The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1896-10-21

ported to ruin this country for fifty
years, and no such law can be passed by
the new Congress for several months at
ter March 4th, 1897, even if a special ses-
sion should be called.
How will the country look-or rather
let us say-what would be the condition
of the country in the meantime? Could
mere regret for having brought it on
be much of a consolation to the misguid-
ed voter, be he farmer, laborer poiti-
clan or demagogue?
Will the conservative farmer ever for
give himself for the blunder of assisting
| at so dangerous an observation-disclosures
Gus to the entire COMMUNICATION for
life time the average farmer was too
| conservative to try any experiments on
an extensive or costly scale on his own
| farm?
| Can the farmer afford to help by his
| vote to throw the financial system of
| this great country into confusion, when
| he known that even If successful it Will
| help only those who boarded silver or
| who own silver mines, and which will
| perhaps benefit the farmer and perhaps
not, but will surely ruin the average
merchant or manufacturer, Gripping
| them and preventing them from grant
| ing credit to farmers, or giving employ
| ment to hundreds of thousands of work.
| ingmen?
When these unemployed masses will be
| unable to consume or pay for their &C
| cuStomed supplies of farm products, the
| farmer will find even silver dollars hard
| to get
Why should the farmer help the Silver
men to saddle the country with silver at
one cent per ounce higher than it is
worth in the market, if by so doing the
credit and business honor and reputa-
| ton of this country, and it's reputation
for common sense and square dealing
will suffer in the eyes of the world
without any benefit to the people?
| The benefit to even the Silver men can
if they succeed-Qet us hope they will
noD be only temporary, though they will
| not consent to this, because they will be
| just as successful in maintaining under
| free unlimited coinage at the rate Of 16
to 1, the value of the silver dollar at one
| dollars worth, which value it now COM
mands, as would the farmer be able to
maintain the price of a bushel of wheat
| at one dollar, if a hundred laws to that
effect were enacted as long as the mar
ket price is only sixty to seventy cents
| per buShel.
The effect can only be, t. reduce the
value of the six hundred and twentysiN
| million silver dollars, the bu-lO and
| the six hundred and ninety million pape
| dollars now in circulation and parl n
| the Treasury and now worth par, to he
bullion value of the future silver dola.
| from the moment the Gold standard is
| abolished, besides reducing the value Of
| all the new silver dollars to be turned
| out by this scheme to only their bullion
value when used in exchange for mer
| chandise purchased from merchants.
| The farmer who often sells in a small
|
| is paid by the day or week, could not
| help themselves, and would have to &C
| cept the deprecated silver dollars at
| par.
How does this conspiracy strike the
| farmers fancy when he contemplates
| the ruin likely to be caused by it, and
when he stops to think that it is engin-
| eered by the set of people who write
pamphlets and speeches about the
| 'Crime Of 1892" They fraudulently try
to create the impression thereby, that
| the act of legislation of the then natural
| the act of legalization Of the then natural
| for which there had been no demand,
was passed by stealth and at night,
which statement they must know to be
absolutely untrue. The legislation lead
| ing to this law of 1873 occupied the atten-
| ton of both Houses during 1S70-n-72 and
70.
This is written by a merchant, a life
long Democrat, who has for nearly TWEEN
ty years studied the relations of the far
mer to the merchant, and knows full
well that the farmer generally, expert
| ences more downs and ups and that
the farmer has derived no benefits worth
| talking about, from past protective leg
| islation; therefore, he seems ready to
| legislation, especially if under the ban
ner of 'Populism' must benefit him,
| and he enormously thinks that nothing
| can hurt him. He does not look into the
| record of the Populists, when for a
| short time they had the chance to dem
| onstrate some of their irrational theo-
| ries. Has their management of affairs
| in Kansas, South Carolina and elsewhere
| been creditable, and have they proven
| themselves high minded and disinter-
ested?
The farmer has in almost every case
been the first to suffer in eras of depres-
sion, and the last to feel the effects of
any improvements.