The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-12-01
THE CURREYCY QUESTION
what {" Common, Everyday Farmer
Thinks OF II.

To the Editor of the Globe:
as some OF our United States senator's and
representatives, eX-gOvernors. bankers broI,
us US anu many others have, during the last
riaI "ueAs' written long articles On the fnan-
clal question and given congress a great deal
OF advice about the laws they should mas
% SelCle the currency question. / thought
perhsps the public would like to know vbIt
an ordinary mortal thought about the mat
{teI, q pam common everyday farmer who
mas no political aspirations nor expects any
reward from any man party.
Therefore, Mr. Editor | am going tn taIt
You what | think has been the main cans,
OF all our financial troubles and I will asa
state what | believe the best remedy TO heiD
Us out OF our present difficulties. It will be
observed mat there is a great difference of
opinion among our fnanciers about whlt
should be done and how it should be done
Some want the United States to issue ali
the money, Others want national banks IN
DO the same. Some want free silver while
others want it some other wav-but the
most Of them agree on one thing and that
Is that we want more money, and what do
we want more money for? Why. just simply
TO pay our debts with. Debtsl debts, there
Is where the rub comes in; there Is where
all our troubles start from; we all owe too
much. The government, the states railroads
counties, cities. towns and individuals are
all owing too much and paying too much
interest TO be prosperous. We don't seem to
realize the vast amount of money that is paid
out as interest every year with the interest
bearing debt increasing right along and OF
course, the more interest we pay the more
money We want to pay Ii with and that is
what helps make money so scarce for most
everybody Is hustiing around nearly all the
time trying to make a lse to pay of some
note or the interest on some mortgage in
order to avoid litigation Now suDnOse that
we could pay our debts, or the most of them.
during the next year or two, | believe we
could get along after that with a great deal
less money than we do now, and there would
not be about half of the people camoriug
for free silver Ia ba
notes as they are now and the financial
question would NOT be heard of for the rea-
son that We would not be hard pressed for
money all the while as We are now.
There YVES time when a mortgage cover,
ed my farm from the front gate to the fur.
Their side of the wood lot. and | had II
hustle day and night to get money to pay
the annual interest and avoid a foreclosure.
Ihat mortgage seemed TO hang like a mill
stone around my neck all the time | never
thought that could afford to go to the state
" fair for fear that I might spend a few
dollars that the mortgage was waiting for;
but there came a day when by a lucky deal
l paid the Old thing off principal and in
terest, and IL was one of the happiest DAYS
Of my life; 1t seemed that the sun shone
great deal brighter that day than it ever
did before. and the birds sang sweeter and
the whole world looked brighter and / felt
like a new man. | felt like Bunyan'5 Pill
grim did when he was freed from that great
hump on his back which he had been COM
PEELED 20 carry SO long.
We don't want any more billion dollar
congresses until our public debt gets below
the billion dollar mark. We don't want any
more wars until our old war debt is wiped
out. but we do want economy and retrench-
ment in all public and private affairs, and
then we viii have better times. better tines
that win come to stay, without having
few wears Of prosperity always followed by a
period Of financial disaster as has been the
case for the last thirty years.
Sunrise, Nov. %. &C. Wilcox.