Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1890-06-19
PRESENT ECONOMIC PROBLEMS.
No. 8.

NO. B.
It is perhaps not fully compre-
hended by the people of the West
how thoughtfully the present state
of affairs and its cause is being con-
sidered by people of every avocatlon
all over our country. 1t was the
writer's privilege to pass through the
section of the East and South where
some of the largest farming interests
lie, and where the stringency OF the
times has most seriously affected
those interests. That the times were
out Of joint and that relief OF some
kind must be obtained, was the
unanimous opinion, and the statement
of the causes and steps of relief de-
manded, as set forth in preceding
numbers, met with hearty approval
When tie foundation of all our Ia
lions prosperity is jeopardized, it IS
time to call a halt in the admlnlstra-
ton of affairs as allowed to exist.
When our farmers are obliged to turn
to other avocations in order to make
a comfortable living, then may the
nation regard the future with anxiety.
The statement was made to the writer
and by one fully competent to speak,
from life long business experience
with the truckers of Virginia, North
Carolina and Maryland, that unless a
speedy relief of some kind was ex-
tended to those tilIing the soil, that
three-fourths of them would be abso-
lutely bankrupted. Self preservation
will compel the wealth producers to
support propositions that have any
show of relieving the stress OF the
times. 1t takes but statement OF
the causes living back of the trouble
to be intelligently comprehended,
and hearty willingness expressed
to join heart and soul in measures of
relief. / believe that the West with
its brain clear and unclouded by al
cohohc beverages, will lead in the
movement, and will receive hearty
support from the East and South.
The clear, comprehensive statements
of the class Legislation enacted for
the last twenty-five to thirty years,
in the interests of the money power,
and to the detriment and ruination of
a debtor class, of the contraction of
our currency from sixty dollars per
capita in 1866 to five dollars per cap
tia in 1890, and the consequent null
duplication of the debtor class, and
the absolute impossibility of payment
without return to a reasonable cir
culation; the clear pointing out of
the inequalities and absolute injustice
of combines and trusts, and their in
ception and protection by govern
ment. All these need but stating
clearly and forcibly, ana getting TO
the attention of the plain men of the
nation, to quick receive their appro-
baton, and then make a positive de-
mand for relief Il has become no
longer matter of theory but of life
and death interest, and the party that |
fails to comprehend that the issues
of twenty years ago are not those of
to-day, will find that it will no longer
have adherents. The mutterings of |
discomfort at the apparent inability
of statesmen to see and act upon mat
tiers so vitality important is growing
louder and louder. The lifelong adher-
ents of both the old parties are hold
ing their allegiance very lightly, and
but await the leader to step forward
and lead them to an intelligent solu-
ton of these imperative questions.
Our prosperity, our very life as ma
ton is dependent upon our wealth
producers and wage workers, and it
is simply suicidal to continue on in
indifference to their crying and abso-
Lutte necessities. Let bu: the present
state of affairs continue another
twelve month without heed to the
reasonable demands made by the
Alliance and Industrial Union. and
one may doubt whether the respect
for law and love of harmony will
withstand the STRAIN. The opponents
of the free coinage act seem to lose
sight of the principle back of all the
demand, viz, the principle of justice,
of right to pay debts contracted
upon one basis, upon the same and
not a higher basis. Senator Sherman
seems TO entirely misunderstood the
state of affairs, and deliberately |
throws an insult into the faces of
millions of our people when he saws