The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-01-07

agricultural products of the whole
year having been harvested, they are
placed on the market to buy money.
The amount Of money necessary to
supply this demand is equal to many
times the actual amount in circulation.
Nevertheless the class that controls
the volume of the circula ing medium
desire to purchase these agricultural
products for speculative purposes, SO
they reduce the volume of money by
boarding, in the face of the augmented
demand, and thereby advance the ex-
changeable value the then inadequate
volume of money, which is equivalent
to reducing the price of the agricultu-
raj products. True agriculturists
should hold their products and not
sell at these ruinously low prices. And
no doubt they would if they could,
but to prevent that, practically all
debts, taxes, and interest are made to
mature at that time, and they being
forced to have money at a certain
season when they have the product of
their labor to sell, the power of money
to Cypress by it's scarcity is applied
until 1t makes them turn loose their
products so low that their labor ex.
pended does not average them fifty
cents per day. This illustrates the
power of money to Cypress; the remedy,
as before, lies in removing the power
of the fulcrum-the infexible govern
ment issue-and supplying a govern
ment issue, the volume of which shall
be increased to correspond with the
actual addition to the wealth of the
nation presented by agriculture at
harvest time, and diminished as such
agricultural products are consumed.
Such a ~fexibility Of volume would
guarantee a stability of price based on
cost of production which would be
compelled to reckon the pay for agri-
cultural labor at the same rates rs
other employment. Such fexibility
would rob money of it's most potent
power-the power to oppress-and
place a premium on productive effort.
But how may so desirable a result be
secured? Let us see. By applying
the same principles now in force in
the monetary system Of the United
States with only slight modification in
the detail of their execution. The
government and the people of this
country realize that the amount of
gold and silver, and the certificates
based on these metals do not comprise
a volume of money sufficient to supply
the wants of the country, and in order
to increase the volume, the govern
ment allows individuals to associate
themselves into a body corporate, and
deposit with the government bonds
which represent national Indebtedness,
which the government holds in trust
and issues to such corporation paper
money equal to ninety per cent. of the
value of the bonds, and charges said
corporation interest at the rate of one
per cent. per annum for the use Of said
paper money. This allows the issue
of paper money to increase the
volume of the circulating medium on
a perfectly safe basis, because the
margin is a guarantee that the banks
will redeem the bonds before they
mature. But now we find that the
circulation secured by this method is
still not adequate; or to take a very
conservative position, if we admit that
it is adequate on the average, we know
that the fact of it's being entirely in
adequate for half the year makes it's
infexibility an engine of oppression,
because a season in which it is made
quate must be followed by one of
superabundance in order to bring
about the average, and such a range
in volume means great fluctuations in
prices which cut against the producer,
both in buying and selling, because he
must sell at a season when produce is
low, and buy when commodities are
high. This system, now in vogue by
the United States Government of sup
plementing its circulating medium by
a safe and redeemable paper money,
should be pushed a little further and
conducted in such a manner as to
secure a certain augmentation of sup,
ply at the season of the year in which
the agricultural additions to the wealth
of the nation demand money, and a
diminution in such supply of money
as said agricultural products are con-
sumed. 1t is not an average adequate
amount that is needed, because under
it the greatest abuses may prevail, but
a certain adequate amount that ad-
usts itself to the wants of the country
at all seasons. For this purpose let
us demand that the United States
Government modify its present fnan-
cial system:
l. So as to allow the free and un-
limited coinage Of silver or the is
sue of silver certificates against an un-
limited deposit of bullion.
2. That the system of using certain
hanks as United States deDOsitories