Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1891-08-26

SO far as taking care of property is con-
cerned, spectators now take care of it,
and amass fortunes in spite of the
''risk." Then there are the same old
chestnuts of dishonest officials" !" etc,
etc, none of which are worth noticing.
incidentally, however, Mr.. Norton
springs an issue upon which may be
based the strongest argument that may
be made for the sub-treasury plan. He
speaks of the 'hazard of the fiuctua-
tions of the marketr' Under the work.
ings of the sub-treasury plan there
would be no fluctuations of the market.
With money to tide them over their
pressing needs. and secure in the pos
session of the warehouse receipt for the
equity in their products, the farmers,
organized as they now are nationally,
and by states and counties, could divide
the sum total quantity of their products
into m nthly or weekly quotas, and
atfixing uniform or equitable price for
the year sell direct to actual consumers
at such price, one-twelfth of their total
products each month. No, indeed!
There would be no fluctuations in the
market" Fluctuations are made by
spectators and gamblers, and the sub
treasury plan would release the farmer
from the thralldom of their sway.
Mr.. Norton then says:
These are some of the Objections-so far as
the transactions are concerned between the
still greater objection is the sudden and un-
comfortable imitation of the currency which
would follow the harvesting of drops. An
enormous amonnt of money would suddenly
be put into circulation-only TO be followed
by just as sudden contraction when the
government realizes on its temporary loan
l. g. when the farmers pay their debts to the
government.
At the lowest possible estimate one thou
sand million dollars would have to be put
out. by the government, say, during the
months of August September and October
This could remain out say. for six months,
at the end of which time 1t must be return ed
to the government It must be returned
say, during the months of February, March
and April. An / It docs not matter whether
the government sells IL or the people sell it.
the money which is loaned must be paid
back. II there is not an expansion" and
contraction" that will make the hair of any
level headed old green backer stand on end
then we can't Imagine what would. Talk
about the evils caused by the power of the
banks to ''infiate" and 'toontra. ~ the cur.
rency-and then compare them with that
produced by the sub treasury plan!
Here Mr.. Norton leaves the consid-
Grafton of the plan and proceeds to the
discussion of specific bill. l am glad
that the people are called upon to dis
cuss, not any specific bill, but the sub
treasury plan.
1 amfree to confess that do not con-
slider that the Vance and Pickler bills
are wise or practicable in some of their
provisions and details, nor do 1 believe
that they are in accord with the Ocala
demands or the Cincinnati platform,
the financial plank of which reads
thus:
A-The right to make and issue money is a
sovereign power to be maintained by the peo-
pie for the common benefit, hence we de-
mand the abolition of national banks, as
banks OF issue, and a substitute for ma
tiOnal bank notes demand that legal tender
treasury notes be issued In sufficient volume
to transact the business of the country on a
cash basis without damage or special advan-
tage to any class or calling such notes to be
legal tender in payment of all debts, public
and private, and such notes, when demanded
by the people, shall be loaned to them at not
more than two per cent per annum upon
non perishable products, as indicated in the
ub-treasury plan, and also upon real estate,
with proper limitation upon quantity of land
and amount of money.
The above plank certainly contem-
plates the issuance of a volume of
money (notes) sufficiently large to do
the business OF the country upon a cash
basis, "such notes. mot a supplemental
issue) but the notes constituting such
sufficient volume" to be loaned to the
people upon real estate and non-perish-
able products Hence, conclude that
the provisions of the sub-treasury bill.
which provides that such notes, when
paid back to the government, shall be
cancelled and destroyed" is not in
accord with the Ocala demands. Now
Mr.. Norton advocates government
loans upon land, and v-e will suppose
that the same substEeasuries or Uni
ted States banks that loan upon real
estate, also loan upon United States
bonded warehouse certificates, or
receipts for non-perishable products.
Just as there will be real estate
loans, continually being paid back to
the govern ment, so also will there be
loans repaid that were made upon nom
perishable products, such re-payments
being made with precise regularity, not
in one or two months, but day by day,
week by week and month by month, as
the regular quota of products is with
drawn from the warehouses for con-
sumption. and varying very little in
amount one week from another. More
over, as wheat, corn and cotton arc
ready for storage in different quarters
OF the year (wheat-July, August and
September; corn-October, November
and December; cotton-about the same
time as corn, but where they raise cot
ton they raise but little corn, and vice
versa there would be constsl, out
going and inaoaine, a steady borrowing
and fepaytng of money continually go
Ing on. By the way, is there not an
immense amount of money borrowed
now from private bankers upon wheat.
corn and cotton? Why is it that the
opponents of the sAbrneasuryt plan
nAVer say anything about the inf,a-
tion caused by the withdrawal of
the vast sums of money from the bank
vaults necessary to buy the farmers
crops or make him advances" Coansl
upon such crops? That money il lust
as surely and securely hidden from
circulation in the bank vaults of the
country as would be the money in the
government vaults under the sub.
treasury plan. And uader the present
systera the Imitation is 100 per cent
instead of 80 per cent of the value of
the crops or .'non-perishable products
Why should money amounting to 80 per
cent OF the crop. advanced BY govern.
ment at two per cent cause sudden.
and uncontrollabe imitation of the cur
rency If money advanced by the
bankers at from to IS per cent.
amounting to 100 per cent of the value
OF the crops causes no imitation at all?
What fools we mortals be-
Finally, does Mr.. Norton bslieYe that
fhe plutocrats would be more likely to
acquiesce in the government plana
GEoRE C. WARD.