The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1897-08-26
The Official Paper Of San Juan County
THURSDAY, AUGUST Goth, 1897.
PROSPERITY RETURNING.

One of the most gratifying evidences
of returning prosperity throughout the
country is the astonishing rapidity
with which farm mortgages are being
paid off in the great agricultural states.
1t is estimated that in Nebraska alone
such debts have lately been reduced as
much as sos, 100000 and the amount
paid upon Kansas mortgages during
the same period is said to be almost as
great. And from the great wheat
growing states the same story will be
heard this year and our own state will
be among these and well up IN the list.
1t is estimated that the wheat growers
of Washington will receive upwards
of S25, ZOO, 900 this year for their enor-
NOUS crop. Divide this by 10000 and
YOU have an increase of about $l66- 66
in the per capita circulation of those
counties of the state which are the
chief producers of wheat and POpulists,
and whose people lent willing ears last
wear to the sophistries OF the Hon.
Wheat Chart Jones and others who
braved themselves hoarse in their
efforts to convince their hearers that
the price of wheat invariably rises and
falls with the price of silver. Look at
the two now! Wheat one dollar per
bushel in Tacoma or Portland, the
highest for years; bar silver 4S cents
per ounce, the lowest ever known.
The Hon. Wheat Chart Jones will have
to concoct some other story with which
to fool the people if he Is ever again
successful in securing a nomination
for congress.
A few days ago Henry Clews, the
great New York broker, was asked by
one of the most prominent newspaper
correspondents OF the east whether the
Klondyke gold discoveries were affect
ing the business of the country, and
he replied:
81 don't know that the Klondyke gold
is making the prosperity which already
seems to be upon us, but DO know that
good times are coming. | see 1t; feel 1t;
/ know it. Why, / have four thousand
correspondents covering all parts of this
country. / get hundreds Ofletters daily,
and there is hopeful cast in all OF them.
Many of my informants are farmers. The
farmers are now making money. 1 got a
letter today from a Kansas farmer, who
told me he had now paid off all of his
mortgages and had 900 to invest. In
his letter he said i am now a capitalist
and not Populist. My feelings are now
altogether with the capitalists. L believe
that they have been abused and wronged
for political purposes, and now that we
have good times again | have left the
POpulist camps forever, and wantto say
that there are many others like me in
Kansas This letter. continued Mr..
Clews, 'shows you how good times will
affect public sentiment. AS soon as men
get money in their pockets, as soon as
wages rise, and times become good, the
populistic elements must die"
This is an eastern opinion and only
one Of thousands equally hopeful that
are being daily expressed. Now note
what the Seattle Times, one of the
most mendaciOus and mischievOus of
all the fusion papers in this state, says
about "The Trend of Commerce."
in its issue Of the 14th inst:
"Boom! Boom!! Boom!!!
This illustrates the feeling everywhere
along the Pacific Coast, in New York and
the great grain centerS.
The expectation of grain to the amount
of 4, 460, $40 bushels. the largest since 1898,
is grandly encouraging when the advance
of wheat to 81 cents in Chicago be consid-
cred.
Increase in bank clearings in most of
the great cities of the country so as to
make an'average of 36 per cent tells its
own story, even though it be compared
with a campaign week of 1896.
The United States farmers are going to
ship 200, 900 900 bushels of surplus wheat
to other countries within the next twelve
months at about 81 a bushel, as against
S0,000,000 last year at about 60 cents a
bushel. This will lay the foundation for
great trade.
But "Washington is 0. K.,'' no matter
what may happen elsewhere"
In the glaring headlines preceding
these simple statements of fact the
Times moved to note that Every.
thing is on the 'Jump'-Wheat, Stocks
Wool" 1t calls it "The Providence OF
God" though it was not willing to
admit a few months ago that there was
any of Gods providence in the over
whelming defeat of the forces of repu
diation and disaster whose cause il
championed in the campaign of 1896.