Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1899-12-20
The Farmers Prosperity.

4Ao E6rAore prosperity.
The farmer hauls his wheat to mar.
ket and sells 1t for eight cents per
bushel less than at the date of the last
presidential election. He gets little
more for his beef and pork, but sells
his poultry for decidedly less. In fact
what the farmer sells brings him but
little if any more than it did In 1895
before the boom.
II he buys keg of nails or an iron
pipe he pays more than twice as much
for these articles a. he did before the
organization of the trusts and the full
enforcement Of the gold standard. If
hs buys . steam boiler to cook food for
bis cattle and hogs, or for any other
purpose he pays for the steel 8 "a cents
per pound instead of l l-2 cents, two
years ago.
II he buys q brass or copper kettle
the material has advanced so per cent.
Tin, Of which SO many necessary
household articles are manufactured,
has nearly doubled in value. A pro
pOrtiOnate advance has taken place in
agricultural implements all along the
line. When the farmer is thankful
for . 5 or 10 per cent advance in
his products. the trusts and capitalists
secure 100 per cent on their manu-
fscturers, and boast of good times and
prosperity we'll they may. The
farmers pays cents per pound for his
sugar, instead of 4 l.2 cents, and the
sugar trust prospers, and so would the
farmers II they would make beet
sugar.
No one disputes measure of pros-
pertty in the country, which has been
brought about by an increase in the
volume Of gold money, the same, as
II would have been sooner and more
permanently through the adoption Of
btmetalism.
The gold is already 30 treacher Gus
and csftain, and the fear of losing
the African supply 90 imminent, that
Wall street has been on the verge of q
financial panic for weeks and has only
escaped by means Of the United States
treasury. Secretary Gage having paid
interest In advance on the government
bonds and having offered to redeem
them Is gold Ct theit market valne,
though bonds were sold at par q little
moro than q. years ago. Should England
call fcg eloo. 600, 600 in gold, and send
home il securities to obtain 1t, .
total collapse Of values In Wal street
ID probable.
While Russia, India and Japan felt
compelled to adopt the gold standard
ct the behest of the Western nations
they had the ssgacity to avoid cor
tracing their currency in doing so.
In Russia the weight of the gold
coins was reduced one-third and in
Japan one-hslf. Consequently, the
gold money in the first nation was in.
creased one half and doubled in, the
last.
On the same basis the billion OF
gold which is claimed for the United
States would become either billion
and . half OF two billions Of full legal
tender money despite the gold bug
contention that the value of metal
money depends on the intrinsic OF
commercial value Of the bullion Of
which It is made. When wheat ID
worth 66 2-3 cents in the Unltet
States and one dollar per bushel IL
India and Russia It is on the sam,
prime level.
When 1t sells for sl.3s 1.s in Japa1
tho price is concurrent with 68 2-3 cent,
in the United States.
Demonetizing silver added so to lO(
percsnt to the cost of all food supplies
imported into India during the famine
Death and starvation was thus increas
cd fearfully.
That the enlightened and civilized
nations Of the west should compel tn,
less civilized nations of the east tt
adopt such an undesirable and ancient
manipulation of their money to avoid
the use of silver, is and always will b,
an everlasting disgrace to them. II
1873 and 1888 the United States coult
have avoided any contraction of th'
currency in discardlng silver by de
creasing the weight and Increasing tn
l number OF gold coins, but what would
the people have said to such proposal
and yet 1t would have been far NOR
| practical and philosophical than to hav
demonetized silver and done nothing t
counteract the effect.
| The monetary commission appointe'
BY congress In 1876 was probably th
ablest body of men that were ever at
sembled to consider the subject. The
4 declared unanimously that since th