Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-18
THE SILVER QUESTION
Bobs Up in the Hearing Of Protests
to the Anti-0ption Bill.
PURCHASING POWER OF A DOLLAR
Questioned bya Miller Who Thinks It
Worth Good Deal Now.
THE BROKER AGAINST THE FARMER

/ WAsHINGToN, Feb 1.-THE silver ques-
tion was broached this. morning again, and
this time it was in the hearing before the
House Committee on Agriculture on the
| anti-options bill, which has been under dis
cussion by the committee for the past two
weeks. Charles A. Pillsbury, the Mime
| apolis miller, was on the stand. He stated
| in the course of his remarks that the worlds
surplus supply of wheat was steadily
| dwindling. He said if a man owned the
| wheat crop raised in this country this year
| it would have been possible to get 81 30
for it from Europe just as easy as 80 cents,
because Europe had to have it. Russia had
none to export and India had shipped Its
surplus of previous years.
Mr.. Lewis-Then the statistical position
of wheat has been growing better for i've
years past, and the price Except for squirt
this Year, has been growing weaker?
Mr.. Pillsbury-That is so.
Mr.. Lewis-Doesn't the value of money
have great deal to do with it? Isn'tmoney
worth more than ever?
Mr.. Pillsbury-I think, as whole, the
dollar will buy more goods now than ever.
Purchasing Power of the Dollar.
Mr.. Lewis-If we had 81 800, 900, 900 in
stead of $3.50, 900, 600 in circulation, would
not the farmers get more for their wheat?
Mr.. Pillsbury-More nominal dollars, but
perhaps they would not buy so much.
Mr.. Lewis-It would give the farmers
more debt-paying capacity?
Mr.. Pillsbury-Oh yes
Mr.. Lewis quickly retorted: ''That is
what is the trouble with them, is it not?"
There was a general laugh in the COM
mittee. In reply to further question from
Mr.. Lewis, Mr.. Pillsbury admitted that
short selling alone would not account for
the decline in wheat 1t was too great to
be chargeable to one cause alone.
In his address to the committee, Mr..
Pillsbury advocated the passage of an anti
options bill He said that the owners of
the immense wheat fields of the Northwest
had less to say about the price of that
wheat than some young man howling prices
on the Chicago Exchange, who, perhaps,
could not tell the difference between
grain of wheat and grain of barley. He
(Mr. PilIsbury) was one of the largest
buyers of actual wheat, but his buying had
less actual effect on prices than someone at
the wheat pit, whose Office was in his hat.
All persons agreed that the bucket shops
should be wiped out. The difference be-
tween the bucket shop and the Chicago
Board of Trade was that in the former SO
per cent of all sales were illegitimate, and
in the latter 80 per cent were illegitimate.
Short Selling an Injury to Farmers.
|. He believes bill could be drawn which
would prohibit 1legitimate dealings with
out interfering with legitimate dealings.
Brokers had said this ''short" selling was
necessary, but there was no short selling in
the real estate nor in the dairy business,
which overshadowed all others. 1t had
been stated that the millers sold flour
months ahead That was true, but he would
stake his reputation that 99A per cent of
all flour sales were followed by deliveries.
He had never known speculative offer
ing of -four. Formerly millers kept large
supplies of wheat and flour on hand, but
they now hardly recognize that it was hard
ly safe for man to be '1ong" over night
of a large amount of wheat unless he had
contracts already made, for he could no
longer reckon the law of supply and de-
mand. It seemed to him as plain as the
.rule of three that this short selling of
f'wind'' wheat Injuries the farmers by de-
pressing prices. The buyers of wheat had
to take care of all actual wheat, and in ad-
dition care for millions of bushels of wind.
That wind was just as heavy as actual
wheat, and was so much more of load to
be carried
Mr.. Pillsbury said there should have been
high prices for wheat this year, but partly
in consequence of this short selling, millers
and others were living from hand to mouth.
The world was drawing on the surplus sup
ply of wheat each year. for consumption
was steadily increasing.
The Two Kinds of Sales.
Mr.. White asked for difnition of legi-
innate and illegitimate sales.
Mr.. Pillsbury thought contracts should
be negotiable, and that sales of contracts
were legitimate, providing the first maker
actually had the wheat. Where 8 contract
was made and the wheat was not behind it,
the sale was mere gamble. The burden of
proof, in his opinion. should be put upon
the seller to show that he had the wheat he
sold. To Mr.. Wilson he said he thought all