The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-08-07
SILVER AND THE FARMER.
tiow the Farmer will Not he Ilrnehttri.
Would Gain Nothing.

New York Advertiser; The main re-
lance Of the Democratic. Popullsttic
candidate Is that he will be able 10 fool
the farmer into believing that under
free and unlimited coinage OF silver not
only would prices for his crops be high
or. but he would be able to get rid OF
his mortgage, II he has one, more cas-
lily. But we fail to see how Mr.. Bry-
an will succeed in deceIvIng the farm
rr. In the first place. the American
farmer knows that tn. demand for
farm crops depends largely on the con-
dillon of the waGe-earnlnE class. The
people who earn their daily bread are
the largest consumers OF wheat. corr,
potatoes and other agricultural yields.
With free COiBaSG Of silver the work.
ingman earns a dollar 4 day now he
cRn buy with n days pay cOmmodlt-
les worth Ona dollar. Blu with this
country on II silver basis his dollar Of
to-day would be worth In purchasing
power only tlfty-thrce cents, SO that he
could buy only half OF what he now
buys.
II the farmer has looked into this
subject n all. he has discovered that
his welfare depends on the welfare OF
the wage-earncrS, Just AZ does the well
fare OF all OF Us. The chief reason why
the farmer gets less for his crops now
than he got under the Mckinley law Is
that the un-Amerfcan Wilson tarifT
crippled so many home industries that
the amount OF wages paid formerly in
this country was reduced by 5000, 000,-
600 a year, Now. this loss 10 the wage
earners OF $500, 600. 900 a year means
that they have that much less money
TO pay for flour, meat and clothes. II
the value OF their present diminished
wages was still further Il down by
paying them Tor their work with n
iifty'cent dollar. they would be able to
buy still less OF living commodities.
Where would the farmer gain If con-
sumption Of agriculture! products d.
unfinished enormously because the con-
Suincrs were robbed Of half the value
OF their earnings? Where would any
body gain. ave the members of the
silver syndicate who would be en-
ahled u get rid OF their white metal at
c~Ntrdragant prOiitSY
Moreover, OF what advantage would
free silver be To- the farmer in paying
OF his mortgage? Every holder OF 4
mortgage. knowing that free silver was
coming. would foruclose on the farmer
Mt the earliest opportunity. He would
do this because he would not be willing
10 accept iltty-ccnt dollars when he
had made his loan with o~ne-hundrcd
cent dollars.
Let us s,e II lie would not. Suppose
the farm Is now worth $4,000 and a
$1,000 mortgage is.On 1t, II the mort
gage was paid OFT In Hrty-ccnt dollars.
the holder Of the mortgage would re-
ceive back only the value of $500 for
the $1,000 which he lent on a gold basis.
But II lie fOrGcloscd and bought In the
farm he would have the precise secur-
lty on which he advanced his $1,000.
Therefore he would not fail 10 fore
close.
The hard. common sense OF the farm
cr viii prevent him from committing
such Il sIiCIdal blunder us to vote for
free silver when the only people who
possibly can benefit by unlimited coin
age will be those silver kings whose
gigantic syndicate holds o II of white
metal TO sell.