The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-05-07
AN EASTERN AWAKENING

Under the caption of 1.-THE Key to
Good Times, the staid and conserva-
tive Boston Traveller has a good word
for Mr.. Butler. the Populist senator
from North Carolina The senator
made a speech in Boston recently and
the following is the Travellers COM
ment.
Senator Butler of North Carolina
told some very plain truths last night.
People even in this vicinity are begin
Ming to believe that the prosperity of
eastern manufacturing interests must
be co-incident with the prosperity of
the producers. 1t is true, as Senator
Butler says that in the past politicians
have made it appear that there was a
dividing line between the interests of
the farmers and the manufacturers,
but this, happily, has gone by.
For many years the prices of all
staple products have fallen steadily
but the debts are the same today as
they were yesterday. No less this
year than they were ten years ago. The
result is that after paying the interest
on this debt the farmer has nothing left
with which to buy products of our east
ern factories, and he never will have
until the volume of the currency is so
increased that the prices of all staple
products are raised. 1t is idle to be-
lieve that protective tariff will be a
panacea for all these flaws in the ma
chinery of distribution.
Senator Butler truly says that the
people are not buying imported goods.
1t is true, however, that the money and
products squeezed out of the producer
are exchanged abroad in foreign lux
uries by the rich. All manufacturers
will tell you that their southern and
western trade has largely fallen off. 1t
is a fallacy that low prices bring about
prosperity. 1t is not true. The main
tenance of the general range Of prices
is the key to good times
It is interesting to know that people
in the vicinity of Boston are beginning
to learn something and that the knowl-
edge is being acquired from the en-
Iightened west and south. The atten-
ton of eastern holders of western Sc
curities has frequently, in the past few
years, been called to the fact that a
constant decline in prices while debts
remained the same must ultimately
lead to general disaster.
The inevitable results of these con-
ditions have been a long while reaching
the east, but that self-satisfied region
seems to have been touched at last. 1t
now dawns on Boston that the western
farmer cannot pay interest to eastern
mortgage holders and buy eastern man
ufactures at the same time from his re-
duced income One or the other in
terest must suffer in consequence and he
begins at once to unite with the west
crn and sout hern farmer in seeking the
cause and the remedy.
With an alacrity which is surprising
The Traveller takes Senator Buffers
word for it that the farmer knows what
is the matter. The maintenance of
the general range of prices it says,
is the key to good times It also con
cedes another contention of the western
and southern farmer, and that is that
prices cannot be maintained in the face
of contracting currency or even a sta
tionary cur ency, but that a currency
expanding in proportion to the increase
in business and population is necessary
to stability 1t is not unusual for peo-
pie to see things in a changed light
when their pockets are touched.