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,.   ,J. O. KINGSBURY"* BRO.', PuMitrtert.    .
OFFICE, Ito.4, Journal Bulldlns,.
INDIANAPOLIS. IUD.
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Fer the Indiana Farmer.
Our Financial System.   ,
Tne present financial crisis has no par-'
allel. The causes of tbe cfisis in 1837 and
in 1857, were entirely different from the
causes which have brought rain npon some
ofthe first banks in the conntry at the
- present time. In 1837 two parties combined
to bring abont a financier crisis, namely,
politicians and banks. They succeeded
because the government money was in the
hands of the banks, and the federal legislation in the hands of politicians. This
combination knew tbat the overthrow of
the finances wonld overthrow the party in
power. The prime mover, and condnctor of
the scheme, was the Bank of the United
States, " then rotten to the core and totter-
. ing to its fall, but strong enough to carry
others with it, and seeking to hide its own
downfall in the crash of a general catas-
, trophe." The combination succeeded, and
brought ruin upon- the financial and commercial interests of the whole country.
In 1857 the conntry was^flooded with a
depreciated currency, and the crisis came
from, the worthless character and not from
an over-supply of currency. Reckless speculation; long credits, and over-trading,
.brought abont by a want of confidence in
the circulating medium, caused ,the financial collapse.
The present crash. is the result of our
banking system. There is no elasticity to
our currenpy. The limits of.legal tender,
currency have remained fixed since 1862,
eleven years.* fii that time our population
has increased 8.000,000, and our trade has
increased forty per cent. Jin New York
city,- the financial center of the country,
the city bank deposits, in the last six years,
have only increased three per cent, while
their legal tender strength has decreased
forty-five per cent, which indicates there is
something radically wrong in our financial
system.. Every fall a scarcity of currency
is felt in the United States. This is. caused
by the large amount of money that is re-,
quired to move^the cropB.
This fall the news from the.south speak of
the cotton crop as good, and likely to exceed rather than fall short of the average
crop. ; The cereals in the west are abundant ; the wheat crop is the largest ever harvested. If will require at least fifty millions
of currency to move the grain, and seventy
five millions to move the cotton crop. The
crops, in European countries are short, and
it is .estimated that there will be a good
foreign .demand for our grain. The European crop is short over 212,000,000 bushels.
With thiB prospect of a drain of currency
to move the crops, there has come a financial panic and collapse which could not be
avoided under our present financial system. The government may come to the
reseue with its reserve of forty-four millions
of legal tenders, yet tbis will not prove a
sound remedy. The remedy lies in the introduction of a free banking system, under
proper restrictions. Every person should
be permitted to bank who can furnish the
requisite security in government bonds, and
who shall be made to obey all the restrictions of our national banking system. The
New England States have a great deal more
of the national bank circulation than belongs to them. If $25,000,000 be withdrawn
from them and given to other sections of
the country according to law, it would be
the cause of a commercial disaster. Our
present system of banking is a monopoly,
and is controlled by politics and banks,
and, therefore, reminds us of tbe crisis of'37,
although tbe present crisis haa no points in
common with the one at' that time. The
point is here, the farmers of the country
hold the balance of power, and they should
throw it on the side of a fire's banking sys
tem, conditioned upon the adequate bonded
security for tbe circulation, with a revenue
kept on hand to better secure the depositors,
according to the law at present There is
no want of faith in our currency^ but the
trouble is there is not enough of it. The
demand is greater than the supply; the
business of the country can not be carried
on with the present amount; this is the
conclusion of the whole matter.   ;.
D. H. PlKORIT.
For tbe Indiana Farmer.
Letter From .Montgomery County..
Things seem to bn moving along in their
Usual order; markets not high for any kind of
farm products, but healthy.. Crops, with a
few exceptions, are good; wheat an average
crop; corn very good considering the late-
rieM of the spring. Little or no~~planting
was done till along in May, the season .was
very wet early, and then very dry, and extremely warm at the time corn needs rain
most—when earing. Our potato crop, especially late kinds, is the nearest a failure, of
any crop. Price from 80 to 90 cents per .
bushel, wholesale. The hay crop is somewhat short of last year. Apnles plenty—
price for fall, 26 to 30 cents per bushel.
Beef cattle plenty and of good quality.
Hogs'good and a full crop. Farmers all
done sowing wheat. Wheat that is up looks
very fine. Some of the farmers are sharpening up their plows for fall plowing for
corn, which crop I have never known to fail
after fall plowing. I am sorry to say we had
no county Fair this year, from some cause
best known to the officers of the Agricultural Society, I presume. "
I am going to try to get every man in the
county to take the Indiana Farmer, to see
if it will not wake us up to our duty one toward the other, and thereby renew our Agricultural Society. Onr qounty is dead, as it
were, compared to some counties, in numbering granges and farmers' clubs. I wish
I was able to do as I did for the Home Mission Bible Society, go around among the
people, and every man who would not subscribe and take the Indiana Farmer, give
him a copy for the good instruction his family would receive from reading its pages.
Y J.V. B.
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