Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1895-06-20
A PLAN IN FINANCE.
THE EXPERIMENT OF DEACON eaIees
OF SoUANTUM.
Main Facts In Controversy rs Given by
the Local Paper-GrigGs' Wife Rudely
Interferes--Th People Of the Town Di-
vided Into Factions.

Recent issues of the North Squantum
Gazette indicate an unusual excitement
prevailing among the peaceful villagers
Of Squantum, North Squantum and
| Squantum Center. The cause Of the com
motion is an experiment begun by Dea
/ con Abner Griggs, and tho people are
pretty evenly divided into two factions,
one holding that tho deacon is perse-
cuted martyr in tho cause Of financial
reform, the other that he is dod gasted
idiot, whose wife treated him just right.
Tho main facts in the controversy, as
given in The Gazette, are as follows:
Deacon Griggs had farmed it nigh on
45 years, and his fine upland farm, with
its right considerable stretch Of mead
ow, two miles south of the postoffice,
was one Of tho best in the borough Tho
farm was well fenced and drained, had
good buildings and stock, and tho deacon
was believed to be tolorable fore hand
ed -
A few months ago Mrs Griggs no.
ticed that her husband was not attend
ing to his farm work Us he formerly
did. A good deal Of his time was spent
down Mt Hopkins grocery store, where
he talked politics by the hour When at
home, he staid in the house and read
lot Of pamphlets and speeches about tho
expressing money power and tho neces-
sity Of FREQ silver coinage. He would
got so wrought up reading about the ter
ril ln all OF Ynn ,yp1flI,1tya That In NUnn11
forget to feed tho cows or bring in the
firewood, and his wife had to do that
work AS she aftcrward said, "Abner
seemed so solcmnliko, a-grioving over
them financial conspiracieR, that hadn't
the heart to ask him to do chores. "
Along in April Deacon Griggs an
nounced that no lowed no "wasn't GO
ing to put in no crops this year. When
crops il good, prices is low, and it don't
pay to raise nothin, and when they're
poor man has nothin to sell. I've got
something better than raising hay and
wheat and corn for the follers in New
York to speculate in. "
Instead Of doing his spring blowing
and getting ready for seed time he went
each day out to his back pasture, u stony
patch of ground There no dug big
holo about 40 foot square and 10 foot
deep. Then no got his oxen and cart and
went to work gathering up little stones,
hauling them down to tho brook, wash
ing them and sorting them in piles Of
different sizes, and then dumping them
in tho holo.
Last week Mrs. Griggs got worried,
and being curious to know what her
husbands new scheme was, followed
him out to tho pasture Sho found him
loading up tho cart with washed stones
and asked him what on earth he was
adding A little abashed, as though
doubtful of her approval of his work, no
said: $3.50 them stones? Well, I'm just
going to keep right along till get that
holo full of 'cm. Guess it'll take mo
most all summer. Thcn I'll cover 'em
up safe. In tho fall I'm going to mako
ont notes o. hand based ON them stones.
They represent labor-good, honest,
hard work. Won't be less than $500
worth of labor in that holo. just us good
labor MS goes in that silver Thorn western
fellcrs want tho government to tako
and store up. Some Of them say they
only want tho government to stamp it,
but most on them knows that it's too
bulky for money, and that paper il moro
handy. So they want it ns n basis for
notes. What s tho matter with my notes,
as long AZ they've got u labor hass!"
But Mrs. GriGgs could listen no lon
ger, Grnsping her husband by tho coat
collar and II convenient part of his
brooches, she buttcd his head several
times against tho tailboard Of tho cart.
Thon sho said: Nov you como right
down to tho barn and start to work got
tin in crop. These fool notions about
putin out money ON lot of stuff what
nobody don't want, amt goin to fill
your cellar or Granary." And with u
twist of the astonishcd deacon = ear sho
left him to drive tho oxen down to tho
barn.
When Deacon Griggs went over to tho
grocery store ON tho next Saturday oven
ing, he found that somehow the story of
his wifo's rudo interference with his
great financial experiment had leaked
out, Some Of the men III tho store sym
pathiaed with him, and some of them
told him h0 ought to know better Tho
controversy waNcd warm and has grad
ually spread, SO that, rs was said above,
tho people of tho villages are divided in
to two parties on tho question. At their
Saturday night gatherings in Hopkins
store tho whole matter is being talked
over, aud i'll tho near future we may
give somo accounts of the discussions rs
they arc reported i'll Tho Gazette
Sound Currency Literature.
Tho domand for all kinds of literature
upon tho currency question has become
SO great that the Sound Currency Com
mitteo of the Reform club has decided
to establish II currency bureau. BY tho
middle of Juno it will be prepared to