The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-09-21
SoME THOUGHTS BY JAMES
MURDOCH,

and the goose hangs high. A deficiency
Of two hundred and eighteen million
bushels of wheat in Europe and a good
crop in this country has advanced
prices and placed more money IN the
pockets of the farmers and this Is felt
in the arteries of commerce. The pas
sage Of a protective tariff has partly
restored confidence among the manu-
facsurers and they have started up
their mills, giving employment to hun
dreds of thousands of laborers hereto
fore idle, and this money is injected
into the arteries of trade and millions
of dollars of p~erishable farm produce
is sold for which there was nc demand
so long as the factories were idle. Will
this life blood flow until every indus
try is run on full time and the neces
saries and some OF the luxUries of life
be within the reach Of allH The civilized
world doubles its ability every seven
years to manufacture. (Gladstone)
VIII this life blood be in sufficient quRn.
titles and distribute all this increased
outputs Will the people get the ten
per cent. more dollars so they can get
and consume this ten per cent. In
creased output This mUst be the re
suit, or this attempt to boom will
speedily end IN a boomerang which
will knock the bottom out Of the
boom. Our factories running nine
hours a day in six months can easily
produce as much as the people can get
the dollars to come IN twelve months.
Our factories running six months will
have a surplus of six months or hand
and they will be forced to close down
until this surplus is sold Millions of
laborers will be thrown out Of employ
ment, money will cease to flow into
the channels of trade and business
stagnAtion will prevail in every indus.
try. These having money will invest
in Mexico, Japan and China, where
labor is cheap and capital can CON
pete on the worlds market. Until a
system is established by which the peo-
pie c IN get the money to run the facto-
ries on full time and n the in
creased output, every attempt to boom
will be speedily followed by a boomer.
ang. Under che most favorable cOndi
tions the people cannot command more
than one half enough money 20 run our
factories on full time. We predict
eight billion dollars woI To Of manufac
tured products and we have the faoiii-
ties to double production and there is e
general demand for this increased out
put, but the people caUnOt get tie dol
lars to distribute it. Why is this Ghus3
Under ali tariffs our farmers sell at the
worlds market price the minimum and
get the minimum number Of dollars.
If our farmers could get maximum
prices they could have the dollars to
run the factories on full time aud there
would be no suspension of business.
This would give steady employment TO
labor at maximum wages and put into
circulation four dollars FRI mthis source
where there is now one.
To get maximum prices the farmer
must be able to hold and sell as there is
a demand. To do this the following |
conditions are indispensable:
1. Money must be furnished ct cost
to the farmer and in sufficient quantity
to transact the business on q cash
basis.
2. Postal banks must be established
in the cities and principal towns.
8. The tariff must be adjusted SO as
to stop all competition with cheap labor
Of other countries.
4 The farmers must co operate and
fix maximum prices, hold and sell as
there is a demand.
Furnish the money to the people at
cost and in sufficient quantities to
transact the business On a cash basis
and you save forty per cent. now
charged up to the credit system. We
will ave the one thousand million dol
lars now paid in interest and save four
thousand million dollars annually and
increase production and competition to
this extent. Consumption and produc-
tion will be increased twelve billion
dollars. Postal banks will secure all
depositors and stop panics. When
every dollar deposited is granted and
every transaction is cash there a be
no panics. A judicious adjustment of
the tariff will stop foreign competition
and make each class to fix maximum
prices and wages. Co operation will
establish maximum prices and wages.
Competition will establish maximum
prices and weges. Competition on the
worlds market will force our farmers