Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1879-08-14
An Artificial Depression.

Bismarck has learned by q somewhat costly
experience what any third-rate French or
English publicist could have told him at the
outset, that silver has q large use as a subsid-
iary currency and furthermore he knows that
there is no profit in unloading millions of
costly metal upon an artifoially depressed
market.-From the Pioneer Press, Aug.7.
We are glad to see the Pioneer Press
admit that the silver market is ast;1;~
cially depressed. This is truth that
the newspaper organs of the bondhold~
ers usually deny. They assert that
the depression of the silver market is
duo to over production of silver, and
not to the successful intrigues of mou~
ey lenders. Now ifthe depressed con-
dltion of the silver market is artificial,
as the Pioneer Press admits and as we
fully believe, this artificial condition
was brought about by the efforts ofln
tereste4 parties. Any man or compa~
ny of men has perfect right to make
a corner in wheat or any other COM
modify, and speculate by the fluctua~
tion in prices; but these transactions
in the markets become criminal in
their nature when they are accom-
plished by means of legislative enact
ments secured by interested parties.
Any person who admits that the sill
yer market is a''tJjiciazy depressed,
virtually admits that the depression is
the result Of legislation procured by
corruption and bribery. The annual
production of wheat and other agricul>
tural products is annually consumed,
and consequently there are great Auct.
uations in the market, and artificial
conditions Of the market may be tenn
porarily maintained by wealthy indi-
viduals or companies without the aid
Of new laws passed for their especial
benefit; but the gold and silver of the
world has been accomplishing for many
years.. and the volume is so great and
the distribution is so wide that there
can be no great fluctuations in the
price Of bullion except as the result
of unwise or corrupt legislation. But
the most lamentable feature of the
whole affair is that the yultures that
feed upon public plunder, and the
thieves who become rich by legalized
robbery, have actually succeeded in
getting many honorable and honest
people to unwittingly aid them in
their schemes. In 1878, when silver
dollar was worth three cents more than
a gold dollar, measured by their bull
lion value, no man with a spark Of
honesty in his soul was in favor of linz
iting the coinage of silver or the legal
tender quality of the coin. But the
money sharks knew that if they could
stop the coinage Of silver, limit its le~
gal tender quality, or wholly demone>
tie it, fall in the relative value of
the bullion would naturally follow, af,
ter which they could cause people who
failed to understand the villainous
trick to believe that there was an
overproduction of silver, resulting in
fall Of its price. Accordingly they
procured its demonstration in the
United States in 1878, in Germany in
1871, in the Scandinavian States in
1874, and caused laws to be passed
in Holland in 1876 limiting the coin>
age Of silver, and similar laws in Spain
and France in 1876. And now, since
the relative value of gold and silver
has materially widened, just as they
knew it would, they tell US through
their newspaper organs that the over
production Of silver has caused such a
fall in its price that its coinage must
necessarily be limited or prohibited,
and its legal tender quality restricted,
and many of the American people act.
ually believe the brazen falsehood.
The indignation of the people caused
the enactment Of a law in 1878 re-
storing the legal tender quality Of sill
yer dollars in the United States, and
providing for limited coinage.
But in reality the value of silver
bullion has not fallen since 1878. That
which is ordinarily called fall of the
price Of silver is simply an advance Of
the value Of gold. The war against
silver naturally increases the value of
gold, just as the destruction or loss Of
a large portion Of any commodity In
creases the value of the portion that
remains. An ounce of silver has q
greater purchasing power to-day than
it had in 1873. It will buv mora IF
the ordinary commodities of civilized
life than it would six years ago, in Eu.
rope as well as in America. The val>
ue Of gold has greatly increased, and
in all parts Of the civilized world its
purchasing power is from 20 to 40 per
cent greater than it was in 1878. The
money sharks say that there is no rea>
son for complaint, because days wa
ges will buy as much now as days
wages would six or eight years ago.