Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1896-10-24
FREE SILVER VAGARIES.
The Question as Seen by a La
boring Man.

In this campaign every thing pos
sible is being said and done by Mr..
Bryan and his supporters TO con-
vince the farmer that it will be to his
interest to have the free coinage of
silver, at the ratio of Is to one, IN
this country. All kinds of alluring
promises and predictions are being
made to bring him to that view.
One of the strongest arguments
made, and one that appeals directly
to the dishonest side of q man, is
that the farmer will be able to pay
his debts at fifty Gently on the dol
lar. The writer claims that this
statement is erroneous. In the first
place, how is the farmer to get these
50-cent dollars He can only get
them by offering something for them,
either bis labor or the products of
his farm. There is no other way he
can obtain them honestly. In the
next place, how will the man to
whom be sells his prod ucts get
them? He must procure them in
the same way. by offering something
of the same value in exchange for
them. And ii the man who purchas-
es the articles he has to sell pays
for them with these so cent dollars,
dollar for dollars worth of what
he has to sell, how will the farmer
be ahead on the transaction !? Ii he
receives one of these 50-cent dollars
in payment for dollars worth of
his products and then pays it out,
in pay ment Of his debts, as dollar,
he will be just even. But he is com.
PEELED to sell his wheat, oats, barley,
hay. corn and the other articles he
raises, in order to purchase the ne
cessities of life, and he must sell
them at the price for which they are
selling at the time. Now, when he
sells these articles he must take one
of these 50-cent dollars in payment
for dollars worth OF what he is
selling. 1t is case of compulsion.
He has no remedy, because he must
eat, be must wear clothes, he must
repair his house, his barn and out
buildings and he must purchase
farming implements. Now, when he
comes to purchase these articles and
the seller informs him that they
have advanced in price, and that
the suit OF clothes he formerly paid
SIS for had advanced to $50, the hat
he used to buy for So was now "a,
the So shoes to Sc, the $40 pillow to
$40, and all other articles in the same
ratio, what is he to do2 As he is
compelled to have these things he
must pay the price asked, and there
by lose fifty cents on the dollar. 1t
is claimed by the free silver orator
that the price Of farm products will
advance under free silver, and that
as the price of silver advances the
products of the farm will advance in
price proportionately. Experience
teaches US that such is not the case.
In 1916 silver was worth $1.25 an
ounce yet wheat only brought 40
cents per bushel, and at the present
time wheat is steadily advancing in
price while silver is as steadily GO
ing down in value. The price of
wheat and all ether articles is regu-
lated by the law of supply and de-
mand, and will always be so regu-
lated. If there is more wheat raised
than can be consumed, the price will
naturally decline, and when there is
not enough raised to supply the de-
mand then the price goes up. Sew
eral things are responsible for the
low price of wheat. Over produc-
tion, caused by the raising of mil
lions Of bushels where heretofore not
q bushel had been raised; the inven-
ton of machinery, whereby more
may be produced; the shutting down
of mills, owing to free trade, causing
thousands of men to take up farm.
ing lands in the West, thus making
producers of them instead of con-
sumers the cheapness of freight
rates, whereby the wheat from foreign
countries can be placed in our east.
ern cities cheaper than it can be
placed there By our western farmers.
have all contributed their share to-
wards the result. In 1892 the farm
ers were promised that if Cleveland
was elected they would receive $l.00
a bushel for their wheat. How has
that promise been fulfilled In 1891
wheat was selling at S3 cents. In
1892, after Cleveland's Inauguration,
it dropped to 50 cents, in 1893 to SO
cents, in 1894 to 40 cents, in 1895 to
so cents, and this year it has been
lowering around the latter price un-
til recently, when, owing to fail
of the crop in Europe, the price has
advanced to 10 cents, with a pros
pect of gong higher, showing con-
clusiyely that It's price is not con-
trolled by the price of silver. Tie
farmer and The laborer are Deepen
dent one upon the other. You throw
one out of employment and the 9th
er must suffer. When labor Is idle
the farmer loses his best customer.
Free trade has been the cause of cut
ting down the markets of the farm
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