The times., 1897-08-18
Prnsneritr Productions.

Prosperity Predictions.
If there is anything that The Times de
sires above every other thing, 1T is the
prosperity of the Americans people. On
this account 1T is always an uncomforta-
bic task 70 throw cold water on the present
scheme Of the Hanna and gold organs To
show that prosperity is imminent, certain
ana even here. in consequence of the rob
breadstuffs.
Let us make the point in advance, that
every attempt to make the country be
Iieve that permanent prosperity possibly
..an come to 1t While gold standard con.
traction remains to depress average prices
and continually to enhance the puTchas-
ing power of money, Will be futile and dis
aStrcus To the proponents. 1t is true that
the miSfortgnes of other lands, the fail
ure of crops in Russia, Hungary. Argen
tina and India, have given an impulse To
American agriculture, which will result i'll
temporarily better things for our farmers
this year than they have experienced
since the panic OF 1898. IL would be
criminal on our part II We were To join
in the hue nnc cry OF Wall street and the
Republican campaign committee, TO the
eff eot that these conditions, just now
favorable for US, necessarily represent the
dawuing OF q new era of national ma
tenal prosperity.
They supervene to the advantage of those
who would have American farmers believe
that wealth and plenty ever can flow
from contracted currency, and the alb
sorption OF the peoples money, that ought
to flow into the National treasury, by a
few trusts and monopolies which bought
the election of Mr. Mckinley in s9e, and
expect corruptly to purchase that OF his
successor in 1900.
Under these considerations, while hail
ing with joy anything in the present
situation whicn may tend To put dollar
into the pockets Of our farmers, We must
enter our protest against the current effort
I
to make them hink that the future there
fore is all bright beyond peradventure.
/ That would involve the conclusion, that
the crops Of India, Argentina, Uruguay,
Hungary and Russia always are to be
short or failures
We must protest, also, against the project
to make agriculture appear prosperous,
OIL the basis of market or speculative quo
| tations What wheat may sell sor in
New York or Liverpool, under such an
advance as lately we have witnessed, does
not go TO prove that the farmer has re
ceived any such figure for his crop. On
the contrary, it is notorious that most
farmers have been compelled To sell their
crops thIs year before they We're har-
vested, and at prices very much below
those considered by the bursting pros
perity boomers as basis for calculating
the $500, 900 900 or S70O, 900. 900 which
1t is claimed By the gold organs the in
Uerest is benefited by.
One principal reason why weob biect to this
is, that IL the farmers OF the country are
deluded into accepting what Is told them
hy the gold organs, the acreage OF next
GEAR VIII he vastly and detrimentally in-
.reased. Then. when harvests are once
more plentiful In competing lands, the re-
action viii come, and our native agri
culture suffer another and deplora BILE
revuIsion.
It looks very much as If the movement OF
the day on the part OF Hanna and his ALI
ances expressly was pointed at the Ohio
election. All the conditions must undergo
change before another Presidential elec
ton. Bot the Ohio event is close at hand
and next winter the whole combined forcs
OF Hanna, gold trusts and nonopoiies will
lie concentrated upon the fight to destroy
the non-interest-bearing currency of the
| people, and to substitute for 1t the credit
| money of national banks. From these
! points Of view the prosperity boom easily II
/ subject tn correct analysis. What we hops
is that the masses will not be fooled by il