Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1890-06-07
Navttt &#ffrtste.
Bettering our Situation.

that last developed into class OF
agricultural grumblers and farm de-
preston orators it is this United |
States. To hear some of these talk
and Others write, one would think
that the farmers of this country were
four times over bankrupt. OF course
there is a depression in agriculture,
but it is not in this country alone.
1t is yet worse across the sea. The
truth is that we have builded faster
in this country than we can cover
well, aud we are now forced into
markets with our surplus where
we must compete with other nations
lin a fight, commonly speaking,
with other countries which have the
same things to sell that we possess,
and it is game of underselling, and
the producer 1900 miles away gets
the worst of it. Nor will cheaper
transportation solve this problem.
Cheaper freights on our corn, wheat
and beef mean decreased price to the
consumers and no rise at the produce
end of the line. Cheaper freight al
ways means cheaper food for the
buyer.
While study upon this point is all
right it needs something beside "beS
wailing our woes" to set matters
Alright. Just now the largest over
production we have is the class of
demagogues, Office seekers and agi-
tators who are working their crack
ct" for their own schemes, and not
one of them has a reasonable remedy
to offer for agricultural depression,
save the wrecking of commercial en-
terprises, upsetting railway and trans
portation concerns, and putting a
new and untried element in power in
our government with the confessed
purpose of making all other indus
tries secondary to agriculture. A
specimen "brick" of this is foreshad-
owed by the asking of government
to receive the farmers product at 80
per cent. of its market value, and
hold it a year for the farmer to re-
deem, but denying the iron man the
same privilege, or refusing to store
coal for the miner for these two pro-
ducts are products of the earth as
surely as wheat or corn.
While we hear about the shrink
age of farm values in this country,
and New England farms especially
what about the same troubles in
England-their decline in farm val
ues, the depreciation Of rents, and the
falling off of one.third of the wheat
acreage of that country in three
years? If we are so unfortunate
here, and they so prosperous there,
why does 100 millions of the surplus
wealth of England flow to this coun,
try in one year for investments TIC
make the depression Of this country
appear great, the agitatOrs suppress
all facts of like nature in Europe
and the actual condition Of labor
there, and largely argue from falst
premises here. This is notable il
the farm mortgage cry, and the al
legged rapid increase Of these. Late
ly we have obtained some pretty re-
liable figures of the farm mortgage
Of the State of Illinois. At the frs
trial balance the actual amount of Sc
cured Indebtedness shrank over one
half from the figures that have beer
given out to show the "deplorabl
condition of the farmer" there
Then it was found that all Of tn
mortgages in the State had been b,
these same economists" charged
against the farms, when in fact 60 pc
cent. was on city and village prop
erty, and not on farm acreage,
and at last assuming that not a dol
lar had ever been paid on any recor
ded mortgage, the amount woul
not aggregate 10 per cent. of tn
farm taxable property of the State
Could the exact amount be known @
the credits on these mortgages
which the recorders books do nc
show, there would be a yet ful
ther shrinkage of values of farr
mortgages. Assuming that thi
same proportion of 60 and 40 per cen
holds good, then the farms Of Ind
ana are mortgaged less than pc
cent. of their taxable value. Canadi
is reported as carrying a total mort
gage debt of 40 per cent. of he
wealth, and late consular report
from Europe put the mortgages i
England, France and Germany at
full half of their landed and dwellin
Ualuo