Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1897-07-30
PRICES STILL FALL.
THE BONDHOLDER AFTER THE
PRODUCER.
Nothing Makes Man So HOmesick In
His Own Home IS to See Everything
Shrinking from Year to Year Exeept
His Debts and Taxes.
(By Scion Chase. of Maine.l

10y OolOH OHdSey Oh Malne.J
Bryan fired gun in the Chicago
convention that was heard around the
world. 1t was long-distance shot. 1t
hit 'em in Wall street; it hit EN- in
London. in Paris. and in Berlin.
The question that Bryan thrust into
the face and eyes of two continents
is the question of higher or lower
prices. The millions who voted for
Mckinley voted for lower prices, and
they have got what they voted for.
The millions who voted for Bryan
voted for higher prices, and we did
not get what We voted. for, but we are
going to pick our flints and try again.
The battle of the standards is battle
else.
The conflict is between the bond
holder and the producer. The term
producer includes every man, woman,
and child engaged in or dependent on
the productive Industries of the coun-
try. The term bondholder includes
the money-lending fraternity of every
stripe and feather.
If the money lender loans money
that is worth ten pounds OF pork to
the dollar and gets his pay in money
that is worth twenty pounds of pork
to the dollar he gets his pork without
feeding any corn to the hogs. If on
the other hand the farmer borrows
money that is worth ten pounds of
pork to the dollar and pays the debt
in money that is worth twenty pounds
of pork to the dollar he loses the corn
he feeds to the hogs. This illustrates
how falling prices benefits the money
lender and works injury to the pro-
Queer.
Last year I bought a new hoe for
twenty three cents. This year l can
buy the same kind of hoe for twen-
ty cents. My last year hoe is not worn
out 1t has got rusty, but could take
1t down to the mill and grind the rust
off on the emery wheel and make it
do quite we'll for another year. If
use the old hoe the twenty cents
should save would buy three pecks Of
Western corn or six yards Of New Eng
land Calico Judging the future by the
past, If l hoard the twenty cents for
a year, 1 can then buy bushel Of corn
or yards of calico. If let the twen-
ty cents lie idle for year shall gain
a peck of corn or two yards of calico
by the rise of money-that is I shall
kalr Nf ho 70 q -
or two yards of calico from the manu-
facturer without money and without
price. If l use the old hoe l restrict
the consumption of hoes and restrict
the production of hoes and thereby
restrict the opportunity of employment
for labor. I use the old hoe because
the price of a new hoe in money I'M
der the effect of the existing gold
standard" will take on streak Of fat
while am using the old hoe.
After 16 to l hoes and hogs will rise.
There will be confidence in hoes and
in hogs If hoard in money the price
of hoe for year that money will
take on a streak of lean. There will
be confidence in business men and
confidence in producers, because there
will be dividends in business and divi-
dends in production. But now under
the effect of the existing gold STAN
dard" the money lender gets richer by
diminishing the value of the property
of the producer and the dark pail Of
falling prices hangs like the gloom Of
midnight over the face Of our fair
land.
We are told by the financiers that
we are all going to get rich by buy
ing cheap, and what good thing 1t is
for the crippled pensioner, the poor
widow who is living on her small saw
| ings. and to the laboring man to in
crease the purchasing power of the
dollar. If the purchasing power Of the
dollar is increased until the shoemak
er can buy his meat for cent pound
the hog raiser would not wear shoes
half the year round, but the bondhold-
err would get 100 pounds of meat for
his dollar, and the country would be
filled with tramps who could not get
so much as marrow bone to grease
their Chops"
II low prices is good thing, haven't
we received about all the benefit we
can from falling prices, and wouldn't
an upward turn of values be healthy
change? Every laboring man sixty
years old who has earned his living by
the sweat of his brow knows that the
good times come with high prices and
hard times with low prices. The rise
of prices that followed the discovery
of gold in California and Australia
lighted the torch of civilization In dark
places and raised the standard of liv-
ing of the toiling millions the world
over. II the new minis had been silver
instead of gold the result would have
been the same. At that time silver
and gold at 16 to were both standard
money. The silver dollar would buy
as much merchandise as the gold dol
lar the world over. When new mines
of silver were discovered in our own
country the American congress and the
great commercial nations of Europe
took tbs monetary function from sill
yer and the silver dollar was made a
debt. The effect has been to make gold
1