The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-08-04
THE ONLY

Four years ago the canning establish
ment of Mr.. Polk. in Greenwood, whose
misfortune is a public loss. was running
porous one. Giving employment TO a large
number Of people and making a market for
special products for the ~r.eignboring farm
ers. Mr.. Polk has been a public benefactor.
Four years ago, although competition
might have been active in his line of pro-
duction, he was able to sell his goods
because there was a demand for them. II
been doing more business and, by a small
profit. would lave been remunerated for
his enterprise.
But four years ago such men as Gov
ernor Matthews, Senator Voorhees, and all
of that political faith were going up and
down the State predicting that
If the protective tariff should
be repealed better prices would
be realized for farm products, less
money would buy more dry goods. and the
markets of the world woul soon open to
us. Thousands of people were led to be-
lieve these illogical promises, and voted for
the Democratic candidates.
We all know the sequel. Prices are lower
than ever before, the market doors of the
world have not swung open to us, but ours
have been opened to Europe. Hundreds
of thousands of men who had full employ
ment in 1892 were turned to idleness in 1893
"a. Some nave got back at lower wages;
but neither the employed nor the idle have
the money to spend for food that they had
in 1892. Men in Mr.. Folks business began
to realize that the demand at home was
falling off and that no foreign demand was
taking its place. Prices were put down
and profits sacrificed. and yet the shrunken
volume of the sales Of canned goods has
not been swollen. Mr.. Polk has cut prices.
and he has been forced to cut the prices of
the products he has bought of the farmer.
Finally he has been obliged to suspend with
loss to himself and the whole community.
What is the remedy? What power will
make a demand which will cause Mr.. Polk
to recall his prosperity of 1892? A class of
persons will tell us that If the minis are
opened to the free coinage of the silver OF
TIT HOIIu, VII L yin . wa
be filled with activity. This is evidently
upon the supposition that coined silver dol
lars, If they are the property of the mine
owners. will consume large quantities OF
canned goods. To the average mind. how
ever. there is no connection between the
coming of silver dollars for a bullion owner
and the large consumption of canned goods.
There is but one way for the revival of
the Greenwood enterprise, and that is that
the hundreds of thousands of workers in
the factory towns and cities of the coun-
try who are large consumers of canned
goods be furnished the employment they
had in 1892. with the same scale of wages.
When this shall be accomplished there will
be an urgent demand for Mr.. Folks prod
ucts. he will again be prosperous. and the
condition of all those he employed and all
those who sold him vegetables to can will
be improved.
The first step, however, is to restore the
confidence upon which rests commercial
credit and without which industrial enter
prise is impossible. But, even preliminary
TO this first step. is the necessity of strans-
ling the conspiracy of the silver-mine trust
and making it clear that so long as this
disturbance over the demand Of the silver
mine owners continues. there will be less
demand for labor and goods and lower
prices. Free silver will only aggravate the
evils brought b. the German tariff.