Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1896-09-25
POUND CAKE Us. ASH CAKE.
SEE WHAT YOU CAN FIND
BY READING BETWEEN
THE LINES.
A Parable and analogue.
The Gold Standard Compared to
Common Grist Mills.
New Daily Pilot.

staff of life:
In Felicia the Lord had pro
vided two grains for bread, anC
one Cf these was called wheat
and tie other was called corn, OF
maize.
And the king had opened mill:
for the grinding of these grains
where both were ground equally
without price and without limit
The land was fertile, yielding
both wheat and corn; but the
greater yield commonly was ol
corn, and wheat sold at a higher
price among the people because
it was scarctr and made finer
and whittier loaves.
Yet the two grains gave abun-
dance and happiness. If the
wheat lacked, the corn supplied
the deficiency; if the corn was
scant, the wheat came in answer
to the call for bread; so that nc
man suffered of hunger in Felicia
Aud the corn was every man S
crop. They who could not grow
wheat, grew corn, and they who
ate no wheat were satisfied with
the corn ground freely at the
kings mills.
Both in quantity and in price
the two grains thus co-operated
together to feed the people,
without possibility Of monopoly
and extortion.
But Mammon, who distribute
ed the grains and the -four and
the meal thereof to the people,
saw how he could control the
situation and make a mighty
deal in wheat (the scarcer grain
and more to be desired,) if he
could persuade the king to close
the mills against corn
And so he sent his professors
and his bankers and his scribes
and his lawyers to the king, and
they said:
ooh, king! wheat is the only
food fit for thy people. 1t
abounds; it is healthful. beauti~
full and sweet; it is more desired
of all men and nations; corn is
food only for swine!
"Therefore close thy mills
against corn, and allow wheat
only to be ground therein. So
will Felicia wax greater and
greater among the nations; and
with wheat as the sole and single
staff of life, our people will live
longer, grow richer and richer,
and become the happier as the
delicious biscuit shall on every
table take the place Of the coarse
and unsavory ash cake =
SO it seemed wise to the king;
aud forthwith he issued his
edlct that thencetorth no corn
should be ground i'll any Of the
mills Of Felicia, which should
remaln open only to the free and
unlimited grinding Of the golden
wheat.
For time all things seemed
to work we'll, Notwithstanding
the ediCt But soon the people
who had eaten corn bread found
that they could not turn their
corn into meal, as the mills were
closed to everything but wheat.
They had to eat wheat or starve;
and 10! by reason Of discrimina ,
ton against it, corn became all
most worthless in exchange for
whe at-as everything else had
also become by reason Of the mill
edict.
And they who had eaten wheat
only found that it had risen
enormously in price, not simply
because It had been made the
sole staff of life, but because
Mammon and his men had corn
cred the wheat product, which
had now become easy, as this
product was much less than that
of coru and as corn had been ex-
cluded from the mills and the
bread d-market, and could no
longer come to the rescue of
wheat and it's consum ers.
Thus it came to pass that even
the kings baker was sorely per-
picked to furnish the accustom,
ed loaves for the Royal table.
All the kings household and re>
tainers, who had formerly been
served with corn>pone, had now
to be fed on -four.
So that with the Royal Garn>
ers bursting with corn, there
was scant bread On the ROYAL
table!
But Mammon & Company had
store Of wheat, and for a while
they cheerfully took the kings
orders Cor bonds) in exchange
for wheat; but the peoples orders