The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-29
Standing in Their Own Lirht.

/ u IS difficult to understand how ans
I reasonable man can believe that the
/ banks IN the southern states are refusing
+ 70 advance money 20 move the cotton
crop in order to punish those farmers
I who are supposed to favor the free coin
! age OF silver, and yet Alliance Lecturer.
/ DIR. j. William Stokes, in a letter ad-
Z dressed 10 the alliance Of South Carolina,
/ insiuuatos that such is the case. DR.
| Stokes does not advance a single
/ fact TO support his insinuation. He
asks whether the banks have
made the usual effort TO advance the
money needed for moving the crop,
and if they have not he wants to know
why they have not.
Speaking of the bankers and cotton
buyers, he says: THE apparent apathy
Of these people, while their former Gus
toners are surely drifting towards an
awful tragedy, and are almost on its
brink. is something inexplicable. Can it
he that the farmers in their estimation
have been making too much racket in
their efforts to secure Just treatment of
the financial world2" Every thinking
farmer who reads DR.. Stokes
letter must wonder how it is that
any man could have put his
trust in DR.. Stokes and regarded him as
a safe leader to follow. Admitting that
DR.. Stokes is sincere does it not appear
thathe is 50 wholly uniformed respecting
the financial situation that he is not a fit
man to give advice to the peoplel Every
man who keeps himself informed knows
that the banks are ready and willing
to do all they can towards furnishing
money with which to move the cotton
crop. Long ago they gave notice that
unless there was restoration of conf
dence and the money market became
easier they would not be able TO provide
the money needed for handling the cotton
crop. This, DIR. Stokes knew, or ought
to have known, before he wrote his letter
insinuating that the banks had entered
into conspiracy to punish the farmers
for favoring free silver coinage.
That the banks have formed no conspi-
racy is shown by the fact that very
large number of them have failed, and
by the further fact that by Withholding
money they would fail to make a profit
out of their business. Instead of punish
ing the farmers, therefore, they would
punish themselves
The reason the banks are not furnish
ing all the money demanded of them is
that they haven't it. Depositors in the
south as well as in the north have with
drawn their deposits, and, as a conse-
quence the banks are not in a condition
to respond to the demands upon them to
the extent they have been &C
customed to do. The southern
banks at the beginning of the cotton sea-
son have always obtained large amounts
of currency from New York. They have
not been able to do that this year. be-
cause the northern banks haven't any
more money than they need for their own
immediate use.
Is it not about time for the farmers to
inquire whether such men as DR.. Stokes
are safe leaders, Are they not standing
in their own light by allowing them
selves to be guided by such menu Has
DIR. Stokes ever said or done one
single thing that has benefited
the farmersl 1t is safe
to say he has not. What he says about
the bankers is misleading, and calculated
TO make the farmers disconnected. Those
of them who take the trouble to think for
themselves are not influenced by such
utterances as those of DR.. Stokes. If all
of them would think more the occupation
of DIR, Stokes and other teachers like him
would be gone.