The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-12-03

and agreeing for the moment that the
dafaat Of the Democrats in States
whara thew have indorsed the single.
gold standard means the doom of bi-
ooetaIism. what is the first result that
c~onFronts us9 Tt will be more signf-
cant if we permit the gold organs to
to tell the story.
: A the the close of election week
! the New York correspondent of the
Philadelphia Ledger writes to his pa
per that there was a pretty general de-
cline in prices, some reaction from re.
cent activity in trade, a noticeable in
crease in the number and Importance
of failures and the temporary closing
Of factories in several large trades,
either because of a decreased demand
or from q desire to maintain prices by
curtailing production. The boom in
iron is subsiding. Sugar refiners have
been closed. The United States Leath-
er Company has stopped production
for sixty daya."
Monday last the Philadelphia Press,
a gold organ, said that prices have
been falling for a week. that pig iron
lost value, cotton fell, the tanneries
have resorted to the desperate expedi-
ent of closing to maintain prices, and
that food and raw materials are fall
ing in price The same paper describes
4 Tho CSfVT0&SNn nC 6n Hnnn0So1 NnUH0F
magazine
"An this in the face of the alleged
fact that all fear Of an unsound u
rency has passed away; that the public
credit has been reetored and that the
hundred cent dollar has been vindi
Gated. Putting the victory and the
collapse together, what do the people
think of it, No sooner is the public
credit restored and the single gold
standard finally established than bust
ness firms begin to fail, prices fall,
manufactures close down, gold begins
to go out and we find ourselves in the
midst of precisely the same conditions
that preceded and followed the repeal
of the purchasing clause of the Sher-
man act.
with the Philadelphia Manufac-
turer, WI desire to inquire what the
people have gained by the establish
ment of the British gold standard.
Who is profting by the situation9
What have the people gained by the
collapse that has been present with US
since a recklessly inefficient Secretary
of the Treasury violated the law by
ruling that, while silver may be good
enough for the people, only gold should
be paid to the bankers and nabobs of
finance who dem and that metal at the
counters of the sub treasury.
who is reaping the profits Of the
situation2 the farmers who must work
harder for each dollar they get9-the
manufacturers who are closing their
m~ills9-the storekeepers who have lost
business by reason of the impoverish-
ment of their customers9 Though the
British gold standard has increased the
profits of the nabobs of finance a thou
sand fold, has it given the common
people of the country anything else
than desolation and misery9"
Who rejoices9 Nowhere do we hear
the masses of the people telling of in
creased employment. Nowhere do we
hear of the merchants boasting of in.
crease of trade. Nowhere do we hear
Of the farmer increasing his acreage
and preparing for increasing his force
Of hands. On the contrary, the reverse
of all this is heard on every hand. The
cuckOos and gold press find great cause
for rejoicing and thus give evidence
that, like Nero, they fiddle" while the
common people who read their flaming
announcements are at the point of
starvation.