The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1896-09-02
AGRICULTURAL.
The Present Condition of Farming.

The Present Condition of Farming.
The true condition of agriculture is
becoming better and better understood.
Men begin to realize that farmers are
in a strait, and the only question is how
the business can be got out of its pres
ent condition. The strength of the
free silver movement among the farm
ers lies in its appeal to those who are
in straitened circumstances with a
promise of help. Probably no better
judges of the truth or falsehood of this
claim can be found than the farm jour-
mails, and it is most interesting at the
present time to consider the attitude of
the agricultural press towards the free
silver movement. In late number of
the Independent we find an article on
this subject, parts of which we repro
duce. The writer, who resides in Al
bany, N. Y, says:
1t may be taken for granted that
whether favoring gold, or silver, or
both, farm papers all sympathize with
the farmer in the backsets he has en-
countered in recent years from causes
not plain to him nor to any one else.
With mortgaged farm and products
constantly depreciating in value, it is
not strange that he grasps the nearest
hand that offers to pull him out of his
slough of despond The free-silverite
holds out the "glad hand" and 80
plain seems the argument that silver
has lost half its value because gold has
doubled in value through single coin
age (through cunning trick of capital
ists), and that free coinage will restore
this lost value and raise prices of prod
uce, that the farmer grasps the hand,
not only at the South and West, but at
East also. The silver sentiment is
more general among us, think, than
the public has supposed. Right here,
in Albany, Schoharie and other coun-
ties, am told by hay-buyer the feel
ing is widespread. Farmers feel poor;
some are heavily mortgaged; some
have lost their farms; others are likely
to lose theirs. Anything that promises
to raise prices for few years and en-
able them to get out of debt they are
ready for. The same is reported of
farmers in the western counties. A
friend just returned from business
trip through Massachusetts finds like
condition of things there.
Some extracts will show the position
of individual journals. The Boston
CultiUator discusses the silver question
in the department of "Grange Mat
tiers" fully and conservatively, favor
ing international bimetallism: "Silver
10 IanrnooaI hnID o..
value, and can be restored to it only by
the united action of the leading govern
ments of the world"
The NeD England Farmer allows a
moderate space for the discussion of
the monetary question, but says that
while it earnestly believes protective
tariff and gold basis for money are
essential to the prosperity of New Eng
land farmers, questions on which pOlit-
ical parties take issue cannot be dis
cussed during the campaign. A cor
respondent, whose father was thirty
year subscriber TO the Farmer, writes
that he is inclined to the side of silver,
and asks for reasons against it. His
father began life with nothing but his
hands, paid for his farm and laid by q
few dollars-the most of it with free
silver and a low tariff He said before
his recent death that he could make
four dollars in those times easier than
one now. The writer is working the
same farm-a good one, yet every year
it grows harder to make both ends
meet. He thinks he has reason to be
silver man. The Farmer replied, first,
that agricultural depression is not con-
fined to the United States; it prevails
in Great Britain, France and elsewhere.
The opening of new lands, extension
of railways, shortening of ocean
routes, etc., are factors in depressing
prices. AS to silver, there is no objec-
ton to its use as a circulating medium,
but there is, as a standard of value,
since the actual value of the metal in a
silver dollar has decreased to fifty-three
cents. If an amount of silver that
would sell in open market for one dol
lar were coined into dollar, there
could be no objection to such free coin
age as far as current business goes; but
the trouble would be in the future va
rying value of gold and silver, giving
an option in debt settlements to the use
of the cheaper dollar. The unlimited
coinage of dollars containing fifty-three
cents worth of silver might at first Gre
ate demand, causing silver to adj
vance in value, but would strike harsh
blow at all the interests of agriculture
and labor.