The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-05-13

storage of wheat, corn and oats, and
as there is never at one time subject
to storage much over three hundred
million bushels of these grains, the
average capacity of elevators would
be about $780, 600 bushels. The most
liberal estimates for the construction
of elevators of that size do not exceed
$4,000 each, or an aggregate of S..
$50, 600. The warehouses necessary
for storing cotton and tobacco can be
built at a much less cost, but count
ing them at the same price the 373
warehouses would cost $7,46O, 900.
and this very liberal estimate Of the
cost of construction of all the ware
houses and elevators possible under
this law would only be SI6,3 $40, 900.
vi course this estimate is only de-
signed to be an approximation, and
as such is fair and reasona ole.
The building of the substantial and
useful buildings in the smaller cities
and county towns of the rural districts
will do much to encourage and de.
velop growth and enterprise and be
the means of establishing home
manufacturing enterprises, thereby CD,
Grating as a check upon the depIorable
tendency toward the ruinously expen-
sIve system Of concentrating every.
thing in the cities. Encourage the
growth of n good manufacturing
town in each county, and much will
be gained toward rendering farming
prosperous. For example, there are
not half as many Touring mills scat
tered through the farming districts of
the country as there were twenty years
ago. Then the farmer usually carried
grain to the mill, and -four and bran
back; but now the rule is to sell his
wheat and buy patent -four. The
great milling corporations have crowd,
ed the small miller to the wall because
they were able to buy a years supply
of wheat at a time when the market
was lowest, and since he is crowded
out the farmer is compelled to pay
freight on both his wheat and -four.
With the wheat at home until de-
manded by consumption, there would
be nc such advantage to the capitalist.
Again, it is conservative as pre-
sented in this bill, because it is limited
to only FIVE of the leading articles of
agricultural production. True, the
principles involved once admitted and
demonstrated to be correct by expert
ment cannot in justice be confined by
an arbitrary limit to five or any other
number of agricultural productions,
as all products of labor can and will
Justly demand a like recognition. But
while it may be proved to the entire
satisfaction of every one to be correct
in principle, its introduction must be
guarded by many details calculated to
prevent abuses, and these details,
many of them, cannot be foreseen,
but must be guarded by experience.
Therefore, the Introduction and start
ing Of this machinery is to a great ex-(
tent experimental, and it is the part
of a true and wise conservatism to
proceed with safety and caution, ad-
hitting as few articles as possible un-
til all the joints are well fabricated
and in good, smooth working order.
The necessity for a flexible feature
or quality in the circulating medium
of this country has already been
shown incidentally. This HIS always
been recognized by economists, but
the march of material progress in re.
cent years, whereby the whole world
is converted into a daily market, has
intensified this necessity by shorten
ing very materially the season in
which the products of agriculture are
marketed, thereby shortening the
period of and intensifying its demand
for money and creating a correspond
ingly greater variation between the
adequacy of volume to demand at the
different seasons, thus making what
the earlier economists considered an
al element of minor importance in
the disturbance of prices, n Of the
most Importance agencies for that
purpose at the present time. In this
connection the following maxims are
offered as concise statements of ulti-
mate truth in the premises:
A fuctuating demand for money
met by a fixed or infexible volume,
whether great or small, will be at,
tended with fuctuating prices.
A stable, fixed and regular demand
for money met by a fuctuating vol,
ume will be attended with fuctuating
prices.
A fuctuating demand for money,
met by a volume that fuctuates ex-
actly to correspond with the auctua,
tions in demand, will be attended
with stability of prices. These are
offered as ultimate truths that cannot
be ignored.
The desirability of the measures
proposed by this bill have now been
| shown from avery conceivable stand