Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser., 1890-06-13
Imitation as it Affects Farmers,

doctrine Of the greenbackers
that the imitation of the volume of
currency in the country, by the issue
OF fiat paper money by. the General
Government, would increase the value
of agricultural products and bring
greater remuneration and consequent
alleviation to the oppressed farmers.
According to the statement of the
Secretary of the Treasury there was in
circulation in the United States, April
1st, 1890, $1,437,494.O52. If the Gen.
eral Government were to issue like
amount of greenbacks, and means
could be adopted to get them in cir.
culation by July lst, there would then
oe in circulation exactly too dollars
for every one dollar in circulation now.
WHAT would be the result? 1t would
be simply and surely that the price of
every article that is bought. and sold
would be exactly double " hat it is now.
The laws of trade are immutable and
inexorable and this result would fol.
low as surely as the night the day.
Herein lies the green hackers great
delusion. He seizes upon the fact
that the price of commodities the poor
man has to sci such as farm produce or
his personal labor in the other indus
tries, would be increased on pro rata
with the imitation Of the currency, but
takes no note at all of the inevitable
fact that everything the poor has to
buy would be increased in exactly the
same ratio. He fails to draw the i'm
portant distinction between an in
creased price and an increased ralue.
Assuming then that the price of all
commodities would be increased in
price in the exact ratio Of the increase
in the volume of the circulating med
ium, which is an abundantly demon
strated fact, and where can We work
out a benefit to the farmers by the in
Cation idea? 1t ia true that in the
case of the doubling of the volume of
currency. which We have Supposed, the
farmer would receive in the sale of his
produce exactly two dollars for every
one dollar that he now receives, but it
is equally true that he would have to
pay for everything that he had to buy
exactly tvo dollars for every one dol
lar that he now pays. In the case We
have supposed of IA two to one initiation
of the currency by the issue Of fiat
money, the first knowledge the farmer
would have of it would be the doub-
ling Of the price of everything he
bought at the stores, for the trade
centres would discover the deprecated
value of the currency before the
farmer.
In order more clearly to work out
tho bearing of the imitation i1ea on the
farmers interest, let US suppose the
case of farmer A, who, with an unin-
numbered farm, is now paying all e1-
penses of his farm and saving $500 u
year of farmer B, who, with an unin-
numbered farm, is paying all expenses,
but saving, nor losing, nothing-just
making "both ends meet > of farmer
G, who, with an unincumbered farm,
is SO conducting his operations rs to
run in debt at the rate of 800 a year ;
and of farmer d, who, with a mortgage
of $1,000 on his farm. manages to pay
all his farm expenses and the $50 in-
terest on the mortgage, but can save
nothing to pay on the principal. Under
the operation Of the deubIy inflated
currency, farmer A would save annu-
ally 81 200 instead of $500, but the
purchasing capacity and intrinsic
value of the 81, 900 would be exactly
the same as the $500 he now saves !;
farmer B would come oct of his year 3
operations with nothing at all saved i,
just as he does now; farmer G would
come out with an Indebtedness of $500,
instead of 800 as at present, but the
5000 Of debt would be exactly the same
burden as 800 is now but farmer D
would not only pay the 500 Of interest
on Lis mortgage, but would also save
$50 more which he could annually ap.
ply to the reduction of the principal
of his mortgage.
Here, ut last, we have worked out q
benefit by imitation. In sixteen and
two-thirds years farmer D could, if
some political party or other machin-
alton did not in the meantime contract
the currency, raise the mortgage on
his farm, and all farmers that are now
in debt could avail of the increased
number of legal tender dollars they
would save to reduce their indebted.
ness. But it is to be observed and
held in mind that it is only the farmer
who is in debt and who is moU sauinq
something toacard reducing that imde6t-
edness, who would have any benefit
from the undue inaation of the cur.
rency.
The exercise, then, of this danger.
GUS power OF imitation by the Govern.
ment is to be done as a means of en-.
ahlino the farmer. or other moor man