The Columbus journal., 1896-09-16

4 H. OSS1A 1ASS8S "a nv OAAAANOhSy - "
neWing these 1t the borrower
terms. this year things are just q little
different. The consequence IL that
farmers are doing q little more than
their usual amount Of Independent
thinking and are not slow to discover.
that the glittering promises made by
the silver agitat0rs are only silver
plated ut best, and that II things con
tinue to rub the wrong way q little
while longer. as they have acquired the
knack Of doing recently, eve the sill
ver-plating will wear OF and leave but
common pewter. The silver agitator
has invited farmers to look back owe
the past In order to cOl0r the picture
which he holds out for the future.
And farmers. especially the farmers Of
central Illinois, have begun to look
back, and this is the picture they zee.
Glance 1t the Past.
Away back in 1866. when the crime
OF IT, was still unmatched, the great
corn belt of central Illinois was settled
ny the sturdy ye0man who. following
Horace Greeley's advice after the close
Of the war. had gone west" The IL
linois Central Railroad company. the
greatest of all pioneers in this state,
had for sale sections of land from one
end of the state to the other which
were then being freely sold at IS to s.
an acre. Men who knew next to moth
that 1t meant hard work settled upon
this soil which by dint of ~assidu0us
labor they presently converted into
rich farm lands. While these farmers
were toiling and sweating to make the
best of the opportunities offered them,
the dark "crime of '73" was perpe-
trated. The panic of 70 which no
body has yet accused of relationship
to the crime" of that year. like
wise interviewed to Offset the prosperi-
~. which was settling in all over he
country. Disasters enough to
nomentarily shock the very
foundations of national commerce
fell thick and fast. Yet despite all
this havoc and ruin, ne unskillful la
borers who had become farming
'business-men," as Bryan calls them,
found themselves in 1876. three years
after the panic and crime" in a posi-
ton to sell their holdings Of Illinois
lands for an average Of $25 an acre,
or more than three times as much as
the land had cost in the good old
days" before the 'crime Of %" was
perpetrated.
The effect of this era of prosperity
soon became manifest. Where former
~ miles and miles of prairie farms
had been innocent of the vestige OF
anything like q municipality, villages
and towns sprang into existence. Men
who had gone into the farming bust
ness as q venture and who had for
saken the beaten paths of ordinary
commerce TO go west and grow up with
the country" found themselves pos
sessed of q snug little capital upon
which to embark in more congenial
business than that Of agriculture. The
businessmen" of the villages were
the men who had sold their farms,
still leaving . g00dly portion of their
capital invested in the shape of mort
cages on their lands. True, there was
not quite 20 much in 1t for the lender
on farm mortgages Is there had been
in the good old days when 8 per cent.
to 10 per cent. interest and 5 per cent.
commission was the regular rate
for farm loans. But still there wal
enough to warrant the retired farmers
loaning their savings or acting as
brokers for other small capitalists
seeking giltedge security for invest
nent.
Prosperity Follows the ''Crime."
For nearly twenty years under the
changed condition Of affairs use
Quent on the "crime of 70" farmers
and their creditors managed to strug-
gle along somehow without any very
keen agitation for free coinage of sill
yer ut 16 to I worrying them. The en-
tire country blossomed and prospered,
farmers grew rich, many Of them re-
tired to Join the ranks of small capt.
talists. while those who stuck to the
plow were SO content with what ma
ture and their own industry gave them
that NO sooner was q piece of land
spoken Of n being for sale than there
were . dozen farmers whose lands ad-
Joined. bidding for the farm that was
On the market. Az machinery i'm
proved the task Of cultivation became
easier and the crops grew more and
more plentiful. To clear OF a farm
mortgage from the proceeds Of the
fasn during the existence Of the mort
g1ge became the rule rather than the
exception. New obligations were un-
dertaken almost exclusively for the
purchase Of additional lands, and the
proceeds Of the mortgage In actual
cash going to swell the savings of the
quickly increasing ranks Of village
bankers and tradesmen. Thousands of
successful firms. anxious to give their
children b benefits Of city education.
moved to Chicago and many of these
men are today counted among the
leading citizens Of the western metro
polls.
Meantime the price Of the farm land
In central Illinois has risen from SIS
IN acre In 1876 to SIS. $50 and in some
cases $1OO IN acre In 1894 2ndl895. And
- every succeeding rise In value Of
ANA meant . corresponding addition
to the number Of small capitalists
eager to invest their savings in farm
mortgages competition for this class
q Investment grew proportionately
keenr. leaving the borrowing farmer
the option Of picking and choosing
Who should Be his creditor, and, in
short, practically debating his own
terms for the loan. Not q word about
the Tree coinage Of silver. except here
md there BY . few agitators whose
cToakings nobody needed outside the
AaNelo - valla~ lnafnea ~ tn Nnrmae