Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1895-07-11

Crane Explains the True Inwardness of
the Free Coinage IIumbug.
H.
That tho question whether Deacon
Abner Griggs is an inspired financial
genius Or a 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 husbands
attempt to put his now financial theories
into practice has increased during the
past week. The farmers and villagers
who We're 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:
'Poars to me there's good deal in these
new money schemes, and I'm kinder
sorry Deacon Griggs want let 90 on till
we see how the thing would work.
There's no use talking, we farmers are
i'll Il bad way. Times is mighty hard
wheat a-going down, wool lower than
ever, and SO many men out of work in
the towns aud cities that we can't sell
half the stuff we raise. What we need is
moro money. We want free coinage, SO
that all the silver in the world can be
used as money. If 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-
my system, so as to let us farmers put
our wheat, corn, wool or pork in govern
mcnt warehouses, and get treasury GER
tiiicatcs for 70 per cent Of their value.
And the government ought to lend mon
ey to the farmers at 2 per cent on the
security of their land. If all that won't
give us enough money, don't see why
we mightn't try the deacon's plan and
issuo 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 $1.25 an acre, would
be cheaper than that grown on our
farms, which cost from $50 to $50 an
acre to clear. Wheat grown in India
and Russia completes with ours in tho
markets of the world. Then freight rates
has gono down, and that helped lower
prices. Wool comes now from Australia,
and tho 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 new ways of max
ing things, new places to get 'em 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 gone down in price, and we can get
far moro 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
fetchcs as 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 us far worse off. This talk
about the need Of free coinage is all
humbug, stirred up by the owners of
silver mines and other people in a few
states who want to fool the farmers and
the rest of the people into doubling the
prico of silver. The rag baby plan of
tho greenbackers is played out long ago.
It's the greenbacks 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 4 per cent, and we
wouldn't be threatened with another
panic.
The 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 Oh stones is just as sensi-
bic or as crazy as the rest of them.
Joe Loffert the old wheclwright,
thought the squire went a little too far
in putting the people who wanted free
coinage down with the other cheap mon
ey faddists 'Tisn't only the farmer
who needs more money he said MY
business ain't half what it was 20 years
ago. These big factories out in Ohio
and Illinois can make buggies, farm
wagons and carts and sell them here far
cheaper than l can build them. get
enough repairing to keep me going, but
| haven't Il third of the hands I used to
have. Seems to me if we had free coin
age the prices Of wagons would go up,
the farmers would have so much money
they could buy more Of them, and I
would DO Il bigger business.
I" I see this all argued out in little
book called "Coin's Financial School,"
which one of them book agents give mo
for monding split whiffletree few
weeks ago. I'll bring the book round to
the store next Saturday, and We'll see
if you can answer that fellow "Coin's s"
arguments.
Hero Storclleeper Hopkins began to
blow out the lights, and with a promise
to be on hand next Saturday evening
tho crowd dispersed. A lively time is
expected, as Squire Crane and his side
will undertake to expose tho fallacies
and foolishness of Coins Financial |
School. "