The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1893-11-10
JASPER, INDIANA. FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 10. 1893


' Appalling Figures.
Evansville Courier.
When England took the step whic
8 the United States has Just taken, that /.
when she adopted the gold standard Il
. 1916 and completed her economic system
by the so-called Peal act Of 1919, be
farmers, In the main. we're the owner
of the lands titled by them. Within
few years. In . single generation, th,
number OF land owners we're reduced I,
one fourth Of what they we're before th,
lg Id standard was adopted. The indie.
pendent farm owners practically dissp
lpeared. Doub beday, in bic Financial
History Of England, Gays that for twenty
years "there was the greatest distress Ia
Great Britain which ever existed In any
country" Mortgages were toreclosed
by the thousands aud 1.-The banker, the
broker aud the merchants who had
loaned the money bought in the land TO
cover their liens" The same thing is
certain to follow the formal establish.
ment Of the single gold standard by the
repeal Of the Sherman law and the de.
structiOn Of silver 90 . standard money,
unless The People succeed in securing
legislation that will expand the legal
tender currency Of the country and de-
stroy the power of the banks. Ii will
not come all st once. but within gene
ration there must be . general wiping
out of Independent fsrmcrs and the sub.
stitution for them OF The hateful system
OF landlords aud tenantrv that has made
the rural population OF European coun-
tries little better than serfs.
The increase Of mortgages In this
country since 1880 has been appalling
Mr.. Frederick G. Waite, In . statement
relative to the causes Of the financial and
industrial depression, which 10 published
as a Senate document. says on this
point:
"The most astonishing increase of oil,
however is in the real estate mortgage
Indebtedness, as disclosed by the inves.
legations of the eleventh census. Let us
remember that this 10 largely the debt OF
the hardest working and the poorest
ly. the farmers and the laborers who are
trying to obtain home Of their own by
honest toll. In the twenty .one States
for which the mortgage indebtedness has
been .tsbulated the aggregate amount in
force at the close of 1889 was four thous-
and five hundred and forty-seven mil.
lions with the great States Of Ohio. Cali.
iornia and Texas, and whole groups of
lesser stsles yet TO be heard from. The
aggregate in 1870 was only about two
thousand five hundred millions."
IL ftl.s statement 10 correct. and Il 10
complied from the official data Of the
Census Bureau. the farm indebtedness Of
the country has doubled within ten
years.
Mr.. Waite sums up his remarks with
this startling paragraph:
Last year, after turning the scale ct
eight thousand million, the mortgage
indebtedness continued its.upward flight.
not being cOntented with sm increase Of
22O per cent. or nearly four times the
increase in the true value Of real estate.
In . word, the total net private iudebt
edness OF the American people eQualed,
in 1880, but $6.75O ,O0O. coo. Last Sep
tember Il amounted to nineteen shous.
snd seven hundred millions, an increase
Of thirteen thousand millious in short
period Of twelve years."
This enormous debt WAS contracted
on "coin basic; that IL ct the time II
was incurred the debtor expected to pay
Il back In money OF the same value
which be received. The demonstration
Of one Of the money standards by the
unconditional repeal Of the Sherman
law, makes this debt . gold debt, and II
is appreciated In value to the creditors
and in burden to the debtors in the pre-
else ratio that gold Is appreciated by the
now universal abolition Of silver as
Of values. II nybody can
the condition OF the Amer.
lean people with such mill stone Is
this about their necks with eQusnimity
he must be differently constructed from
most men.
Congressman Cooper, OF Indiana, has
Introduced Q bill to tax green backs the
aAmA A other nr0narix The Authnrl