The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1896-04-10
LIVE ISSUES.
Silver and the Farmer.

the minis of the United States to
free coinage of silver, would bene-
fit the mine owners and nobody
else, is specious argument, or
rather bit of sophistry put into
the mouth of the public by the de-
ceptive goldbug newspapers. There
is no truth in this assertion. The
opening of the minis to free coinage,
would profit silver mine owners,
probably less than any other class
of wealth producers. At first they
might reap a benefit slightly in adj
vance of other lines of productive
industry, on account of the imme-
diate rise in the bullion to coin
price. Other products of industry
would rise more slowly and grad
ually, as the volume of money in
creased, but a general rise would
take place all along the line. Things
would rise in anticipation of the
surely better times ahead. Bus
mess would start in anticipation OF
better prices a little way ahead,
and stocks of goods would be in
creased to supply the market de-
mand which every one would feel
was sure to come; and instead OF
falling prices for the future as all
now suffer from, a small, at least,
advance in price would be a sure
thing. In fact this gentle rise
which would take place as soon as
the minis were open to free coin
age, would advance almost as rap
idly as the advance of bullion to
coin value.
When the price of all products
had risen correspondingly with
silver bullion, the, mine owners
would not be any greater gamer
than the producers of all other
things. His silver dollars would
not purchase any more of the mer-
chandise in the market than his
bullion now buyes, at the present
low range of prices.
All the products of the farm and
factory have fallen steadily as
silver bullion has fallen. Silver
bullion will buy about the same
quantity of any of the staple articles
found in the markets, that the sill
yer dollar would purchase, imme-
diately prior to 1873 when silver
was clandestinely demonetized. An
ounce of silver will pay for bushel
of wheat at present, and it re-
quired about an ounce OF silver
dollars, or of silver in coin, to buy
a bushel when the minis were
open to free silver coinage. If
the price of silver bullion is COM
pared with the gold price of all
kinds of merchandise, from 1878
down to the present time, it will
be found that all fell together be-
cause silver bullion had been made
a commodity, with little demand in
this country for it as money.
The main reason why farm pro-
duce was effected by silver was the
English, who have to purchase the
greater part of their bread-stuffs
and raw material from foreign
countries, bought our silver bullion
at the lowest figure they could
hammer it down to, assisted by
every administration, since 73,
which steadily Disseminated
against silver under the dictation
of Wall street, which in turn was
inspired from London. An ounce
of silver bullion coined into rupees
would pay for bushel of wheat in
India and in Russia. Such wheat
could be placed on the market in
Liverpool, at the price of the ounce
of silver, paid for with gold, and il
all silver using countries the silver
money was, as it is here, equal te
gold. That is the price of theil
products did not experience the fal
that they felt in all gold standard
countries. Gold in silver using
countries, or silver standard
countries, is not used as money
or to gauge or measure the value o
their money, and is only a dea1
commodity as it was for IL years
during the war and after, in Thu
country.
Silver countries have all proited
and are now profiting 100 per cen
in their money by buying our silyel
at half its value to them whel