Middletown transcript., 1893-09-23
THE FARMER AND THE CRISIS.


When, by reason OF unfavorable con-
ditiuns, nearly half Of the population
is deprived in whole orin part Of It's
power to purchase Of the products of
those engaged In manufacturing in.
dustries, the whole commercial and
industrial world suffers from paralysis;
the exchanges become deranged; hoard
ing ensues; monetary stringency fol
lows; mills, factories, and furnaces
close; operatives, ceasing to earn. lose
their power to purchase OF the products
Of their own labor as well as Of the
labor Of otoers; and the circle Of de
clining activity constantly Widens.
Such are the conditions now exist
ing. and they are largely If not almost
wholly due, primarily, to the loss of
the rower on the part OF some 40 per
cent. Of the people to purchase Of
other than the veriest necessaries.
On the other hand, whenever this
great multitude of people have large
revenues, their purchases are of such
volume and the character and quantity
bought SO constant that manufacturing
plants are fully employed, and new.
ones are built to meet augmenting de-.
mands; the mill owner buys raw mater
ial in advance of consumption; opera
tives and artisans have constant work; j;
the wage scale being an ascending one,
the ability of The worker to buy Of the
products OF his own labor and of the
labor of others is enhanced money
seeks employment with confidence; The
merchants stock rapidly disappears
and is constantly replenishpd; collec.
tions are easy, and, in short, labor is
fully employed. manufacturers over
run with orders, money is abundant,
and times are good.
As the prices of farm products have
fallen, SO has declined the purchasing
power of that great body of producers
constituting nearly half the working
force of the nation, and so waned the
prosperity Of all.
At the taking of the census Of 1870,
81 per cent. Of all the males following
regular vocations we're engaged in ag
ricuIture, and this was approximately
the proportion of the people living
upon the farm; but by 1880, owing to
the growth of manufacturers, the pro-
portion had been reduced below 40 per
cent, and is now probably about 45
per cent.
After the close of the civil war, farm
products brought such prices that the
50 per cent. of the population then di-
rectly depend ent upon agriculture had
ample revenue; their purchases of the
products of manufacture were so lib
eral that many establishments ran
night and day; the mill owner, the pro-
ducer of raw material, the merchant,
and all those engaged directly and in
directly in distribution or construction,
as well as those employed in the sub
sidiary industries, were fully employed
at remunerative rates, tho result being
an era of prosperity never equalled in
our history, as neither before or since
have those prices for farm products
been equalled.
Now the very reverse of such condi-
tions obtains, except in SO far as relates
to the desire Of The farmer to buy the
products of others. This desire re-
mains, as it has during all the years
when declining prices for products
have forbidden its exercise except in
lbe mos restricted manner.
AS the power of The farmer To buy
declines, SO has declined. measurably
the activity of the Industrial and COM
mercial world, except as an impulse
has been given to commerce and man
ufactures by the construction of an
immense railway mileage, often in adj
vance and excess of local needs. While
the deyelopement Of transported ion
facilities served to mask and postpone
some Of the inevitable results due to
the farmers loss Of purchasing power,
1.-The almost entire cessation of such
works TO emphasize the loss Of power,
which tile farmer exercised in such y
|uS5 IS 10 cause rapid extension d
Industrial equipment Of ths