The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1891-12-22
A Solution for the Great Problem

A Solution for the Great Problem.
Every sensible man and good citi-
zen, who is brought in contact with
the farmers and does not gain his in
formation merely from the biased and
often entirely false statements in the
newspapers, knows that the cause of
the uprising of the farmers has very
solid foundation in fact. This paper
has aided and abetted the farmers
movement from its very inception, be-
cause our relations with them made
us painfully aware of the pressing ne
cesslty for relief of some kind from
present conditions. In all the funda-
mental principles of their organiza-
tons and in all their reasonable de-
mands, we have agreed with them,
and done all we could to aid in secur-
ing the enactment of laws in accord
ance Herewith. But at the Sub
Treasury scheme we were obliged to
halt. We have been opposed to it be-
cause, LIST. We do not think it would
bring relief. End, Because the push
ing of it to the front, to the exclusion
of other important and feasible de-
mands, stopped the effort to secure
other demands and endangered the
life of the farmers organizations. Sd,
Because it is hopeless to expect any
law to be enacted in accordance with
the provisions of this scheme.
But we now know as well as we
have ever known, that there is a ter
ribe necessity that something should
be done to accomplish what the farm
eS aiming at, in the Sub Treasury
scheme. This is an age in which
capital and money has its grip upon
the throat of every other industry,
and the less in touch with capitalists
the industry is, the more it suffers.
There is no need for us to mention
the fact, to anyone familiar with cur
rent history, that so completely has
money gained the dominion over the
civilized world. that not a monarchy
in Europe would declare war without
the consent of the capitalists. But
with that we have no special concern
the fact Of the utmost importance to
every patriotic American citizen, is
that we, too, have fallen into the
clutches of capital to such an extent
that even the Secretary of the Treas
ury of free and rich America will per-
form no important act in relation to
our finances without consulting the
capitalists.
The meaning of this is, that the
finances of the United States must be
run, not in the interest of the people,
but TO suit the views of those who con-
troll vast amounts of money; and so
they have been run, until our founda-
ton industry, the one that made us
and keeps us the richest nation on the
globe, the business of farming has be-
come almost universally profitless. 1t
is not necessary here to mention the
facts made public by the census, that
almost every farm in the country is
mortgaged all it will bear; it is not
necessary TO repeat the fact that, while
in the last decade manufacturing
States increased in wealth from 20 to
so per cent, agricultural States in
creased little or none Massachusetts,,
with no natural resources, increased |
in wealth 46 per cent, while Iowa,
with millions of acres of the richest
soil and hundreds of thousands of the
most industrious and hard
working farmers in the world, increas-
ed in wealth only 2 per cent. Every
one knows these things already, but
we do need to mention that nobody
seems to be caring for these things ex-
cept the farmers themselves. Are the
business men so careless of their own
interests as not to be concerned wheth-
81 the farmers prosper or not? Have
they forgotten that the prosperity of
Inc whole country depends upon the
of the farmers? Are they
not enough interested in this matter
o help the farmers seeking solution
or the problem that confronts him !?
Is it matter of no concern to them
hat even amidst the greatest success
n growing great crops, the average /