The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-08-01
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Points for Farmers to Consider i'm Connection With
the Free Silver Proposition. (

The main appeal OF the free sivertes the farmers OF the
country takes the specou form telling them that the prices
= all their have been falling since 1873 because silver
has been denied coinage the United States mint that
With this the starting point of all their arguments the free
silver express the greatest confidence that silver
readmed coinage the national mnts the ratio of 16
and unlimited quantity the farmers would at regain the
old prices OF wenhree years ago for their wheat co cotton
= and other crops.
As body, taking the country through American
have always been the conservative class Of Their
daily life spent dealing with the hard Interchangeable facts of
easily carried with fancu theories that do justify them
selves to their We believe that the free silver
% nSea are e ar O @ ,S & a
the polls vote for free silver coinage ratio which cannot
be justified by Thomas Jeffcrson famous rule which requires
that should fix ratio in accordance with the market
values the metals and the coinage laws OF the several cou
may tue-t probably sthat considerable number OF
farmers and planters not having the time to to en-
anime closely and deeply into this question: have been
half persuaded that there something in the theory that the
prices farm products have down with and because OF the
y fall the bullion price OF silver Many of them may very likely
be reasoning gat the fall OF vers price has been the
OF the fall of wheat and cotton rise in the price OF silver
would bring corresponding rise in the price of their crops
Eu before they their votes next November the farmers
planters inquire particularly than they
have yet done what the actual would be OF free
silver coinage by the United States alone and whether they
woud be losers gamers by the experiment The closely
they inquire the better will be for them and the country OF
which they still the rulers election day. Farming is still
the leading occupation of the American people, and the farmers
have to throw than other class follows that
this question decided wrongly and injurous American
interests farmers planters will be the heaviest sufferers
\ Theore submit all of them who numbered
readers that It time for them to put the free silver claims
\ to the test OF few matter of-fact questions.
First it true that the prices OF farm products have fallen
since 1873 because the market price of silver bullion has been de-
clning? If they will look the figures that tell the story the
prices of silver compared with the prices of their products
for the past twenty years. they will discover that
from being Not wheat and have close
silver the rising and falling Of their prices since 1873 though
they have quite by accident kept nearly to silver in their
fluctuations than other farm product. OF course it
that silver by its rise fall in price regulated the prices
OF all other things should not find the prices of the last ten
Of the
down price silver going up, that silver going
down price while certain other farm products going
Yet that is exactly what has happened all the time and what
happening today Silver does not keep ALL and
has kept pace with the prices of farm products
otherwise and the freesilver fiction that
the price everything the farmer raises could be fixed by fixing
the price of silver should blame the farmer for wanting
law passed declaring silver to be worth twice much in the
Z United States in any other country in the world.
But is not The price of silver in London 1873
$2o per The price of wheat per bushe year
$ The price of cotton per pound in the year
eighteen cents Now the very next CS74 silver coinage