The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1896-08-29
The M0RTGAGED FARM
Payment Of Debts in Debased Cur
rency Means Practically
Reputation.
A NEBRASKA FARMER ANSWERED
Fallacy Of What is Considered the
Strongest Free Trade
Argument.

The following letter is one of many
that are daily received by the Times
Herald. 1t is supposed to contain the
strongest free silver argument that can
used by the free silver orators with i'm
mense assurance of its success:
Lincoln. Neb.. Aug $40 the Editor:
Ny land is encountered by mortgage of
/. 1897. must pay this debt with the
products of my farm Under ordinary cir
% uhe. T next BE y ese If i"ss i
! change In our financial system. this wheat,
at so cents per bushel. will pay half the
sau wse1 to s b ssns S S silver sonaSs a
| bushel OF wheat. without any change In
its value. will be worth 50-cent dollar.
h free fepose OF the snd
the 1000 bushels OF wheat. The burden Of
paying debt Of $1,000 has doubled since
laws OF my country under the gold standard
and shall obey them under n silver standard.
The opponents of free coinage of silver are
appealing to the laborers. the creditors and
sonai interests. II l should fail to look out
for my own interests who will do so for
vote for the free and unlimited coinage Of
silvcrf Very respectfully. J. w. Binger.
The answer is not far to seek.
When this farmer borrowed the money
it was the equivalent of $1,000 in gold.
all in gold $50 pieces. He could have
had it that way if he SO desired. Per
hans he did, for many such loans have
been made When he expended it he got
$1,000 in gold equivalent. He probably
improved his farm to that extent or
way he used 1t, unless he burned it up or
suuandered it,, he got value received.
The borrowing and lending was bust
ness transaction and the borrower used
the money to promote his business in
terests
At no time since that mortgage was
executed, for few mortgages run over
five years without renewal, would
thousand bushels of wheat have paid il.
Suppose we had borrowed the money
from a neighboring farmer more pros
nervous than he. That neghbor would
nrobably have to carry something like
two thousand bushels of wheat to town,
sell Il for thousand dollars, get the
money and hand it over to his
friend. There have been in the
tons. In fact, In every farming
community there arc few farmers,
more thrifty and of better business quail
i6cntions than the others. who always
have money to lend out of their savings.
They get the money from the products
of their farms. but they are not loaning
those products. They are loanng the
money. and since 1870 IL has been gold
or its equivalent. Why should they
not have the same kind of money in re-
paymentg
Ia Il any wonder that the advocates of
unlimited free coinage are charged with
dishonesty and that silver is called dis
honest money, when by the passage Of
a law n thousand 50-cent dollars will be
snfy;cient to discharge debt of a thou
sand IOO-cent dollars? Such law
smonnts to the reputation of one-half
the debt obligations Of all the debtors in
the United States.
When Mr.. Birger In the above letter
.,ys .srhe burden of paying a debt of
Sii,Oo has doubled since l borrowed the
money" he must remember. IL he Is stat
inc what Is true, that the burden" is not
alone upon him, but upon every other
business man who has borrowed money.
Merchants and manufacturers feel the
same stress of the hard times as the
farmers do. 1t is not because they bor-
rowed cold and have to repay gold that
rho burden Is greater. but that their
earnings and assets have not turned out
ma they hoped and expected. COMPETE
t;on md oyerproduction have affected
the whole world. but reputation is not
the proper cure for Ii.
Honesty Is the best policy-as policy
merely. without reference to its moral
ouaiity-for nations as well as for indi-