Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1896-09-18
A PRACTICAL FARMER.
He Wants to Know How Free silve,
Coinage Will Help Them,

/ LAG vdnt0 10 AuOW HOW FTeo silver
| Coinage Will Help Them.
Farmer-I confess that 1 don't un-
derstand the intricate features Of the
silver question. l suppose that which
is meant by free and unlimited COIN
age of silver at 16 to 1 is that any per-
son In this or any other country who
has silver bullion could take it to our
mints and have it coined into dollars
without cost to him, and that there shall
be 16 parts Of silver in each silver dol
lar to one part of gold that now enters
into the coinage of the gold dollar.
Editor-You are right. That is Just
what is meant by it. What do you do
for living?
Farmer-I am a farmer, living in ILL.,
nois.
Editor-If the mints were thrown
open to the coinage Of the silver Of the
world, or even the silver OF our own
mines, can you tell me how you would
get single silver dollar that yeu don't
now get without giving for it either its
equivalent in labor or the product of
your labor in the form Of something
you have raised on your farm?
Farmer-No, can't; and that is lust
what sticks me. The silverites are talk
ing that we will have good times again
if we pass the free coinage law, and
that We will not have good times until
we do come to free silver coinage They
say we have not money enough in cir
culation, and 1t is that which makes
hard times. | am sure times are now
about as hard as they can be; but
whether would have any more money
than now have If the free coinage was
brought about / can't tell. confess
that l can't reason it out that would;
for about three years past times have
been wretchedly bad. When times
We're good could never get anything
for nothing. In 1892 we had the same
kind Of money that we now have and
we We're very prosperous. 1 suppose
that If | was silver mine owner l
would want free silver coinage, too.
Extraordinarily. The silver mine
owners and the brokers' are the only
persons to be benefited by it. If you
could get fair price for your cattle,
your wool and other crops. would you
care anything about free silver?
Farmer-No, should not. And to be
candid, don't know that care any
thing for it now; but these sllverites
sort of upset me with their theories,
which could not understand.
Editor-If the tariff on barley, buck
wheat, corn, oats, cabbage, wool, chick
ems and all the products of the farm
was again raised to the figure it was in
the Mckinley bill, or near that, don't
you think you would md the problem
Of hard times solved?
Farmer don't know but what that
would settle it, for we had good times
during the short period that we had the
Mckinley law. / have heard that fear
full amount of farm products are being
shipped in from Canada. and other
places. The politicians don't care
much for the farmers, and the tariff
is only made to protect the manufac-
turer and the trust people.
Editor-Are you sure of that? Don't
you know that the Mckinley law plac-
ed protective tariff ON everything the
farmer raised?
Farmer-I don't think it did much
for the farmer.
Editor-Well, 1t did great deal for
the farmer, and the Wilson law cut the
Mckinley figures nearly in half every
time. which enables the garden truck
raised in Germany, Canada and other
places to come into our markets and
undersell the home products. judge
you are not aware Of the differences
between the protection given to the
farmer in the Mckinley law and that
given him in the Wilson law. Let me
tell you of some of the figures showing
the duty on some of the articles Of pro.
duce upon which the farmer makes the
most profit. These figures are taken
out of the tariff schedules printed by
the Democratic Congress that passed
the Wilson law:
Wilson tariff
Apples, zoe per bushel.