Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1896-09-15
THE COMING OF THE FLOOD.
Not One OF the Syndicate.

One of the most instructive and in
teresting sound money addresses that
we have read was that made at Indian
apolis at the mass meeting of sound
money Democrats, several days ago, by
Louis r. Enrich of Colorado. Mr. Enrich
is a silver mine owner. but he does not
believe that the proposed legislation
would in the end be helpful to even
the mine owner. While the price of his
bullion would rise and he would have
the first hand at all the profits. produc-
ton would be stimulated so that over
production must inevitably drive the
price of silver lower than it is now
He says: II am not a banker | own
large interests in silver mines No
living soul owes me a mortgage On
the contrary: Ten years ago. i'm
pressed with the wonderful natural re-
sources of the Rocky mountain region
and relying on the financial sanity of
my fellow citizens, / invested my en-
tire capital in the far Western states
The continued silver agitation has
made my properties unstable. | have
seen the tide of debt rising slowly at
first, but ever more rapidly, and threat
oning in time to engulf me No onc
can sympathize with the debtor more
kcenly than myself. ! see my way out
however, not by urging this nation in
to the widest and most reckless finan-
eial experiment since the days of the
South Sea bubble-not by throwing this
government into the hands of a Popu-
list receiver and compromising public
and private debts on basis of 80 cents
on the dollar-but rather in helping to
mould public opinion ana legislation so
that we can again beget full confidence
in the safety and in the stability of our
monetary system, so that capital Will
feel safe to emerge, and that, by the
energetic many million fold inter-
change Of human effort, there VIII
come again market for property and
securities which will enable the debtor
to repay the creditor to the uttermost
farthing with an honest, 100-cent
dollar"
Such sanity amid such surroundings
is striking tosay the least Mr. Enrich $
good sense also enables him to see the
true state of the much bemoaned con
dition of Western farmers. on this
topic he says: They tell us that the
sold standard has been crushing the
1850 to 1890 our population increased "a
per cent, but the values of our farms
in those 10 years increased three thou
sand million dollars, or 80 per cent.
and the value of live stock on farms
which is one of the tests Of agricultural
prosperity. had risen from one and Il
half billions to two and one-ffth bill
lions, or Al per cent. If farming has
been so utterly Improbable it is ex-
t'IuiIlSlt I'll diSt THAT III the ~ years
from 1870 to 1890 the improved acreage
Of farms in the United States has risen
from 1SS, 600. 900 TO 357 900. 600. nearly %
per cent From 1880 to 1890 the number
of dwellings in the United States in
creased p per cent. or three per cent
more than population. But, say these
calamity howlers: See how tremend-
ously the mortgages have increased.
That is indisreputable Yet it might
astound some Western economists To
be informed that mortgages increase
in times Of prosperity and decrease in
times of adversely In the decade from
1880 to 1890 the mortage Indebtedness of
Colorado increased nearly 500 per cent.
whereas that of Nevada decreased 10
per cent. That would be proof that in
those years Colorado was making giant
strides in prosperity, and that Nevada
was going down hill Sixty-six per
cent. of our farmers own their farms
and Of these ~ per cent have no mort
gage debt. In fact, the mortgage
debtor for whom the silver men have
shed so many tears does not seem to
live principally in the West or South.
The statistics of 1890 show that the
mortgage Indebtedness of the State of
New York alone is three times as large
as the mortgage debt of the entire
South. four times as large as the mort
gage debt of the Rocky mountain and
Pacific coast regions, and nearly one
and three-quarter times as large as the
combined mortgage Indebtedness of the
entire Rocky mountain region and the
entire Pacific coast region"
Monday was the day when the votes