River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1896-08-20
THE MORTGAGED FARM
Payment of Debts in Debased Cur
rency Means Practically
Republication.
A NEBRASKA FARMER ANSWERED
Fallacy of What is Considered the
Strongest Free Trade
Argument
A NEpRASKAFA FARMER ANSWERED

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
be addressed to the farmer, and IL is
used by the free silver orators with inn
mense assurance of its success:
Lincoln, Neb, Aug. $40 the Editor:
NV land Is encountered by a mortgage OF
$1,000. payable in lawful money November
products OF my farm. Under ordinary cir
cumstances ] will be able TO raise 1000
bushels Of wheat next year. IL there Is no
change In our financial system this wheat,
at 80 cents per bushel, will pay half the
debt When the value of silver dollar
is reduced to 80 cents by free coinage a
bushel Of wheat, without any change In
its value. will be worth a 50-cent dollar.
With free coinage Of silver ! shall, there
fore, be able to pay the entire debt with
the 1000 bushels OF wheat. The burden OF
paying a debt OF $1,000 has doubled since
] borrowed the money. ! have obeyed the
laws OF my country under the gold standard
and shall obey them under a silver standard.
The opponents of free coinage OF silver are
appealing to the laborers, the creditors and
policy holders to protect their own per.
for my own interests who will do so for
met Is there any reason why should not
vote for the free and unlimited coinage Of
silyerl Very respectfully, }. w. Binger.
The answer is not far to seek.
When this farmer borrowed the money
II was the equivalent of $1,000 in gold.
Ii was the same as if he had received il
all in gold $50 pieces. He could have
had it that way if he so desired. Per-
haps 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
bought stock or machinery. In whatever
way he used il, unless he burned il up or
hn
The borrowing and lending was a 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
porous than he. That neighbor would
probably have to carry something like
two thousand bushels of wheat to town,
sell it for a thousand dollars, set the
money and hand it over 10 his
friend. There have been in the
past thousands of such transac-
TONS In fact, in every farming
community there are a few farmers,
more thrifty and of better business quail
ifications 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 loaning the
money. and since 1879 it has been gold
or its equivalent. Why should they
not have the same kind of money in re-
paymentF
Is II 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 a thousand 50-cent dollars will be
sufficient to discharge debt of a thou
sand 1OO-cent dollars? Such a law
amounts 70 the Reputation &C one-half
the debt obligations of all the debtors in
the United States.
When Mr.. Binger in the above letter
saws ..'The burden of paying a debt Of
$1,000 has doubled since i borrowed the
money" he must remember, if he is stat
ing 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 gold and have 10 repay gold that
| the burden is greater. but that their
| earnings and assets have not turned out
| as they hoped and expected. COMPETE
| tion and overproduction have affected
| the whole world. but reputation is not
the proper cure for il.
Honesty is the best policy-as a policy
| merely. without reference TO its moral
/ ouality-for nations Us well as for indi-