The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-09-18
FREE SILVER.
SPEECH OF GEN. w. H. sTANDIsH TO
THE SILVER LEAGUE OF GRAND
FORKS N n

SPEECH OF GEN. W. H. sTANDIsH TO
THE SILVER LEAGUE OF GRAND
FORKS. N. D.
Mr.. President, Silver Knights and Eel
low Citizens:
| We cannot improve our condition or
create Western prosperity without such
legislation as will increase price. This
Is necessary whether we are engaged in
farming, merchandising, Western bank
ing, common labor. or some professional
calling.
II should plant large tree in the
middle Of the street here and leave all
Its top and cut off all it's roots expect
ing the body branches and top to live and
flourish you would thinklme foolish. The
roots OF all prosperity In North Dakota
and of every interest in 1t is farming.
The tops and branches of that prosper
ity that receives the sup of what the
| farmer has to spare is the merchant and
| western banker, and all other interests;
and before any sap can start from that
| farmer to be absorbed by the merchant.
| the banker and these other interests the
farmer must meet his taxes, his interest
on his already existing mortgages and
his transportation charges, such as
freight on what he grows, to have it
reach market, and what he receives in
return that he may exist. Next comes
his seed, his blacksmith's bill, and out
OF the residue he must live
Then comes the portion for the town
| and city people to keep us from wither-
ing, dying and drying up. Without this
we, whether merchant, banker or laborer
or professional man, will become as dead
and dry as the dryest limb of any tree
when the body has been girdled through
the sap portion to the core.
The staples that furnish sap and means
Of life to every interest in North Dakota
are wheat, beef and sheep. One hundred
per cent tariff on wheat will not increase
the price Of it because we export it. The
same is not wholly true of beef, but near
ly so. On wool it is different, because
we import it; so the relief to us, as to
price, that can be brought by any system
OF tariff is very small, as in that way
the advance in price that can be created
| for our people is very SMALL and on wheat
nothing
But such is not the case by our ADOPT
ing the free coinage of silver at once in
the relation OF 16 to 1, without waiting
for any foreign country; which is the
prime object of our Silver knight Order
The chief objection urged against free
silver coinage by us, before Europe has
adopted it, is that it will give us cheap
Mexican dollar, and Mexican money and
price conditions. Senator Sherman. in
his speech of Aug. Goth, 1893, says: eff
you want cheap money and high prices,
free silver will give it, Prof. Laughlin,
in his debate with Harvey appealed to
the laboring man to oppose it because
it would make their eatables cost double
what they now pay, and to the bond
holders, because it would make their
bonds worth only half of what they are
now worth; and such were the trend and
effect of the remarks and positions taken
by Mr.. Horr in his debate with Mr.. Har-
vey; so that free coinage would reduce
| the load of debt and advance the price Of
farm produce, are the two chief reasons
adduced against free silver coinage by
| those who oppose it, and these are two re-
suits which the advocates of it claim
would come from it's adoption, hence
these results are necessarily conceded.
Let us apply their effect to the North
west. If it would make our dollar as
cheap as the Mexican dollar now is it
| would double the price of wheat, beef.
| wool and farms.
No. l hard wheat in most parts of
North Dakota today is worth only AZ to
| 43 cents: the extra demand for it in
Grand Forks city makes it two cents
| above the country price when it is sold
through the elevator. Take the aver
age of all the North Dakota crop and it
will not be above No. northern, which
is always from 1 to cents below No. l
hard. This makes the average price at
| the stations in our state Al cents. The
| farmer has paid 10 cents bushel to have
| the grain threshold; that reduces him to
| 81 cents.
Twenty bushels to the acre is as much
as this, or any other Northwestern state
ever averaged, take the whole state to-
| gether. There is $3.50 an acre. Out
OF this the farmer must provide his seed
| for the next year, his feed for his teams.
-four for his family, pay his taxes, meet
his threshing bill, the Irvine that bound
| this crop, the wages and boarding of the
| men who sOwed it and shocked it and
| who will haul it from the farm to the
market, where they will incur barn ex-
| penses for their teams and hotel ex-
penses for their help.
Then the machine notes for the ma
| chinery used, which every few years
must be replaced, and the blacksmith's
bills, and the hay and grain to keep the
| teams through another year. Then the
| interest on the farm mortgages must be
met and the taxes, before there is any
| sap, or money, to spare for us in the
towns or cities who are filling the profess
sional, mercantile, banking and other
| business avenues Of life
Now, in fruitful year are we not GER
| tain to become as dead in a very short
space Of time as the top of the tree that
| has been girdled to the core, or been
placed in the bare streets and root nour-
| ishment to it cut off? This low price
which prevails is not only certainto kill
every farmer in North Dakota, but every
business interest in it. 1t is as fatal to
| the cities and towns as it is to the farm
T ing interests of our state
| 1t is not the want of crop but the want
of prices that is bringing this blight and
ruin; and our adversaries tell us that free
coinage will increase our prices How
ever small that increase will be it will
benefit and relieve us all. This relief
cannot come from tariff, but will come
| from free silver coinage
| This condition exists in fruitful year
| in North Dakota one very much