Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1896-08-21

talk about dishonest or 53-cent dollar.
To all such we would say, in the first
place, form your own judgment of Mr..
Bryan. Don't take that of those inter
ested to disparage him. The charge
that the political parties which represent
ed good deal more than half of the Amer
lean voters are anarchists is too absurd
for discussion. Either the silver repub-
licans or democrats or populists are as
devoted to the Union and as law-abidlng
citizens as the remaining republicans or
members of any other party. All are
Americans and equally interested in the
welfare Of the country. Unquestionably
the agricultural interest, which is COM
blned now in the West and South,
whether silver republican, populist or
democratic, WIFI run the government
with far greater economy and to the inf
nitely greater advantage of the common
people everywhere, if it succeeds in es-
tablishing itself, than it has been run
by either party for many years. OF
course those in power who have so long
represented the money classes will kick
for all they are worth against the
threatened rule of the people, but there
is no earthly reason why our farmers
should care for this. Vermont alone of
the eastern States has majority of her
citizens engaged in agriculture, and in
this respect, which is controlling one,
her interests are the same as those of the
southern and western States. The same
is true largely of central and
northern New York and partly of New
Hampshire and Maine The present rev.
olution in politics is chiefly, like that of
the grange, an organized effort of the
agricultural and labor interests to bet
ter their conditions and to prevent
them from becoming worse. If the con-
ditons were at all satisfactory this
effort would not be made.
The suffering of farmers has unqufs-
| tionably been more severe IN the South
and West than in the East, and therefore
the protest is more advanced there
!
ports it appears that eastern farmers
are mortgaged to greater amount,
according to valuation, than either south
ern or western; but the same causes that
INTO organized action to protect their
interests are now working here and must
force our farmers into similar effort.
For ii is not conceivable that the class
that created American liberty, and has
always been its greatest resource and
protection, will permit itself to be des-
troyed without the most determined re-
sistance. And then comes thai natural
link of sympathy between those that
work. Blood is stronger than water.
The farmer from his boyhood - his
old age is a toiler; persevering, cheeHu!l,
intelligent, but never drone. He asks
and expects no reward that he does not
earn. His profits have ever been and
always must be moderate. If economic
conditions arise that drive him to the
wall, and press him to bitter contest for
self-preservation, the natural sympathies
of all the workers in the nations great
household will 90 out to him as against
the forces of aggregated wealth that
wouldgrob him of his living, and which
so frequently also threaten the taiT
profits of all other labor. In this con.
test the farmer fights onlyIfor his rights
! ioh n trc nd ha hOl IL
world knows it.
This reward has been filched from him
by unjust laws which the moneyed in.
terests of this country and of Europe
have obtained through the corruption
and lmbecilitY of our congress. AnC
now these same interests are telling the
farmers that those who would aid then
are anarchists. They are also very
eloquent against what they call the "53
cent or dishonest" dollar.
Let us now examine this charge of SO
cent dollar. 1t is founded on the idea anC
only on the idea, now entirely abandoned
2 by all intelligent authorities, that the ma
terial of which a given piece of money Il
composed must have a commodity valu
equal to its money value. 1t is true that i
may haze such a commodity value. 1t il
, also true that it need not hare, and that tn,
greater part of our money or the money
of the world does not have such value.
There is IN the United States abou
$3OO,OOO,0 900 of gold that can be account
ed for, and it is possible that there il
, S4O0, 1000, 900 in the country. The CLAIM
of over $6OO,0O0,OOO made by the golC
press is entirely fanciful. The com
modify value of gold coin equals its coli
value because the mints of all the prin
= cipal commercial nations are open to tn,
free coinage of gold. Let those mints b,
shut TO il: that is, let these nations de