The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1889-12-27
THE FARMERS DEFENSIVE
MOVEMENT.
BY W. A. PETER

are forming luc.l, county, State aud
national associ tions, with secret work
of discipline aud oath,bound pledges
in a common ffo1t tc improve thei
condition. OF the ! 100000 farmers.
at least one mi lion are now thus organ.
lied, and tie work is still going on.
All Of tn, Sia'e' are represented in The
movement, but the largest membership
is in the Sauth and West. Nest Ct
the rec1uitil . his been done within the
last three years. There were many
separate and di tnct bodies in the be-
ginning, with different uames, different
methods, aud different secret work, all,
however, originating in the same con-
ditions, moved by like impulses, and
having the same general object in view
Some of these bodies have been cons,l.
idated, an negotiations are now IL
progress locking to general union OF
all within the current year. when it ii
expected that the membership will fall
little, if any, short OF 4 100000.
The origin Of the farmers movement
is found in the operation of three Ct
the most powerful and active agencit s
in modern civilization, whose work is
clearly traceab!e in our recent history
railroads, middle men, and hanks.
During the progress of our last war,
so much was learned about the manage
ment of great enterprises and the hand
lag of large amounts Of money, that
upon its Termination a spirit Of specu
lation possessed the people, and among
the schemes that found favor was tic
ttlement Of the New West by means
of railroad extension and traffic in real
estate securities. The raridity with
which this great work was accomplish
ed has no parallel in the history Of
settlement A territory larger than
that OF the thirteen original States was
populated in half dozen years, and
foundations for an enormous debt were
laid. The southern States, a large
portion of which had been devastated
and their people left destitute, presented
an inviting field for adventure
Schemes for personal and corporate gain
multiplied, and debts, private and
municipal, accumulated in unpreee
dented volume. The exact proportions
of the national debt had been ascer.
tanned. Congress declared that i: should
be paid in coin unless otherwise pro-
vided in the contract, and the govern
mcnt started On the road to resumption
Contracting the volume of currency al
every step, enhancing the value Of
money and securities, private as wei! as
public, and lessening the value Of other
kinds of property; thus increasing the
burdens of debtors and adding contin-
uously to the Influence and power OF
railroads and banks-one controlling
the transportation of the country. the
other controlling its money.
Farmers felt the effects Of these pre-
ceedings sorely. for as the distance be-
tween them and their commercial lead
ers grew greater, d faculties in the way
of equitable payment of their debts be
came more formidable. AS years came
md went, and as private mortgages
and municipal bonds increased in mum
Der, it required more wheat, more corn.
more cattle, moro swine, to meet ma
turing obligations. A debt contracted
when wheat was high, matured when
wheat was low. To illustrate: the av-
erage price of wheat in 1885 was low
er than it had been in 40 years. The
national debt, Aug. l, 1865, was nearly
81 .800,0CO,000. We have been pay
ing the principal of that debt at the
rate of $5O,OOO,O00 year, besides thu
annual interest, which, in The aggre-
gate, has amounted to more than IS pc
cent of the original sum. Sill, Will
all that had been paid, and-availabl'
cash in the treasury being reckoned-
with but little moro than one third o
the original amount yet unpaid, whil'
it would have required 1900, 600
bushels Of wheat, in Aug, 1865. to pa!
the Whole debt, it would have required
nearly as much, or 1900, 100000 bush
els, to pay what remained to be paid q
years later, after the principal had beer
reduced by more than one half, anc
when, of principal and interest, a gooc
dell more than the Whole amount o
tae original debt had been paid.
Agriculture had made substantial
progress, the cultivated area bad beer
greatly enlarged, the number Of farm'
aud their value and product had beer
inoraocod but oc,imates based on th,