Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1896-11-26
INDUSTRY VERSUS usuRY.
The Problem That Races Us-rhe Col.
ana Fsssna Ta,1r,

The Problem That Faces Us-The Gold
and Bond Grip.
The United States is confronted with
the same old problem which has over
whelmed countries and peoples from the
earliest period of recorded time-the
problem of usury exhausting the re-
sources of industry. II is time for us to
ponder when the private Indebtedness
of this country rises from $40. 000. 900 in
1880 to $4,000, 900 in 1890. It is time to
stop and think, when the aggregate
value Of the farms, farm crops and live
stock of the great settled states of this
country is less in 1895 than it was in 1870.
It is time for Minnesota TO ponder when
its wheat crop is worth less in 1895 than
in 1873 by over 25 per cent
What does this mean? It means that
the appreciation of money and the de-
probation of prices, the increasing pow
er of usury and the decreasing power of
industry are repeating history in the
United States. Let US note the trend of
wealth increase in this country. Let US
compare the wealth movement of the
money-lending with the agricultural
states.
The assessed valuation of the state of
New York rose from s., 651 100000 in
1880 to SIS, 7S5, O0o, 900 in 1S9o-a net gain
of 81, 134, ZOO, 900, or A per cent. in ten
years. The whole of the nine South
Atlantic states in that time advanced
from 81, 694 900, 900 to So, 262 900, 00o-an
increase of $685., ZOO, 900, or about half
that reaped By the single state of New
York in the ten years.
The wealth increase for the five great
north central states of Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan and Iowa was about
the same in volume for the entire five
as for the single state of New York.
Pennsylvania followed New York with
an increase of nearly $1,000, 100000 in
wealth, and Massachusetts, came after
with a net gain of $57o, 200, 900, the latter
being the amount of the aggregate in
crease for the nine Atlantic states.
The nine Atlantic states together en-
bracing New England, New York, New
Jersey and Pennsylvania, in other
words, the single gold-standard stantes
grew in assessed wealth from 81, $780,
100000 in 1880 to SIC, 90s, 100000 in 1890.
Here is a net gain in assessed valuation
of about $4,000, 900 for the country
east of the Alleghanies, which has only
one-fourth the population and one
twentieth of the area of the United
States; and this is over two-fifths of
the country's total gain in wealth from
1880 to 1890.
These nine gold-standard states of the
northeast have only five per cent of the
area, II per cent. of the titled acreage, Is
per cent. of the railway mileage, 16 per
cent. of the church organizations, II per
cent. of the farm crop and farm capital,
% per cent. of the school attendance,
and 26 per cent. of the population of the
United States. And yet this northeast
ern home of the gold propaganda has 43
per cent of the assessed wealth, so per
cent. of the bank capital, 50 per cent. OF
the manufacturers, 60 per cent. of the
general banking resources, and 80 per
cent. of the bank deposits.
Tt is the old historic trend. Usury is
fastening its gold and bond grip with in
tensifying power upon industry. When
the productive power of industry is I'M
equal to the task of meeting the inter
est and debt payments, there is panic
and depression-there is an 1875 and
an 1S93-o6.-Minneapol Penny Press.