The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-08-23

1875. Mr.. schurz thus showed the elects Of In
fistion on the farmers:
The farmer produces but few staple articles
for sale, and he has . considerable variety OF
articles to buy. A portion OF some OF the most
imported etaple products 10 exported, and the
price Of the whole crop is regulated by the for
slgn market. The farmer receives price paid
at Liverpool, less the cost OF transportation
and the profits of the intermediate operators,
with the premium on gold added. But the
price OF those staples in the foreign market is
measured by the specie standard prevailing
there, and not driven up by any paper imitation,
and they are also depressed by the competition
OF other agricultural countries. While thus
receiving comparatively low prices for what he
sells he has, under our currency system, COM
paratively high prices to pay for everything he
buys, in clothing. shoes, groceries, household
and farming utensils, and so on Why is this
SO? The value Of On irredeemable paper cur
rency constantly fuctustes The importer OF
goods, the merchant, the manufacturer, when
offering their articles for sale, first add to the
price at which they would sell under specie
payments, the premium on gold. But they
know also that they run the risk Of the huctuA-
ton and possible depreciation Of the paper
money they get for their goods, 80 that, II they
sell on time, the sum OF paper money they re-
ceive in payment, when the purchaser pays his
note may not represent the sane gold value
which the same nominal sum represented when
the sale was made The merchant or manufac
turer protects himself against his risk OF ioss
by making another addition to the price Of the
goods he sells. Usually the goods pass through
several hands: those Of the jobber, the West
ern or Southern wholesale dealer, and the re-
taller, before they reach the consumer. Each
one OF these Intermediates runs the same rick
OF the depreciation OF the paper currency and
protects himself by making another addition
to the price OF the goods he sells. And who
has to pay the three or four additions to the
price made by the traders for their own protec-
ton against the fluctuations Of the paper
money? OF course the consumer: in this
case the farmer. The price OF everything he
has to buy, therefore. has been run up not only
by the premium on gold, but. far beyond that,
by the additional percentage covering the risk
OF three or four intermediate traders All this
is owing to the nature OF our currency.
But does not the risk Of currency fuctuarion
affect also the price OF the products the farmer
has to sell? Yes. it does: bat in the opposite
way. The tradesman who buys the farmers
wheat and ships it to ST. Louis or Chicago, the
grain merchant who ships II TO New York, run
the same risk Of currency fuctustlon also, and
try to protect themselves But they cannot
put it on the price OF the wheat they have
bought, for the reason that the price of that
wheat at New York and Liverpool has been
determined by the market there. which market
is controlled by the competition Of all the agri-
cultural countries OF the civilized world. How
do these traders. then, protect themselves By
deducting the percentage necessary to cover
their risk from the price they pay to the far
mer. The farmer Aatters himself that II gold
goes up, he gets for his products the benefit Of
the higher premium Of gold. But the rlsk OF
trsdesmen who buy from him being deducted.
he gets considerable percentage less than the
full pr emium; while on the price Of the goods
he buys. the risk OF the tradesman is added to
the premium, and the farmer has 10 pay a very
considerable percentage over and above that
premium. Thus the farmers candle burns at
both ends. The character OF our paper curren-
cy, in consequence Of Its imitation. blows no the
prices OF everything the farmer has 70 buy and
the same thing runs down the prices OF all he
has to sell. When be buys thing the risk o.
currency imitation is against him. and be has 10
pay for it. When he sells his products. the
risk Of currency imitation Is against him. for it
is deducted from the price he gets. Even under
favorable circumstances. the farmer does not
make much over and above his expenses. But
under such system of currency, he makes
still less, If anything No wonder therefore.
, the farmer does not flourish.
Now, il is evident, the more such currency
is inflated the more it will tuctuate. the greater
the risk 20 cover, and the heavier the burden
on the farmer 1t is indeed, pretended that
farmers WHO are IN debt. who have mortgages
on their land. would be benefited by imitation,
in 80 far as imitation would deprecate the cur
rency. and the debtor would be enabled 10 pay
IN dollars OF less value. Leaving the morality
Of this argument out OF the question. it is easy
to show that this would, in the long run. no.
benefit the farmer at all