The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-04-20

last. Inc letters from all over the country
arc really pathetic, and the appeals from
the farmers CIten sound like a wall.
have never known time of such general
discomfort in the farming regions, accom-
panied with SO little hope Why, even in
the darkest days of the war the people did
not despair as they do now. They seem
Impressed with an idea that this slow and
paerciless contraction of prices must go on
for years. They ask what we are doing,
Or trying tc do, or what can be done, but
1t Is plain that they do not see any imme
date remedy.
''Now, you heard what this Chicago man
said, and you notice that, like ell the oper-
ators in grain, he says the farmers will be
injured by this bill. Well, the farmers say
that they want to be injured in just that
way, kut these men have got to the point
that they are not even willing for the
farmers to decide as to what remedy they
viii attempt There is not a lire in this
bill to prevent any legitimate dealing in
futures. All we aim TO do is to stop these
wind sales and short selling, which go
away ahead of the crops and depress the
price of the grain before it is harvested,
and 90 per cent OF the farmers are in ia
vor of tho bill.
n I1ece OF TEMPERATE Legislation.
"Now l want TO call your attention TO
The history of this bill and show the per
sistent demand for it, because it is savage
iy attacked on the ground that il is new
and uncalled for thing. This is my eighth
consecutive term in the house, and 1 have
been member of this committee from the
start and chairman of il in five of my eight
Terms. From the first there has been a de-
lnand for such legislation, and it has stead
fly increased In the Fiftieth congress we
began the discussion and investigated the
matter with labor and patience of which
our opponents know but little. In the
Fifty first congress we reported a bill, and
IN the next it passed the house by to l,
but was amended in the senate and came
back in the closing days of the session,
when l could not get it considered.
\ ION, more we have gone carefully over
the whole ground, have thoroughly consid
Fred every actual and conceivable objection,
haye listened with unwearicd patience 70
fvery man who had anything to say on
Jhe subject, and the result is that this COM
4nittee has voted in favor of the bill by II
to2. The opponents were Mr.. Apsley of
nfassachusetrs and Mr.. Baker Of New
Hampshire, both Republicans, though L
rs the eastern Democrats would probably
&ote against our farmers just the same.
Now. if bill which was asked for through
$everal years, then carefully studied in two
congresses, discussed in the public prints
land all possible defects pointed out and
then discussed and improved and adopted
by nearly unanimous vote-ii such
Bill, saw, is not deliberate legislation,
Al -. -. ,safsa
fion and sarcasm are poured upon me, anu
q am held up TO ridicule for striving to
carry into effect what is practically the
unanimous wish of the farmers. and by
measures most carefully considered
! The Depression Ia Agriculture.
I do you CONSIDER -hese wind sales, as
you call them, the leading cause of the de-
preston in agriculture"
'-Oh, no; there is q combination of
causes The characterization OF silver in
SO many states ana nations was followed
IN its successive steps by decline in farm
produce. 1t is idle 10 say that it had no
effect The correspondence in declining
prices and successive demonstrations was
entirely too close and regular 10 be mere
accident. The protective tariff has also
distributed enormously TO the injury Of
the farner, and these and other causes have
produced concentration of wealth in
few hands which is simply unparalleled.
and that in its turn has operated TO in
crease the agricultural depression. And
this leads me back to the first subject
mentioned-the difficulty of getting to-
gether So many causes have combined to
produce the trouble that each man natu-
rally sees most of the cause nearest to him
and thinks it all important The sad and
really momentous feature of the case is
that there is such lack of hope. That
class of farmers who are in debt and strug-
cling against continually falling prices