Brenham weekly banner. [volume] (Brenham, Tex.) 1877-1907, 1897-10-28
COTTON AND TAXES.

prosperity is on tap, cotton man
ages to drop few points each
day and on Monday Middling
was quoted at 5 11-16. This
means about 4 ga for the farmer,
for his very best cotton, or if
stained for any reason it classes
lower, probably not over 4 IA.
Thus he receives barely $4,000
per bale of 500 pounds after pay
ing ginning charges. This is the
result of the benefieent gold
standard which is said to be such
a great blessing to the COM
mon citizen. Certainly the pur-
chasing power of an 'honest
dollar" is well illustrated here.
Where does the benefit come in?
The farmer who sells his cotton
at this price cannot afford to buy
the necessaries of life and hence
the consumption of manufactured
goods is curtaIled. Smaller
quantities will be manufactured
and fewer mills will be run and of
course fewer hands employed in
many industries. The price of
many protected notably
sugar is advanced. The farmer
is forced to economic and will
consume less and while the in
creased profit swells the Golfers of
the sugar trust, they will pro-
duce less sugar and fewer men
will be employed.
But some one must be bene-
fitted, for sit is and ill wind that
blows nobody good" The spe-
culator who sold futures" at Il
cents is fairly rolling in pros
perity. So are the English
manufac turers who m k e |
shabby cotton goods to sell to the
semi civilized tribes of Asia and
Africa. So is the holder of
American securities abroad. For
no matter what is said about our
right to pay our foreign debts in
gold or silver the fact remains
that those debts are paid with
our exports which are chiefly
farm products.
Let US suppose a Londen bank
er twenty five years ago invest
ed in a bond of the United
States for 100000 bearing 4 per
cent interest. Cotton was then
worth IL 1-2 cents per pound and
the interest on this sum invested
was paid with sixty-four bales of
cotton. AS cotton declined in
price the bond holder each year
a few bales more, until
this year when the interest had
amounted to as much as the
principal he would claim 100 z
bales where his original contract
called for 81. At the beginning
of Grants second administration
the salary of the President of the
United States was increased
rom $4,000 to $4,000 per an !
mum, or, in other words, his sal
airy in purchasing power amount
ID to about 1856 bales of cotton.
This was thought to be INSULT
,ient to properly support the
lightly of the position and it was q
doubled and it took no bales of
cotton per year to pay the presi- \
lent's salary during Grants Sec
md term. Today Mr.. McKin-
ey's salary is still $500 per \
year, but at the present price of
cotton it will take more than \
1000 bales of cotton to pay it.
thus it will be seen that the indi- n
-idual with fixed income
airly revels in prosperity. .
Nor is this the end, for l firmly c
'elieve the inevitable tendency
f the gold standard is to lower
rices, and in all probability be- e,
ore the end of McKinley's term 2,
re will see cotton sold in Bren-
am at 3 cents per pound. &
In the face of this, the expen-
lures of the government are
ontinually increasing. For this
ear they exceed by many mil
ons any year IN the past. The 2
appropriations amounted to, in
ound numbers, $3.50, 0O0,O 900, and
lie commissioner of pensions :,
usually remarks that he will fail
lort some eight or ten millions
/ his department. To pay this :
lormous sum would take 22,-
10000 bales of cotton, or much
ore than the country has ever If
reduced in two years. This is
II the actual expenditures of the 60
ltional government alone. To %
.alize the burden under which ,6
If people are staggering one Tn
ust consider the vast sums ex- T.
rted under the guise of "pro- Ex
ction." and the state, county Elk