
and future gamblers conflict Should
the interests of the farmer give way2
National Economist.