Wichita eagle., 1890-02-22
A REPLY TO MR.. DAVIS.
To the Editor OF the Eagle.

In your issue of yesterday, the 18th
inst, noticed an article from the pen of
C. Wood Davis, in which the writer at
tempts to give the cause of the present
hard times. am frank to admit that
the writer has touched upon many con-
tributive causes in his article. yet the
primary cause, for some reason, 1t seems
to me he has overlooked. The writer
says that the hard times are purely agri-
cultural; that the disease of ''agricult-
ural congestion, in chronic form; and
the paroxysm has been greatly intensi-
fled by the large wheat crop of 1889 and
the corn crop of 1888 and 1882" Accord
cording to this mode of reasoning, the
people would be better off to sow and
plant less;in fact, they have been too indus
trious: or, would the writer lay the blame
upon Providence, in blessing the hand
of toll with bountiful harvest! Does a
surplus, in fact. make a person or ma
ton poorer? The farmer who has gar
nered 1900 bushels of surplus wheat or
corn, is he, in fact, poorer than his
neighbor who has garnered none? Ii
not, then does surplus make commu-
nifty poorer, either individually or col
lectlvely:
presume Mr.. d. would have a hard
task to make MIR. Gould believe that his
(Mr. Gould's) 100000. 900 of surplus dol
lars make him poorer: If Mr.. D. can do
this, and induce Mr. Gould to part with
this surplus money, for the reason that
it makes him poor by holding it, pre-
l. ~, h,,t 10 rt,i a
in convincing the farmers that 1t Is their
surplus that makes them hard up; and
they will probably dump it into the sea,
or burn it, and after this they will know
better than to be so industrious, and
produce so much, that many Of them
have to 60 without even the necessarleS
OF life.
Now, let us be honest; what do the
people need? Nature has done her part;
we have ample crops, SO there is no blame
that can attach to Providence; the blame
must rest with man. Man is to blame
for the short crop of money. Money IS
the only thing that can help us out, and
| wish to remark right here that MIR. D.,
nor any other person, ever saw general
depression of business, or hard times,
when the people were supplied with an
ample volume of money to do the busl-
ness of the country, and there has never
been surplus of agricultural products in
the sense Mr.. d. considers it, when the
people were supplied with clrcu-
lating medium sufficient to transact the
business of the country. The scarcity
of money is what forces US to sell our
products for less than half what they are
worth; we are squeezed" in fact; the
fellows that have the money have a
''scinch" upon the people, and the farm
ers and laborers are calling upon the
law making powers for a.Ssight for
their pile::" and let us whisper, if our law
makers cannot hear US we will meet
them later, the 18th of November, 1890,
and balance our accounts.
We have now, in proportion to our
population, about 13 per cent less cattle
than we had in 1884; yet at that time a
good COW was worth $40, and a good
calf from S12 10 SIC. Now, with Is per
cent less cattle, the same grade of COW is
worth from $13 to $15, and calf from 81
to 50. This certainly was not caused by
an oyerproduction of cattle, for we find
this ratio of depreciation holding good
with nearly ali classes of property, un-
less controlled by trust or combine.
The price Of labor in all branches of
business declined until labor was COM
PEELED to organize for self-protection, and
at this writing a large per cent OF the
| labor of the country is out of employ
ment; some is tramping over the coun-
try in search of work and board, while
many an able bodied person, willing to
work, is fed by charity.
The New York World informs us
that in New York City alone
140. 600 persons are fed by charity. In
Chicago the Tribune tells us that 90, 0OO
people are fed in the same manner, and
that many more are living from the
slops of the hotels. Does Mr.. d. claim
that all this misery is caused by reason
of the bountful crops of the agrlcultur-
lists? The farmers raise so much grain
that the mechanics of New York and
Chicago have to 90 without bread, be
fed by charity! Is this good reasoning!
Certainly not.
| Let us see if we can not assign more
reasonable cause for the present condi-
ton of affairs. Suppose we could take
| the wheat out of the country, until there
was less than halt enough to do the peo-
pie until harvest: other conditions re-
manning the same, is 1t not evident that
wheat would be very high: People
would want bread just the same as
though wheat was plentiful; the demand
would therefore remain the same. But
the supply is short, and the result is 4
great advance in price. Now if this
proposition holds good with wheat, will
it not hold good with money: If there
is an ample volume of money to do busi-
/, of III X I-ay IL n
/ from circulation. the demand for money
the amount left in circulation
be greatly enhanced, the same as
! the wheat was in the example above? In
other words, it will require more property
| of all kinds TO buy dollar in money,
and we say that property has deprecated
when really the dollar has appreciated.
| Again. in the example above, If there
was scarcity of wheat we could substi-
| tute corn. but there is no substitute for
money: but. on the other hand, money
! is a substitute for everything else. may
/ owe l GOO bushels of wheat and refuse to
pay it, and an action is brought and the
| plaintiff is informed by the court that he
! can not recover the wheat, but simply
| tile price of the wheat, computed in
money money IiluS becomes Il SuOSti-
/ tute for the wheat and all other property
and this being true, can we not see that
! the slight diminution of the volume OF
money in circulation must greatly affect
| the price of all property:
| Let US illustrate: Suppose the law
should say that the taxes OF Kansas shall
be paid IN yellow legged chickens; &c
/ you see, this would greatly enhance the
| price of that species of fowl, as 1t would
/ create an extra demand for them for the