The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1896-08-12
Condition Of the Farmers,

S. T. X. Prime of Dwight, ILL.,, is
well known in connection with his
work, Primes Crop Reports" Mr..
Prime has correspondents in every
state in the Northwest and Southwest,
covering the area from Ohio TO the
Pacific coast, and these supply him
with the most accurate information OBJ
tainable upon the subject in which he
is specialist. Mr.. Prime is not pes
simist and he doesn't join in the plant
with regard to the depressed agricul-
tural interests of this country.
1t is true" said Mr.. Prime recently,
"that prices for the farm products are
low, but at the same time there is moth
ing that the farmer has to buy, con-
sumo, or wear, or any of the agricul-
tural implements which he uses, but
are cheaper to-day than they ever were.
1t is fact that in all of the farmers
meetings and conventions which have
been held during the last six or eight
months there has never been passed q
resolution of denunciation, nor has
there been made any unnatural de-
mands upon the powers that be. The
fact that the farmers of the West and
Northwest never put in bigger acre
age of crops than they did in the spring
Of 1896 clearly shows that they were
satisfied with their conditions and sur
roundings.
"The people at large forget one
thing, namely, that as the country
grows older, every year there is a larger
humber of farmers who are better off
than they were the preceding year.
| n
bankruptcy facing us. The conse-
quence is that the SURPRISES of one
year and another accumulate, and to-
day we have practically the crop of
corn and oats of 1896 already in the
granaries and corn cribs of the farmers
of the Northwest. All this immense
product must be moved. This means
plenty of business for the railroads for
the next twelve months. We have to-
day prospect of as large an oat crop
as we made in 1895. We have also a
splendid outlook for corn. The latter
crop is the one which permeates and
enters into all the various channels of
the commerce of the country. The
greatness or the smallness of the wheat
crop cuts but very little figure in the
commerce of the country as compared
with crop of corn. make this state
ment that the farmers of the West
were never as we'll off financially as
they are to-day. They never had 80
much to eat or drink, or better clothes
to wear, or owed 80 little. To illus
trate this cite an incident which came
under my observation only few weeks
ago. A large firm in the East shipped
to Dwight carload of buggies. They
were unloaded and stored. A few days
afterward the statesmen came along and
took these buggies into the country.
In less than ten days every one of them
was sold to farmers.
"As to the silver question, think
the feeling is greatly exaggerated just
at present The rank and file of the
conservative element are opposed to
free silver. When the people get over
the spasmodic cyclone which has struck
the West during the last ten days, and
the farmers get back to their legitimate
work and look their position fairly in
the face, think you will see wonder
full revulsion of public sentiment on
this question. at present the feeling
seems to be, among democrats, to vote
for Mckinley. If any one could point
out to me any single area in this country
where the people were suffering from
the effect of the development of legiti-
mate industry L should feel entirely diff
ferent on these questions; but when 1
see our people. we'll fed, we'll clothed,
and with comfortable homes to live in,
l cannot for the life of me see what
more they could desire. So far as the
West is concerned, everything points
to legitimate progress and improve
ment, and it should be said that never
was there time when improvements
could be made at 80 low cost, and our
people seem to be taking advantage or
that fact. l think when November
comes around the majority will agree
with me that the present excitement is
only passing show"