Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1895-06-27
SQUANTUM OPINIONS.
PUBLIC INTEREST CENTekS ON THE
CURRENCY QUESTION.
Silas Upham Sides With Deacon Griggs.
Wants Notes Based on stones-Squire
Crane Explains the True Inwardness of
the Free Coinage Humbug.

Abner Griggs is an inspired financial
genius on muddled ignoramus contin-
ues to agitate the people Of Squantum
township, is shown in the latest issue of
the North Squantum Gazette. From
that paper we copy the following ac-
count Of discussion at Hopkins store
at Squantum Center on last Saturday
evening:
Public interest in the interference by
Mrs Abner Griggs with her husband 5
attempt to put his new financial theories
into practice has increased during the
past week. The farmers and villagers
who were in Hopkins store on Saturday
| evening spent most of the time arguing
for and against the deacon's financial
experiment Among those who favored
the deacon was Silas Upham, who said:
'Pears to me there S good deal in these
new money schemes, and Pm kinder
porry Deacon Griggs want let go on till
we see how the thing would work.
There no use talking, we farmers are
in bad way. Times is mighty hard,
wheat a-going down, wool lower than
ever, and so many men out of work in
the towns and cities that we can't sell
half tho stuff we raise. What we need is
more money We want free coinage, so
that all tho silver in the world can be
used as money, II that wouldn't give US
$50 per capita, the government ought to
print enough greenbacks to make up the
difference. Then we want the subtreas
ury system, so as to let rs farmers put
our wheat, corn, wool or pork i'll govern
ment warehouses, and get treasury GER
tificates for 70 per cent Of their value.
And tho government ought to lend mon
oy to tho farmers at 2 per cent on the
security of their land. If all that won't
give us enough money, don't sec why
we mightu't try the dcacons plan and
issue notes on labor products, specially
stones, which won't rust, and which is
abundant round here
Some of what you say about hard
times may be true, spoke up Squire
Crane, but moro money amt going to
help matters. Prices is low, but its be-
cause the cost Of producing things has
been lessened. Stands to reason that
wheat coming from rich prairie farms,
which cost about 81. 20 an acre, would
be cheaper than that grown on our
farms, which cost from $50 to $50 an
aero to clear. Wheat grown in India
and Russia completes with ours in the
81 tl,n ,t,prlI frho,, froi fyht rot a,
has gone down, and that helped lower
prices. Wool comes now from Australia,
and the great states out west, where it
can be raised far cheaper than here The
fact is, tisn t lack of money which has
made prices low, but now ways of max
ing things, new places to get EN- from
and handler ways Of hauling them than
we used to have
Besides, this things as broad as
it's long. Everything we farmers buy
has gono down in price, and we can get
far more for our money than we did 20
years ago So if we do get less money
for our crops, and while some Of them
is lower there's a good many which
fetches MS much as they ever did, we
can buy more goods Of all kinds with
what we sell off our farms.
Anyhow, making moro money out
Of silver or paper won't help us, but
would leave MS far worse off. This talk
about tho need OF free coinage is all
humhug, stirred up by the owners of
silver mines and other people III few
states who want to fool the farmers and
the rest of the people into doubling the
price of silver Tho rag baby plan of
the greenbackers is played out long ago
It's tho greonbacks we've got now that's
making all the trouble about our gold
reserve If it wasn't for them, we
wouldn't have to borrow hundreds of
millions of gold at per cent, and we
wouldn't be threatened with another
panic.
Tho rest of them cheap money
schemes is all alike, They mean trying
to make something out of nothing, And
Deacon Griggs' idea of getting rich by
basing money on stones is just as seusi-
Bile or as crazy rs tho rest of them,
Joe Letfert, tho old wheclwright,
thought the squire went little too far
in putting tho people who wanted free
coinage down with tho other cheap mon
ey faddists. ''Tisn't only the farmer
who needs more money, he said, My
business amt half what it was 20 years
ago These big factories out i'll Ohio
and Illinois can make buggies, farm
wagons and carts and sell them hero far
cheaper than | can build them. get
enough repairing to keep me going, but
haven't third Of the hands used to
have Seems to mo If we had free coin
ago the prices of wagons would go up,
the farmers would have SO much money
they could buy more of them, and |
would do n bigger business.
F." Il sec this all argued out i'll little
book called Coins Financial School.
which ono Of them book agents give me
for mending split whiti,etree few
weeks ago, III bring tho book round to
the store next Saturday, and Wei see
if you can answer that fellow Coin $
arguments
=" Here Storekecper Hopkins began to