The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1892-12-06

property for taxes. Before the close
of this century an immense amount of
property will pass from the hands of
the masses into the control of the cred
f O class, a large per cent of which is
English, and we will have to all intents
absentee landlOrdi~m established In the
United States. A crisis Is upon this
country paralelling that of 1916 to 1925
in England, and the result will be the
same. The English crisis was preclpl
tated under a low tariff, and the cOn0i
tions about to precipItate a similar re
result grew up under a high tariff,
which proves conclusively that low
tariff and high tariff Is no remedy for
financial depression. The English
crisis was the direct result of the credit
financial system pIling up a mountain
of debt by accumulatIng interest and
congestlng money to head centers, de-
plotting the money from the channels
of trade, depressing prices below the
cost OF production n making 1T i'm
possible to pay debts and taxes. The
English condition parallels ours, and
we are on h V of repeating the bit |
ter perlO1 of the English financial sys-
tenn. 1t was through the control of
the medium of exchange tina 2 per
cent. of the population OF Egypt owned
81 per cent. of the wealth. that enabled
2 per cent. of the population of Baby
lon to own all the wealth, 1 per cent.
of Persia to own all the land and when
Rome went down 1870 men to own all
the known world, and 100, 600 men to
own all the land of England, Ireland
and Wales; and in 1850 371 per cent
of the wealth of this country was
owned by capitalists, in 1870 they
nuTOnH S0 TNnIN IDV1r OnI IN 1904 on n00
men owned threa-fifths of all tile
wealth of the country. The farmers
own less than 25 per cent. and pay 80 per
of the taxes. How long can they con
tinue this and sell their produce below
the cost of production? A class that
cannot fix a plice on their labor are
slaves. When Rome, Egypt, Persia and
Babylon pt rlShed there was nothing
known of a tariff
In the canvas just closed the Repub-
licans pointed to the fact that the GU
put of wealth amounted to the enOr-
NOUS sum of twelve billion dollars and
they said, how rich we are; see what
protection has done for the Duntry,
and the farmers put their hands into
their pockets and found them empty.
They looked around and saw their cot
ton, corn and wheat selling below the
cost of production, and they decided
that protection did not protect them,
and they decided to let the Republican
party perish. The incoming admins
tratIon will tinker with the tariff and
ignore the fact that three fOurths OF
the volume of money is locked up, and
the interest from a mountain of debU
Is depicting the money from the chan
nels of trade every day, and as money
becomes scarcer in the channels Ut
trade, values continue to shrink. They
cry we will give you cheap goods, IL
nOring the fact that he who sells his
produce below the cost of production
is on the road to bankruptcy though
goods should sell for one fourth the
present price. AS long as the cotton
raisers sell cotton for seven cents a
| pound that costs him nine cents to
raise and loses ten dollars on every
five hundred pounds, they cannot buy
cotton goods out of the proceeds ven
though the goods sold for one cent a
bale.
There is one and only one remedy
for existing conditions. and that ls to
destroy the present credit financial 5ys-
tenn and establish a financial 81 stem
under the full control of the producers
of wealth. This e that our finan
cal anu GarIu Systems muSG D0 80 du-
| justed as to enable the farmers to fix a
living price on their produce. Any
thing short of this will prove an a0Or
ton. This will not be done as the issue
was not fought out on this line by the
victorious party. No such an adjust
ment can be expec ed though Southern
and Western Democracy are in favor
of financial reform, but Grover Cleve-
land, by association and education. IS
opposed to financial reform. when
the test comes on financial reform the
plutocratic wing of the Democratic
party and a large part of the Republi
can Congressman will be found sold
| against all financial reform, and the
large Democratic majority will dlsap
pear like the Democratic majority OF
i48 before this combination. Let the
people unite, without regard to party,
and be ready for the coming o EST
that must be fought to a finish between
plutocracy and the people. Farmers
of America, organize and place your
selves where you a fix a living price
on the products of your labor IN 1895
and free yourselves from industrial
| slavery JAMES MURDOCH.