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The Conservative *
Let us not forget
40 TO 1.
get that one of the
most interesting subjects that can en
gage human thought is the subject of
making a living. Man must use his best
judgment to that end. His own head
must be his attorney and guide in fight
ing the great battle of life.
It is said that seven-eighths of the hu
man family derive their support from
the land , which comprises only about
one-fourth of the earth's surf ace , the re
maining one-eighth getting their living
from the sea. The great moss of man
kind then must look to the field , forester
or mine. Having no mines or forests
out hero in the West , wo are engaged
in raising horses , cattle and sheep , grain ,
butter and eggs. We have to exchange
a good share of these things for other
necessaries , such as a home for our fam
ilies , fuel for winter , clothing and gro
ceries. Also pay a portion for taxes to
enable the government to exist which ,
like the church , lives off of the people
passing the contribution basket around
every year.
It only simplifies a truth when we say
the farmer buys his coal with his wheat ,
his groceries with his butter and eggs ,
M and pays his taxes in the fall with a
R steer. Some good people think the gov
fcwl ernment can help us make a living. If
* > s so , it might commence by paying its
own taxes. This would bo a very simple
test. The fact is , as has been well said ,
"government is like a fence around a
'Yi farm. The fence raises no wheat , plants
& no corn , harvests no crops. It only pro
tects the farmer while he does his work
himself , he each year giving a portion
of his time and labor to keep the fence
in repair. " So government builds no
houses and buys no cool for winter , no
shoes for the children. It only protects
K * ' | us while wo do these things for our
selves , we meantime contributing a portion
tion of our earnings to keep the govern
ment , like the fence , in repair.
This government does not own the in
dividual's property. He owns it him
self. If not , how can John Smith take
his herd to Canada ? The United States
owns nothing but a few forts and arsen
als and gunboats and now and then a
postoffico building in a large city. If
this government , like one of our
churches , owes a debt no execution can
touch the property of the individual
member in either case. Some one says ,
"that is all right as far as it goes , but
don't we use money in exchanging
things we raise for things wo buy ?
What about that ? " Now wo all have
exaggerated ideas about the importance
of money in this matter of making a
living. Wo become frightened before
wo get close enough to it to see its oper
ations.
Two men sat on a rock discussing the
hard places in the farmer's road , among
the rest the subject of malting hay for
animals of the barn the coming winter.
They concluded that if the people had
moro wagons they could put up more
hay. "Certainly , the more wagons
the more hay wo can haul , " they
said. The third man comes along. He
says , "No , no , gentlemen , you are
wrong. Myself and two sous put up
over 100 tons of hay last fall , hauling it
with two wagons. We could not have
used moro wagon if we had had them ,
bnt we could have hauled twice as much
hay with same wagons if we had only
had the hay. "
The wagons on the farm illustrate the
money in business. Both are products
of civilization. There was a time when
neither was used by man. Both used
in moving property. Both useless when
idle. Suppose you had put your wagon
under the shed two years ago and kept
it there , and buried $1,000 in the ground
same day ; what is either worth today
more than it was then ? Take your pen
cil to it. Will the money buy any more ?
Neither wagon nor money is consumed
by use like bacon and flour. The wagon
will haul many loads in a year. The
dollar will pay as many debts in the
same time. On a well regulated farm
only a small proportion is invested in
wagons for the best of reasons. The
wagon produces nothing. Suppose a
farmer should awaken in the morning
to find his wagon burned to ashes.
Looking around he sees his farm , his
barns , his granaries , his horses and his
cattle and his fields of growing grain.
He takes his pail and as he whistles ,
"Home , Sweet Home , " he goes and
milks the cows. Turn the thing around ,
burn everything else save the wagon ,
and watch the farmer's feelings change.
You ask me if we have enough money.
I ask you if we have enough wagons.
The great judgment of mankind , the
highest tribunal on earth , says , "Yes ,
enough wagons and money too as much
money as other nations of the earth
have. ' ' The question of money interests
me about as much as the question of
wagons , no more. But there is a ques
tion that interests me forty times more
than either , and , strange to say , people
don't talk about it. That is the question
of property.
The Youths' Companion recently
stated that the property of the United
States was $1,000 , to the individual ,
The records show the money of this
country to be about $25 to the individ
ual and our country has as much as the
average nation. To simplify , the prop
erty of this country bears about the
same relation to the money of the coun
try that one first class cow bears to one
dollar about 40 to 1 hence to my mind
property is that much more important
with this advantage in favor of prop
erty ; the cows , horses and sheep , not to
mention the little red hen , all true to
their natural instincts , multiply them
selves over and over again for the benefit
of their owner , while money , as THE
CONSERVATIVE has truly said , has never
been known to produce its owner a cent
while in his possession. Not until it
leaves him in exchange for other prop
erty in some form is its owner bene
fited by it.
The point wo are trying to make is
that the subject of property is far more
important in the matter of making a liv
ing than the subject of money forty
times more and if men would only
bond their energies toward the produc
tion of property instead of regulating
the money system , giving the subject of
property at least the thought it deserves
compared with money , they would be a
long ways ahead. So far as I am able
to judge the man engaged in general
farming in the Western states today is
able to buy with his property as much
of the things of earth , including money ,
as he ever could anywhere. At least get
as much for his labor. The truth is , the
most fruitful source of wealth with us is
the free coinage of grass that is , con
verting grass into beef "without wait
ing for the aid or consent of any other
nation on earth. " This product of Na
ture is found in abundance in many
places. Grass costs practically nothing.
Beef is a good price even under the gold
standard. If the gold dollar is a two
hundred-cent dollar as many have
claimed then beef must be a double
price , and hence there is a double argu
ment in favor of coining grass. If all
this is so and wo are getting as much for
our work as our forefathers did we must
not be bonding willows looking for
wind-breaks , but we must go to work
like they did and get our share of this
world's property just as they did.
With all the commotions in the at
mosphere every two years about gold
and silver I am profoundly convinced
that we overlook the great , important
matter of getting our share -of the
world's property. If we only do that
we shall have our share of the world's
money. G. H. CARIIOLL.
Miller , South Dakota.
The engineers of the populist locomo
tive all use the Chicago platform tenders
with which to furnish themselves fuel
and steam. But they lubricate with
silver republicans. They all belong to
the office-getters' guild. They damn
all who belong to the office-holders'
brotherhood. They wish the ins out and
the outs in and of such is the kingdom
of fusion.
"The administration feels
fully as
sured , as long as Mr. Bryan and his
favorite issue project themselves as the
paramount fact of political consid
eration , that it need take no thought of
the result of elections , ' ' remarks The
Des Moines Leader ( ind. ) "Mr. Bryan
seems in perfect health , and his hold
upon his party seems stronger than
ever. Hence the administration goes to
sleep of nights , and its slumbers are not
disturbed by dreadful visions of what
may happen. "