Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1898-01-14

gentinian can raise wheat and sell it In
London, at profit, for one-half the
price in gold that we are now asking.
The truth Of this statement is vouched
for by the United States Consular re-
ports This being the case there is no
question that the Argentinian wheat
grower will increase his wheat acreage.
will be only too glad to raise and fell
wheat for a smaller gold price than is
now ruling This he has done in the
past. The crop Of the winter 1896-97,
his summer, failed him and Of course
he had no wheat to sell during last year
But this winter it is different And
therefore, we will have this Argentinian
underselling us again in order to get
share of the market that we now have.
To meet that competition we must
sell our wheat for less, and unless there
is scarcity'of wheat next summer, if
there is enough wheat raised in the
wheat exporting countries to meet the
demands Of wheat importing countries,
this undersellirg and cutting Of prices.
will 60 on until wheat sells in England
for twenty shillings or less quarter.
for it is at this price that the Argerti
man can raise and sell wheat at a fair
profit. And while he can make a fair
profit at raising wheat he will have an
incentive to increase his wheat pro-
duction. Naturally he will go on in
creasing acreage and production until
the resulting increase to the worlds
supply of wheat has forced down the
price Of wheat to the prlce at which he
can sell and still realize q fair profit
And, as we have said, this price, under
present conditions, is twenty shillings
a quarter or less in London, which
means so cents bushel on the Ameri-
can farm.
If the American cannot meet this he
will have to see his wheat replaced in
the European markets with Argentinian
wheat unless one thing happens. And
that one thing, raising Of the gold
price at which the Argentinian can at
ford to produce and sell wheat, rails
ing that u ould inev tably follow re-
due ton Of the premium on gold in
Argentine, of the bounty on exports
that has enabled HIM to produce and
sell wheat at profit for twenty shil-
ings a quarter in gold, will not happen
under gold monomentallism. Beat
down this premium on gold, this boun-
ty on exports in Argentine SO that
wheat sold for forty shillings in gold
will bring the Argentinian wheat raiser
no more Argentinian pesos than wheat
sold for twenty shillings in gold now
does, and then he cannot raise and sell
at a profit wheat for less than forty
shillings, in gold, and then the Ameri-
can farmer can keep his market for
wheat and command a dollar q bushel
even wnen not blessed by the misfor-
tune Of others But, as we have said,
this beating down Of the premium on
gold in argentine can only come from
beating down the appreciated value of
gold, which is not contemplated by the
members Of the Business Mems Mon
etary Commission; it cannot come un-
der gold monometallism save as the
result of some unparalleled discovery
of gold
The plan Of remodelling our none
tary system now submitted to us must
lead therefore either to the contraction
of our currency, q depreciation of pro-
perty and SO a robbing Of debtors in the
interest of creditors or to the suspen-
sion Of gold payments, the placing Of
the power to regulate the value Of our
measure of values and hence the move
ment of prices in the hands of the banks
and so the enrichment of the specu-
lative cliques, the aggrandizement of
the growing moneyed oligarchy, to the
Infinite loss and detriment of the pro-
ductive classes. So in the interest of
our producing classes, in the interest of
those who strive to gather wealth by
honest toll, not by despoiling their
fellow men, in the interest of the
majority not of moneyed oligarchy
alien to American soil, class of alb
normal wealth and power, the child Of
monetary system conceived in the
interest of the few, a power of mush-
room growth, class builded on special
privileges, an oligarchy that should
have no roots where men are free, that
retards the development of our country,
the growth of our people in wealth and
power, their approach to happiness and
contentment, that threatens their lib
erty and deprives them of the blessings
thereof, let congress bury the work and
kill the plan Of the monetary commits
sion The American.
Money! Money! at low rate Of
interest on real estate security Call
before making a loan elsewhere.
Canton, s. D, JOHN ALL1BoNE.
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