The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-12-04
The Advance in Prices.

The New York Herald, in the course
| of long and elaborate article upon Mr.
Sherman's references to the resumption
act, in which It emphasizes the oblec.
tions TO that bill already adverted TO In the
Sun, and shows that resumption was
much less the result of Mr.. Sberman'e
pet measure than of "a lucky concur
repce of favoring events" of which the
Secretary took "skilful advantage" goes
| on to state that the country 10 again en-.
| tering upon 80 period OF inflation."-
This is co1sed by redundancy of real
money, just as the speculative era anteri.
or 70 1873 was the product OF o redundan.
cy OF ahRrn money, and tho Herald claims
! that the dangers now threatening us are
the products Of the original defects of
the resumption act, dangers which
| could not have existed If the resumption
law had provided for cancellation and
destruction Of the lega! tender notes"
IL Is very questionable if anything good
can come of the agitation Of this matter
now, since Congress can hardly be ex-
pccted to provide for the retirement of
the legal tender currency in tho face Of
an impending Presidential election.
But it is right that the people should
know that tho dangers to which atten-
tion has been called are real and immi.
| nent. The development Of o hot spirit
of speculation, where only healthy re.
vived state Of business should have been
expected, 10 indicative Of possible pro.
gress toward point which would justly
excite apprehension. Much Of the adj
vance In prices 80 far has doubtless heen
simply 6 natural, albeit very sudden,
reaction from the depression which has
q, l,,o, haf.
profit. While things are in this condi-
tion labor and tho working classes must
necessarily have hard times. and every
sort of industry suffer. This IL the case
In England now. Failures have been
increasing, wages have fallen nearly %
PuF cent. at tho Same time that hours OF
labor have been augmented; the cost of
food has advanced, foreign trade de-
creased, and very general state of suf.
fering ID the consequence-just such a
condition of affairs, in other words, an
that from which this country is now
emerging, and q condition that punishes
most the man who lives by day wages.
II is very encouraging, therefore, to
every sort of industry to be able to note
that prices in this country have advanced
sufficiently to attain the point where la
Dor is rewarded, and mans energies and
business are no longer par&Iyzed by tho
| certainty that, do oil he may he cannot
make aliving by 1t. But at the same time,
! as soon as this advance in prices assumes
| q speculative character and outruns the
Legitimate demands of trade there is dan
Cor ahead. It Is not necessary to assume
that this condition of affairs has been
already reached; but, nevertheless, it is
we'll enough to be warned in time. A
comparative table before Us, giving the
prices ofleadipg commodities on the 1st of
January and on the 18th OF the present
month, Bhowa m average advance of
about 80 per cent. along the whole
line.
Wheat has gone up from 81 90 TO $1.4s,
corn from ~ cents to 60, cotton from
TIC to 105 sugars have advanced three
fourths of o cent; cheese 81 cents; pig
Iron has gone from $17.53 to $29.50 more
than 20 per cent. scrap iron $20.60 to
| &35; tin plates from 9B.75 to S7.75; lead
| from 4 to 6t cents and so on in full pro-
portion.
These advances should at leaat teach
people caution, since in some articles. as
all know, they do not Represent 60 much
lation. It is true that the revival of bus
linesg found stocks Of all kinda, of mer-
chanjiae reduced very low, and all man.
usactu.ing enterprises calling Under bare
poles, and this has compelled an ad-
vance in prices which il doubtless legiti.
mate in great many particulars. as. fox
l. stance, in the case Of iron. But be-
hind all this Ia. ir some instnncaa. a anec-
nlative impelling force, resting upon tha
/ plethora Of money, and TO be avoided
because dangerous in tho extreme. Sud-
den rises in prices always bring ont la.
tent eupplies; they undnly stimulate pro.
duction ard they chesi, consumption. II
is these three conditions which lead to
i gluta In the market g
The Increase in prices also tends to
make this country the dumping ground oi
European products for which there is aa
yet DO adequate demsna On that side oil
the ocean, and which nverstocked manu-.
factnrers there win be glad to get rid Of on
/ the very slightess EnarginS Of profit. AL
these influences may operate to bring
nbots the reaction spoken of, unless
proper prudence be observed, and thus
avoid q disastr0usiy stRgngtiag effee;
upon all dustfies.- Baltimore Sun, Oct
Bill arp on Pulling Fodder.
lN 4.