Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1897-12-04

number of silver dollars were shipped
into Ellis county by wheat buyers dur
| ing the present season, but no con-
nected account has ever been given OF
the remarkable transaction The i'm.
portation of silver was started by l.
NJ Yost, the leading miller and wheat
huver of Hays City, who had quarrel
ed with the local bank and set about
doing cash business with his custo
mers. He secured at the start 10000
silver dollars from the national treas
ury at Washington, thus saving ex.
press charges, as the government pays
| this expense for anyone who will take
silver. Very soon he duplicated this
order and at the same time other
wheat buyers in the town ordered sill
yer from Washington. The precise
amount received is not known, but
/ the railroad agent at HAYS City re-
I Gently informed Topics that the sum
exceeded 800, 200.
1t readily may be understood that
silver became very plentiful in the
business transactions of Hays City.
In fact all other kinds of currency
practically disappeared from circula-
tion. The bank refused to exchange
gold or greenbacks for the white
metal, and, for a time, it even refused
to receive silver on deposit, claiming
that if it did so It's vaults would soon
be clogged with the entire 5000
pounds of silver in circulation in the
neighborhood.
As soon as the threshing season
opened the farmers hurried their
wheat into market to take advantage
of the high prices. Itfrequently hap
pened that one man would market as
much as 1000 bu. in one day, receiving
every cent of his pay in silver. One
could stand on the street corners and
see dozens of men with sacks full of
silver over their shoulders going from
store to store as they bought goods or
paid their bills. Sometimes these
sacks contained as much as seventy
five pounds. The money drawers in
the stores would not begin to hold the
white metal. The town was deIuged
with IL and cures deep and long could
be heard on every side. Men who
wished to buy Il draft To pay off Il
mortgage found that they could not
do it with silver dollars. though this
condition was soon changed by the
local bank, which made every effort
to relieve the white meal congestion.
Ellis county is largely peopled by
Russian farmers, and it is said that
every one OF them has more or less
silver coin buried a.out his premises.
Hon. Ii. ID. Shaffer, of Hays City. told
Topics IN amusing Story III t.iis con-
necUion. At the election of 1896 the
Russians voted solidIy ior iree silver,
giving Bryan Il M. .ority OF about SOC
in the county. One day Shatfer no
ticed one OF the Russians coming from
an elevator with I2o pounds of silver
dollars in Il sack over his shoulder. He
placed the sack in the bottom of his
wagon, and then made his wife seat
herself upon it with an earnest adJu-
ration to her not TO move while he
was away attending to some business.
As he mopped the sweat from his
brow he turned to Shaffer and said:
'Meester Shaffer, L wish you would
dell me Something's Last fall We voted
lOT NGec SllNcE anu SOuG DedU, ullu ) ct
We have vree silver now, don't it al
ready"
This experience in Ellis county be-
comes of more than passing interest
when it is remembered that perhaps
for fifty years no other community III
| the United States has had such a
practical test of the silver question
and the Gresham law. For I've
monts Hays City had silver mono
metallism. Gold and paper disap-
peared from circulation as by magic
Y TO give place to less desirable curren.
cy. 1t was proof positive not only
4 that gold would not stay in circula
tion alongside of silver dollars stand
I ing on their own merits, but also that
gold would not stay in circulation
alongside of silver dollars redeemable
in gold when the silver had been fore
ed into circulation beyOnd the Ordi