Democratic messenger., 1896-09-05
THE FARMER.
How lie is Interested i'm Free
Coinage of Silver.

IHHE farming element Is the back
~ bone of everycivilized nation ex-
cept Great Britain, whose tillable area
is limited and worth more for game
preserves" for the "nobi lity." The
condition OF the farmers of the whole
civilized world has been gradually
growing worse for some years back
and although il has been noticed by a
few that the price of silver and the
price of farm produce rise or fall to-
gether, few understand why this is so.
The answer to this question is the
philosophy of the silver question and
tells the whole secret.
1t is this : The United States de-
monetized silver ON February 18th,
1873. Germany followed July 9th,
1873. and so quickly as 1874 the
effect upon silver was so great that
France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland
and Greece were obliged to restrict its
coinage Holland did the same in
1875 and Russia in 1876; and in
1878 Austria and Spain did the same.
The effect of such rejection of silver
could not be otherwise than to decrease
' its value, and increase the value of
gold, until now silver is worth only
about one-half what it was worth in
1873, compared with gold.
But what has this to do with the
prices of wheat, oats. corn, rice, petro-
leum and cotton
Much every way. Farm products
are the chief articles of export of these
United States the basis therefore of
our national prosperity. Our pur-
chasers are the gold standard countries
Great Britain, Germany and France
Our competitors are silver standard
countries-Russia, India. and Argen-
tina. The gold countries take their
gold and exchange it for s;.ver-one
gold dollar for two silver dollars,
then buy cotton, wheat and oil, etc.
from the silver countries for about
half the price they would pay if gold
and silver were on a parity.
The United States is the only nation
Except Canada,) which produces
wheat and general farm products ex-
tensively for export that is not on a
silver basis and hence the producers
here suffer more than elsewhere, al
though the farmers of Germany, France
and Great Britain are complaining
bitterly and applying for tariff protec-
ton and getting it. But no protection
can be given to American farmers who
produce vastly more than sufficient for
home consumption. As consequence
of being obliged to purchase their sup
plies on gold basis and being obliged
to sell their farm produce in competi-
ton with silver countries on the silver
basis, the farmers of the whole civil
lized world are suffering.
The effect upon the people of the
United States is most serious because
from 75 to 50 per cent. of United
States exports annually are farm pro-
ducts. The exports Of farm products
from the United States are about
$3.50, 900, 900 in gold but in silver,
at the present price, it would show
nearly double this sum, and nearly
the double of it if silver and gold were
interchangeable the world over at the
rate of l6 to |. The present gold
standard benefits only the money
lenders. altogether numerically small
and constantly decreasing class. Sill
yer and gold together constitute the
money favorable to the interests of the
masses in every land
Great Britain was the mother Of the
gold standard and has finally brought
other nations to her side. She fore.
saw that if the food-producing nations
Except the United States) were on the
silver basis. the appreciation Of gold
would give her workmen cheaper
bread and that as she is money-lend
ing nation, it would also increase hel
revenues and wealth. She could moi
manage the matter alone, but as soon
as the United States joined her the
victory was won, and the other nation:
of Europe were forced to the gold
standard.
The fall in the price of silver the
world over was somewhat retarded by
the heavy silver purchases by the
United States Government up to 1898
To hasten the fall of the value of sil
yer the minis of British India-s
silver standard country-were CLOSED
to its coinage under pretense that b,
and by India would be brought to +
gold basis-the very thing that Grea
Britain would never permit.
All can see that a gold standard
benefits England's money lender anc
indirectly the whole nation, becaus,
their exports do not consist Of farm
products sold in competition at silve
prices.
But for the same reasons the gol,
standard is almost uncomfortable I,
Europe generally and ahsolutel,
suicidal to the interests of the Unite,
States, the chief producer and exporte
of farm products, which although tn,
| r;chast nation in tho world - tho .k;a