Omaha daily bee., 1892-10-04
mESrERN PROSPERITY.


That tho wost is enjoying fair meas.
ure oi prosperity no one will question
who is at all familiar with the prevail
ing conditions. The splendid crops OF
last year, which we're marketed at an
advanced price that gave a good margin
of profit, enabled the western farmers
TO pay of many millions OF indebted
ness, to make needed improvements ana
generally to materially better their
condition. The large crops of the
present year, though considerably less
in quantity than those of 1891, have had
the effect to lower prices, but not to
entirely sweep away profits, the state
ment of the calamity people to the con
trary Notwithstanding. Tie farmers of
the west will not get as much money for
their products, taken as n whole, Ill 1892
as they did last year.. but there is no
probability that they will lose on any
thing they have produced. There will
be less foreign demand for their grain
than last year, because Europe has been
favo cd with comparatively good crops,
but the home consumption will undoubt-
edy be found to have increased, so that
there is no great probability of carrying
over n larger surplus than it is safe to
have against the possibility of poor
crop year. With respect TO all products
which depend entirely upon the home
market prices are we'll maintained and
there is no reason to suppose that they
will not continue to be.
There appears to be nowhere in the
west any complaint Of an insufficient
supply of money for all Legitimate pur-
poses. In Nebraska the banks generally
have II plethora, and money can be had
on acceptable security at lower rate
of interest than ever before. 1t is esti-
mated that the deposits in banks other
than savings institutions in this state
exceed in amount $50, 100000, or about
$50 per capita of tho population, and u
considerable proportion of this belongs
to farmers. Tho situation in Iowa is
about the same, and indeed, everywhere
in the west there seems to be an
abundance of money, which bankers are
ready TO loan at reasonable rates on
proper security. In IL word, there has
never been time when money was cas-
ier or cheaper in the west than 1t is now
for those who have the credit or col
lateral which the owners of money re-
quire.
Such being the situation, thore is OBJ
viously no substantial ground for the
claim of the calamity prophets that the
western people are not prosperous and
| that the reason is in the fact that there
| is not money enough. These persons
| do not discriminate between genuine
| tive activity which is created by an in
! natcd and irredeemable currency. II
| their financial policy were to prevail ii
would undoubtedly produce II degree OF
activity which some people would regard
as an evidence Of prosperity. AS nobody
would care to keep money that was cer-
tain to steadily depreciate everybody
having such money would seek toinvest
| it in something, and thus a speculative
boom would be inaugurated that would
run its course in few years, when II col
lapse of the financial balloon would en-.
sue and everything would tumble doWL
TO Its legitimate value Then would
come the necessity of providing for the
redemption of the fiat currency and the
people would be given u long and bitter
lesson. in the folly Of stimulating ar
artificial prosperity by flooding the
country with paper promises to pay
Doubtless some would profit by such {
plan, but they would not be of tho pro
ducing or laboring classes, who wer,
compelled to sell their toll and its pro
ducts for a steadily depreciating cur
rency. These classes would not only bt
the principal losers while the process o
initiation and depreciation went on, bu
when the inevitable reaction came they
would have to bear the chief part of the
burden in returning to a normal ant
| 70, a.,