People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1892-10-14
AN EYE-OPENER.

| OS % AAo'AS pom PAA0O0 Ny - "A
Binney, which is an excellent cam
paign document. The silver argu
ment he makes is first rate and very
plain
The writer has made comparison
Of the selling prices of wheat, corn
cotton and hay ia this country from
1873 to the present time, which
shows that the prices have fallen, have
been constantly below the average Of
previous years to 1873. These di.
minished prices just mean SO much
loss to the American farmers, and
have summed up the total loss to ten
thousand millions of dollars. Is il
any wonder that the farmers OF
America are over head and ears In
debt, their farms mortgaged and
themselves becoming tenants instead
of owners? That this is due to the
Silver Bill of 1878, I can easily prove
to you.
Up to 1878 the French mint
coined all the silver that was brought
to them at fixed price of fifteen
and one-haf ounces of silver to one
ounce Of gold, and France became
wealthy on it. Why? Simply be-
cause every silver mine-owner, know.
ing he could get that price for his
silver, refused to sell for less else.
where, consequently the price could
never fall, whatever silver he sent to
France to be coined, he got in ex-
change five franc silver pieces. These
coins he could not use anywhere out
side Of France, consequently he was
obliged to take payment in French
goods, and that stimulated French
trade, and France grew rich on it.
Up to 1873 we also kept open
mint for silver, but when France
closed her mint this country was
foolish enough to do the same at the
instigation of American, London and
! German bankers, who had cornered
gold and who knew that if they
! could only exclude silver from com
peting with gold they would increase
the value of their gold. No sooner
did the minis close their doors than
silver owners, having lost their best
customers, had to lower their prices,
and this is the why and tho where
fore of the decline in g.. India
is a nation of 200.O00,0G0 Of people,
using exclusively silver COINAGE Be
fore 1873 their silver rupee was
worth fifty cents (roughly speaklng),
and five dollar British gold piece
could only exchange for ten rupees,
consequently could only buy ten ru-
PEGS worth of Indian wheat or cot
ton.
Now, when silver declined, the
value of the silver metal in every
rupee deprecated also until a five
dollar gold piece was worth thirteen
to fifteen rupees. Consequently
five dollar British gold piece could
buy thirty per cent more wheat and
cotton in India and all other silver
using countries, like Russia, China,
Mexico, Egypt, South America, etc.
Finding they could get more for
their money in India than in America,
the British cotton and wheat buyers
began importing wheat and cotton
from silver using countries and the
American farmer had to cut down
his prices to suit this competition!
I hope have now made it clear
to every farmer why the fall in the
price of silver has meant the fall in
American produce and the ruin Of
the Amirican farmer. IF this be so,
Go you not see that for this country
to reopen our mint to the free ccin-
age Of silver would mean to raise the
price of silver to its old level and
keep it thereto take thirty per
cent off the price of Indian and
Egyptian wheat and cotton and add
thirty per cent to the profit of our
farmers and to stimulate trade with
all countries who sent us their silver
and would have to take our goods in
| return.
If the old parties legislated to Sc
cure the happiness Of the greatest
number instead of pandering to the
selfish interests of ring of million
aires, the people of this country
would be the most prosperous in the
world, for the assessed value of the
property is sixty thousand million
dollars to population of sixty mil
lions, showing $4,000 for every
family of four. Reader, would you
like to have your share? Are there
not millions without ten dollars to
their credit whilst millionaires are
numbered by thousands?
Perhaps you live in an irrigation
district and have land that is unpro-
ductive waiting for water that you
cannot get because the bonds can't
be foated. You may have read an
article in the San Diego Union lately,
congratulating us that British CAPT
talists were on their way out here to
investigate these securities. Now, [
ask you, in view of the fact that the
people of this country have the sup
ply of money entirely under their
own control, with abundant silver
produced in their own mines, which
tho 4u0 old narfiaG rnfnEo RI 1of Thorn