The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-08-15
Free Coinage Catechism.
IN. Y. Post.)

CoinHonly answer When Gney are COLI
fronted with the facts already stated in
this Catechism? A. They reply that
whether the gold standard of currency has
helped the wage Garner or not, it has se'
riousIy hurt tho farmer.
@. What do they allege to be the aver
age farmers condition. A. They de-
Glare that as result Of the gold stand
ard, the farmers of this country have
fallen into desperate state OF poverty.
@. Is this true? A. 1t Is not.
@. How can you prove that it is not
true? A. By the fact that farmers have
beea buying more farm land under the
gold standard of currency and raising
more crops. By the fact that farmers in
many Western States are paying off their
mortgages. BY the fact that in the grain
country, outside of parts of Kansas and
Nebraska, farm lands are selling for
much more than they brought half a
dozen years ago. Finally, by the per-
sonai testimony of experts.
@. How do you know that the farmers
are buying more land? A. BY the ill.,
crease In acreage planted.
@. Give the figures. A. In 1872 the
combined acreage of wheat, corn, oats,
barley and buokwheat in the United
States was g. 42S, 119; in 1894 1t W as 1873, :
1923, 092; increase nearly 100 per cent.
This years acreage is not greatly
changed from 1894.
Q. Would this increase have been pos
sible II farming had been losing enter
prise? A. Certainly not. When peopl
find that they are losing money in bus
mess they are apt to stop that business
altogether. The last thing they do is to
former magnitude.
@. How do you know that farmers are
paying off their mortgages? A. BY the
best of authority, the statements of the
loan and mortgage companies which
lent the money.
q. Can you give any instanoes A.
One company, the New England Loan
and Trust. lately published. in an official
statement to it's security holders, the
fact that $l9S, 904 In farm mortgages were
paid off during last March alone. OF this
amount 500, 1854 was paid before the prin-
cipal was due.
.. How do you know that farm lands
have risen in value? A. In Iowa partic-
ularly, we base our information on nu-
merous deeds of sale made within the
last year or two, showing advances of 10
to 20 per nent., within four to ten years,
in the value of land sold.
@. Have all farm lands risen In
value? A. Not ALL
z. Where are the chief exoeptionsp A.
In parts Of Kansas where the uncertain
climate has made the original purchase
bad Investment; in parts of Nebraska
where the rainfall is uncertain and
where the opening Of Oklahoma lowered
the price of all neighboring farm coun-
try. These were the unluoky expert
ments, such as are found in every trade
q. What personal testimony have you
as TO farming conditions generally? A.
Mr.. Prime, the we'll known crop expert,
and thoroughly unbiased authority,
lately said in published interview :
The farmers in the West were never SO
well off as they are today. They never
had SO much to eat and drink, or better
clothes to wear, or owed so little.'
@. But is it not true that almost all
the farmers are heavily in debt? A. It
is not.
@. How do you know they are not?
A. By the statistics of the United States
census.
@. What do these statistics show? A
By the census of 1890, there were in the
six States of Iowa, Kansas Nebraska,
Minnesota, North Dakota and South
Dakota, 720, 479 families cultivating
farms. Of this number, 24S, $50 families
had mortgages on their farms. $50, 72S
owned their farsm free. while a41, 0o1
nothing to do with mortgages.
O.. What does this signify? A. Il
signifies that in six representative far
Western grain States hardly third of
the oultivators Of farms have on their
land any mortgages whatever.
Y. But are not the farmers in the
South more heavily in debt than this?
A. The proportion of Southern farmers
under mortgage is wholly insignificant.
@. Give some figures. A By the
1890 census, families owning farms free
In kentucky mum bered 11S, $50; families
owning mortgaged farms numbered 1, 991,
In Tennessee farm owned outright were
l03, 346; mortgaged farms, 8, 4S1. In
Alabama the proportion was 6S, 1893 to
., lOI III OeurRla ~ WAS "a, LILO TO q, 4Sl IN
North Carolina, 101, 321 to 5, 2U2.
@. Would not free silver coinage help
the farmers to larger export trader A.
Not unless they sold their grain abroad
for lower price than they sell it now,
because they must sell in competition
with all the world.
G. But If gold was at premium,
would it not be profit to the farmer to
sell his grain abroad for gold, and then
sell his gold here for Deprecated slvsrp
A. Everything he wished to buy with
the deprecated silver-clothing, carpets.
furniture, farm mplements-would rise
exactly AS much.
@. Would not the country's export
trade be helped by fres silver coinage?
A. Our export trade has incr eased since
the demonstration of silver, and since
our adoption of the gold standard, more
rapidly than ever before.
@. How large was this increase? A.
Since 1872 the annual exports of the
United States have increased 1874 per cent.
@. In what products was this export
increase largest? A. In porduots of the
farm.
@. Comprising what? A. Grain, cot
ton, tobacco, meat, live cattle, sheep and
hogs
q Whit was the fncraae. in tba,o.