Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1896-09-10
THE INDEBTED FARMER
DEBAszMsNT or THB0vRRENcv
WILL NOT HELP HIM.
Poor Wages to the Laborer Would Lead
20 q Curtailment OF the Consumption Of
Farm rroducts-Prices Would Rule
Lovar. .arsN
"A corresnondent writes:

j Among farmers TINS argument ~ useu
on which he owes $1,000. This year he has
1000 bushels OF wheat to sell. the proceeds
Of which he expects to apply ON the debt.
At present this wheat Is worth 30 cents pei
bushel, or $50O-half the entire debt. Under
free silver he would get VI per bushei ID
bO-cent dollars. or $lOOO-enough 10 dls.
charge co the debt. How should tp's argument
The change from the 1O0-cent gold dob
lar to the 5O-cent silver dollar can be OF
no possible benefit TO farmers who are out
of debt, or to farmers who are IN debt
but have contracted to pay IN gold.
These two classes embrace. majority
of all the tillers of the soil who own,
or claim 70 own, land.
But there are many farmers who have
bought land on time, or who have Dor
rowed money to sock or improve the
farms they own, and have not bound
themselves to pay In gold. Before these
farmers vote for free coinage, thinking
u will aid them, they should study the
subject carefully.
A change of the standard to cheap
free silver will wipe out one-haf the
value of aall the notes, mortgages, de-
posits in savings, national, state and
private banks; stock of building and loan
associations, life insurance policies, and
money in hand. There will not be a
transfer of wealth from ono set Of per.
sons to another, but a destruction Of
wealth.
These losses, enormous in the aggre-
gate and distributed all over the country,
necessarily will bring Onfa terrific panic,
which will paralyze all Trade for time
and throw out of employment several
millions of wage-earners. Those who do
have work will get no more 5O-cent free
coinage dollars than they get now 100
scent gold dollars. Thus the purchasing
power of their wages would be cut down
one-half.
This universal industrial collapse and
destruction of the purchasing power OF
the mass of the community would lessen
the demand for all farm products, and
thus depreciate their value.
This would be inevitable. Men with
no wages or with half wages cannot buy
the accustomed quantities of food. The
40 millions living in the cities and vii
hges, belonging to the industrial classes,
would have to economize vigorously in
their food purchases. They would buy
the least possible, of the poorest quality
they could get along with.
There would not be the demand for
beef, veal, mutton, pork, eggs, butter,
cheese, milk. fruits and vegetables which
exist ordinarily. In view of this de-
creased demand the producer-Athe farm
er-would have to lower his prices or his
products would be left on his hands.
Thus every farming community would
suffer. The agriculturists of the United
States would lose hundreds of millions
owing to their inability to market their
products. they complain that prices are
low now. They would find prices much
lower than. when there was no demand
for what they had raised.
The cotton planters would not suffer
as much by the free coinage panic as the
Northern producer of fOodstuffs. Nor
would the tobacco growers of the border
states. But they would not escape alto.
gether, for it is impossible to injure the
forty-fve millions of town people with
out all the rural part of the population
suffering more or less.
The farmers must know that the city
people are their best and chicfest GUS
toners and that when they are in dis
tress and cannot buy the farmers can
not sell, and consequently suffer.
Farmers who are in debt and who
vote for 1G to 1 50-cent money will find
to their disappointment, il they elect
Bryan and a Popocrat Congress, that
they have overreached themselves, and
have made the payment of their mort
cages still more difficult. For the panic
will reduce consumption, and they will
get no more cheap dollars than than they
get now good dollars.
No debasement of the currency which
brings on widespread panic of unprece-
denied severity, which may last for
years, can be of any benefit to any farm
er. though he be in debt. His mortgage
will be due in five years at the farthest
and the hoped-for double prices to be
paid in cheap dollars with which he can
cheat his creditor will not materialiZe in
time to help him.-Chicago Times-Her'
aid