The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-04-29

tor never fails to call upon him with his
increased demands. Is it any wonder
that these struggling and oppressed mil
lions are organizing for relief and pvotec-
ton?
THE CAUSES
We protest, and with all reverence,
that it is not Gods fault. We protest
that it is not the farmers fault. We be-
iieve and 50 charge, solemnly and dclib-
erately, that it is the fault of the fnancia.
system of the government system that
has placed on agriculture an undue, IN
just, and intolerable proportion Of the
burthens Of taxation, while it makes tina;
great interest the helpless victim of the
rapacious greed and tyrannical power of
gold. A system through which despite
~admonitiOns of history and the expert
ence of all countries III all ages; despite
the teachings and warnings of the ab!est
men in ;he science Of political economy
in this and in all other countries, our
currency has been contracted to a volume
totally inadequate to the necessities of
the people and the demands of trade, an !
with the natural and inevitable result
high-priced money and low-p1iced pro-
ducts.
THE REMEDY.
l. Restore to silver it's dignity and
place as a money metal, with all the rights
of coinage and all the qualities Of legal
tender which gold possesses.
2. Issue sufficient amounts of currency
direct to the people, at a low rate of in
t~erest, to meet the legitimate demands Of
the business of the country, and which
shall be legal tender for all debts, public
and private.
3. Secure to such issue equal dignity
with the money metals by basing it on
real, tang bic, substantial values.
These were the central ideas which
prompted the action Of the 81. Louis con-
vention when that body asked for the free
and unrestricted coinage Of silver, aud for
an increased volume Of currency to meet
the increasing demands of the country,
and presented, through Senator Vance, to
the Senate the bill now under considera-
ton.
AS I am to be followed by DR.. @. w.
Macune, chairman of or National COM
mittee on Legislation, who will address
himself more particularly to the merits
dL1u OCIdllS OIL CI4G SySGSLu DIS OuL1II1Su III
the bill, I will beg the kind indulgence Of
the committee for a remark as t. only two
points:
1t is charged hat to adopt tnis bill,
which provides for the lending of money
by the Government to the farmers at l
per cent. on the security therein provided
for, would be to establish paternalism in
our Government. Is it paternalism for
the Government to lend to the farmers of
the country money on short time at | per
cent. on evidence of wealth, when for a
quarter Of a century it has been lending
money to the banks at l per cent on evil
dences Of Indebtedness? Is it p%aternalism
to lend money to the farmers on those
products which the world needs and
must have, and which are stored in ware
houses, when the Government has for
these long years been storing whisky il
warehouses, and whose certificates of
deposit on the same are negotiable III all
the banks of the land? Is it paternalism
or criminal for the Government to accept
the voluntary tender Of a valid and
substantial security in the property of the
citizen for a loan of money, when that
Government, for all time, has based its
faith and credit for the issue Of money on
its power to tax that same property?
It is urged that the products VIII Oh we
offer as security are p~erishable. True
but are they more p~erishable in carefully
constructed warehouses, after having been
carefully inspected and classified, than
they are when stored in the barns Of the
farmer? What proportion Of that class of
tie proposed crops, which only would
be admitted to the warehouse under an
efficient system of inspection, is lost to
the farmers annually, even under the rude
and careless system in which they 0
stored? The world buys these
products from the barns and Uses them.
Would it not do so as well from the
government warehouses? The demands
for annual consumption would preclude
the possibility of ar accumulation or
retention of these products beyond their
natural period Of self preserving power.
this system of warehouse storage,
with certificates of deposit freely nego-
table on the values stored, has been IN
successful practical operation in this coun-
try for several years, and Is constantly
charging. Its convenience, its utility,
and it's safety c0mmends it to the trust
companies ar. bankers as among the very
best forms of security for large advances,
and they are eagerly sought. [ refer
particularly to the system of c2li storage
warehouses now operated in the city OF
New York and established several years
ago. Goods to the amount of thousands
and millions, especially of high class
imported goods, are stored for their better
preservation, and advances are freely
made to the extent of 80 t. 80 per cent.
of their value at 6 per cent. unless arrange
ment is made for lower interest. There
has never been a case of loss in the bust
ness, and there is great competition among
the banks and trust companies to make
these advances. If this class Of goods,
whose extremely delicate texture and
finish render them highly susceptible to
damage, stored in warehouses which are
not claimed to be fre-proof, is regarded
and sought by the capitalists and banks
as safe and desirable security for liberal
loans, why could not cotton, wheat, corn,
- oo+, ho rapIarod oo11allV safe and