The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1891-02-21

bsnkers, suciionesrs and executive
officials.
All these officers aud employees must
De compensated TOR their services
either by fees charged to the depositors
of products, or by payments out Of the
public treasury, and all, or nearly all
will bc partissns of the administration
IN power, because, under the Constitu-
ton, they canuot be chosen by the
people, but must be appointed by the
President, or the head OF a department
or the judges Of the Uuited States
Courts.
II is proposed 10 appropriate the sum
Of S50,OO0,0OO al once. to begin the
erection Of these warehouses, and
while we have no accurate data upon
the subject, it is perfectly safe to say
that they would cost altogether many
times that amount, all which must be
raised by taxation on the people, the
farmers themselves, under our system,
paying much more than their equal
share.
There are more than 2,400 counties
In the United States. But not more
than one-third of them (if that many
produce and sell annually more than
S5O0,000 worth of wheat, corn, oats,
cotton and tobacco, and therefore not
more than one-third OF them could
possibly avail themselves of this plan
if it were adopted. 1t viii be seen,
therefore, at the very outset that 1t Is
a plan to compel the Government to
issue and distribute money for the
benefit of the people living in Che rich
and productive counties at the expense
of the people living in the poorer and
less productive ones. Moreover, II is
a plan TO enable unscrupulous spccu-
lators TO take advantage Of the farm
ers' pecuniary necessities and extort
exorbitant prices for food from people
who reside IN cities, towns and villages,
and from people who reside in tho
country but do not own these particu-
lar agricultural products. 1t 10 evil
dent that no farmer will subject him
self to the labor and expense of trans-
porting his property to tho public
warehouse aud TO all the other charges
which he must pay for storage, for
handling, and for taking care of them
while there when he has barns and
granaries at home, unless he Is in debt
and absolutely needs the money which
J the Government Is to advance, and II
he is in that unfortunate condition
from what source is he afterwards to
acquire the means TO redeem the pro-
ducts by returning the money aud in
terost and paying the warehouse
chargesy In great majority of cases
he will never be able TO redeem them,
but will be forced to lose the remain
ing 20 per cent. of the value of his
products or sell his warehouse re-
ceipis for whatever he can get for
them, which win be very little; for IL
must be remembered that after he gets
his warehouse receipts he has u re-
naming interest of only 20 per cent.
in the product, less charges for inter-
est, storage, etc, and this Is oil he can
dispose of. lie will find tho time rap
idly approaching when he must have
money to redeem his products, or sell
his small remaining interest in them,
or allow them to bo sold at public
auction by the Government; and this
! win be the golden opportunity Of the
. spectators, whose agents will swarm
all over the country, ready TO take tho
! warehouse receipts from the embar-
I rassed owners for merely nominal
sum. The receipt Is simply privl-
, lego Of redemption, like pawn brok-
! cr's ticket, and the farmer, being him
, self unable TO redeem, will be forced
ultimately to dispose of II at any price
/ offered. do not think that any con.
siderable number of intelligent people
in this country will unite in asking
the Government to establish a system
, which will compel them in large
number of cases TO sacrifice the pro-
: ducts of their labor.
But suppose tho farmers are able to
redeem the products in order to offer
them for sale in the market, what
would be the necessary effect of the
, proceedingsH When they deposit
their products in the warehouses the
volume of the currency is Immediately
expanded and prices rise, bacause the
government has issued new treasury
notes to the amount of eighty per
cent. upon the products; but when
: they withdraw the products for sale
in the market, the volume of the cur
rency is Immediately contracted, and
: prices fall because when the with
drawal is made all the treasury notes
originally loaned must be returned
aud cancelled. The very moment the
deposits are made, and as long as they
remain in the warehouses, and beyond
the control of the farmer, there is an
enormous and dangerous initiation of
the currency, aud prices are high, but
: the very moment the farmers with
draw their products for sale, there is
an enormous and dangerous contrac-
tion of the currency and prices are
: low.
According to the latest official re-
port upon the subject the total amount
J of currvncy In the country Is S2,060,-
75S,07l, but the sum of S622,764,278 Is
I held in the Treasury of the United
States, leaving about 81 ,500,000,000 in
active circulation among tho people.
Q II was said BY one of the leading adj
vocates of this scheme, who appeared
] before the Senate committee that in
Y order TO carry 1t out II would be nee
cssary to double the present volume
of currency in circulation once every
5 year and as the products can remain
9 In the warehouse only twelve months,
I of course about one thousand and five
Z hundred millions of dollars would
\ have to be retired and cancelled every
9 year, two changes in the volume OF
. currency, either of which would be
r absolutely ruinous to all the CONNER
1 cial and industrial interests of the
!, people. No business of any kind
s could be transacted in any country in
1 the world under such a financial sys-
0 TEN as this, and the farmers and labor
!. ing people would be the first to feel
r its fatal effect. The fluctuations in the
e wages of labor and prices OF commod.
i tiles would be SO sudden and so great
Il that no man could afford 10 enter into