Middletown transcript., 1896-08-08
Of Interest
To Farmers

IL al 1llOl y
FARMERS AND PLANTERS WOULD
LOSE BY FREE SILVER COINAGE.
Are our farmers and planters sure
that their condition is as bad as the
free-silver orators have painted it ]?
Still more important, are they at all
sure that it can be bettered by free
silver coinage, or-what is really in
tended-a large and prompt issue Of
silver certificates in exchange for
bullion? They must remember that
the orators who are at work go busily
persuading them to vote for the free
coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to /
have motive. They are pleading for
distinct in.erest-the silver-mining
interest. Of course, it is their object
TO convince our farmers and planters
that the cause of silver and the cause
of agriculture are identical. But are
they?
How will the farmer or planter OBJ
tain any share of the enormous profit
which will certainly accrue to the
silver mine owners and TO the specula-
tors in silver stocks on Wall street and
other centers of exchange, if the
government of the United States is
ordered by the vote of the farmers and
planters next November to give every
owner of So cents worth of silver
bullion piece of money stamped as
zone dollar" and made legal tender
for that amount?
The profit on such an operation is
easily seen. The owners of $53, ,0C0 900
worth of silver bullion, by rushing it
to the treasury as soon as free.coin-
age law is passed, could get in >ex-
change for it $1O0, 900. 900 in silver
certificates, which they would at once
work off upon the people, making
profit of $47, 100000 on the job. A
short time afterward the people who
received these certificates would find
them depreciating in their hands till
they become worth but 50 cents on the
dollar. Thus loss Of Sal, 900, 900
might be inflicted on the masses by the
sharpness of the mine-owners who
took the first S53. 600, 900 worth of bull
lion to the treasury. The silver-mine-
owners see it very distinctly. But we
have yet to hear clear and reasonable
explanation Of how the farmer is to
get any profit out of 1t.
If all the farmers Of the country
were able to open up silver mines on
their farms and 60 into the business Of
silver mining, we can see how 1t would
profit them to have the government
either buy their output of silver out
right, or give it legal-tender power to
pay debts and buy goods at an over
valuation amounting to nearly twice
its actual intrinsic or market value as
metal. But silver mines are not
located on every farm, and we do not
believe there are many farmers in the
United States who hold silver-mining
stocks of any considerable amount.
If, therefore, they have no mines to
open up ON their farm and no silver
mining stocks laid by in their bureau
drawers, waiting to be kited up to high
figures by free-silver coinage at 16 to
which in plain, honest terms means
ratio of two dollars in stamped coin
for one dollar of real moneys worth
how do the farmers propose to add in
any way to their net income by, voting
to sanction this tremendous expert
ment, at the expense Of the whole peo-
pie, for the benefit of the, silver-mine
owners and The silver-stock jobbers2
So far IS We have seen, Senators
Stewart snd Jones have at no time
pledged themselves to distribute por-
tion Of their gains under free coinage
among our honest yeomanry. We
know that they are trying to have the
farmers believe that the prices of all
their crops will be raised at somebody Is
expense mot tlleirs) as soon as their
silver bullion can be unloaded at the.
doors Of the government mints and
palmed off under government auspices
at an over-valuation of AZ cents on the
dollar. but We have already shown
that the pretense that falling prices for
the farmers crops have been due to the
denial Of free coinage to silver is en-
tirely specious aud without baeis Of
fact. Weno invite the attention Of
our intelligent farmers throughout the
South to consideration Of the fact
that they do not stand TO gain, but
most certainly to lose, by ! general rise
in prices. II win Be- evident u ~ of