The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1896-06-26

Tried by Lonely Valley Farmers
scheme Promised Much, But
Was Upset by the Village Store
keeper in One Night-He Made
the Rule Work Both Ways-A
Simple Lesson That Cannot Be
Too Well Learned.
lin the story of Lonely Valley, wheat. OF
course, represents gold; corn, silver; the
farmer, the agricultural debtor class, and the
merchant, the mercantile creditor class; the
Judge, the United States, whose fiat is relied
upon to make fifty cents worth of silver
equal to one hundred cents.l
Lonely Valley was inhabited by a
community of farmers. 1t lay remote
from railways and cities. Wheat and
corn were its staple products. These
were sold at the only warehouse in
the valley, kept by one Simon Store
keeper. He hauled the wheat and
corn to the distant railroad station,
sold them, and supplied the farmers
with agricultural implements, seeds
and general goods. Very little money
circulated. principally small change.
All the transactions between the ware
house and the farmers we're based on
credit, and every season the farmers
around were more or less in debt until
their crops were harvested. The credits
were made by notes something as fol-
lows:
LONELY VALLEY, Feb. -, 1S9--.
Received of Simon Storekeeper one
hundred dollars worth of credit for
goods, to be paid one month after next
harvest in wheat or corn by the bushel,
struck measure.
RICHARD P. STEWART.
Witness: Weaver J. Bryan.
For many years this state of affairs
had continued. But early one spring
O sbarp-faced, squint-eyed man, by the
name of C. Harvey, came into the
neighborhood and was noticed to be
very busy among the farmers, while
he avoided Simon's store, the general
place of gathering and gossip. He
complained of the high price of wheat
to pay debts, one dollars credit a
bushel, and the difficulty of raising it,
and set forth the great advantages as
q debt payer of the low price of corn,
fifty cents worth of credit q bushel,
and its easy cultivation. He at last
persuaded the farmers that he could
get friend, a member of his society,
or party, as he called it, to run for
judge OF the County Court, and, once
in office, give decision which would
lawfully pay off all debts at half price,
while it doubled the value of every
farm in Lonely Valley. They had
only to plant corn. and plenty of it,
and very little wheat, and vote for his
man for Judge to witness q sudden
prosperity beyond their widest
dreams.
The farmers believed his plausible
arguments. The corn was planted;
the Judge elected.
The judges first decision was on
the legal bearing and effect of one of
the farmers notes to Simon Store
keeper.
AS soon as he heard of it Richard
Stewart posted off to pay his note.
chuckIing all the way. He hitched his
horse in front of Simon's door and
unloaded one hundred bushels of corn.
He found Simon within, sitting on a
floor barrel, smiling and contented,
and saw at once that he knew nothing
of the recent decision.
''How dye, Simon"
elbows yourself, Dick?"
"Right peart. thank'ee. want to
pay that note-got the truck outside
in the wagon"
Call right; unload while I get the
note" Dick had all he could do to
keep from laughing as he toted in his
hundred bushels of corn.
He sat down and waited for Simon,
who soon came in with the note in
his hand.
s:Hello, Dick!" he exclaimed when
he saw the bags of corn. 81 thought
you we're going to pay the whole note.
Want to pay half, eh, and renew the
balance? All right. You and have
traded considerable, and 1 can accom-
modate you.
Dick began to feel a triae badly,
and he spoke with little hesitation.
"Wen, you see, Simon, our new
Judge, he had one of these notes
brought up yesterday-maybe you
amt heard of it-and he said bushel
we're a bushel anyhow you fix it, and
one bushel was as good as another
bushel, and q bushel of corn as good
to pay debts as bushel of wheat, be-
ing a bushel anyway, and I guess all
we farmer folks is a'goiDg to pay that
way. It is the law, and we thinks,
being as we can raise corn cheaper
nor wheat, and corn iswhat our Judge
called legal tender same as wheat,
we've a right to pay in it,
"Darn your new judge! I always
thought he was fool from wayback.
And you, Dick, want me to take hun
dred bushels OF corn, worth fifty dol
lars after l haul it to market, for one
hundred bushels of wheat, worth one
hundred dollars in good credit, be-
cause bushel is bushel and the
court says so, do you? 1t is an out
rage; a cheat. Your new judge is
fraud"
"1t's the law, Simon"
sIeave your old corn, Dick, until I
Gee if it is the law. don't believe it. y
cali right, I'll come tomorrow. I
did want to take some things home
with me in the wagon, but you don't
seem in the humor to decker just now.
I'll come when you have found that
law all right-and powerful good
thing for the farmers, too. Pll get
the things tomorrow, Simon; an l
don't say but l might be willing to
pay little more, as corn's cheap. So,
mornin' to vel"
Simon sent man to the court, got
the decree and found it as Dick had
cold The iudoe had decided fiat.