The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-05-13
THoUGHTS ON SILyER.
Senator Teller's speech-Is Demohs''1"'''"
Responsible for Low Price OF "he"

.,,e fa,v thouohts thereon. The burden OF
his argument in his speech delivered "a 'i4o
Senate cham Der April 10Th last apparently -.
Demonstration has raised Russia ana AiIVt'
into disastrous and unfair competition Win
orr sgriculturIsts: RECOMMENDATION or Tree
coinage will restore the prosperity OF agricul.
ture. Let us examine briefly his claiiu tnae
demonstration IS responsible TOR the 10"
price of wheat. his reaso ming applying III
Ike manner TO the low price OF cotton anu
therefore. tor our agricultural depression.
According to Senator Teller. the American
wheat grower sells his wheat Tor W cents anu
the other man sells his wheat tor Tl.5o. ah,
the purchasing power or @l.3s Is exactly -
units greater than that OK 80 cents. Inc
Indian wheat grower getting i5 cents more d
bushel than we get Il. therefore. stimulated %
raise wheat. and il Is this stimulated wheat
which completes with our wheat ana DIlnss IL
runOusly low.
The Senator. putting the case even stronger
says. The English shipper from INDIA taxes
ninety cents gold and exchanges It Tor / =
ounces OF silver. which costs him SI2O ue
takes II back and puts II into rupees NJ 9l:oo
an ounce. He has gotten Elsa 10 sl.o9 loi
his wheat. while the American wheat grower,
owing TO our beautiful system or hnance' uas
gotten his ninety cents. He gets llite more
than that i only use this a. an Illustration.
Not content with this presentation. the Seha-
tor says further Let him the senator 70
whom he Is replying put down the price OF
wheat IN Bombay AZ sLz0. add 70 1t fourteen
cents cost OF transportation, and ne mas got
ten Tl34. That Is what Il will cost him Wheh
1t gets % England and he'-the shipper
realizes 81. "a or SLs5. according 70 the mar
ket price of silver for his wheat.
In other words. ninety cents gold. the price
of a bushel OK wheat IN London. changes INTO
d. ounces silver. this into u rupee IN lndla
worth 40 Sl.3s the rupee Elsa. equivalent 10
somebody ia lnda-grower or shipper get
ting l.sf for bushel of wheat In the one
Illustration the shipper makes proht OF hlty
cents on every bushel exported. or the grower
gets SL94a bushel. and IN the other gold
ninety cents IN gold fetching 3l.si IN silver
Is 40 premium OF upwards OF one hundred
per cent. The Senator may not mean TO say
either one OF these three things. but his Ian
guage does not seem susceptible OF any other
Interpretation.
Assuming. however. that the Senator does
mean what his words fairly import, does the
Indian grower get sl.,4 "a bushel for his
wheat, If 80. It's no wonder he raises wheat,
but If he does get Elsa for bis wheat 1t IS dit
fcut 20 see how his high price lowers our
wheat 20 disastrous point. Instead ot the
Indian grower who sells tor lsl interfering
with the American grower 1t seems that 10 IS
the latter who sells for so cents, interfering
with the former, who gets cLSl. IL Is only
when the Indian grower undersells rs TINT ne
interferes with us. Again IT the Indian
grower gets slS4 q bush6l. exports from India
should have increased much more than Slr.
Teller reports. namely. from 100000 bushels
IN 1913 to 5O.O0O000 bushels in 1872 and rs
they have not been greater il tends % show
that he does not get Sl.ot bu5nei Tor his
wheat.
The same authority however. that states
that wheat IN India fetches Fl. "a says IN an
other part OF his speech that wheat has not
rfg in Ind lin. hat d. "a fv
India for the last century at least brought
eI54 "a bushel. "Lecause silver % him is the
same thing as itswas 100 years ago This be-
ing SO Indian wheat can never as yet have
competed disastrousy with our wheat and
some other cause than decentralization must
have induced expectation OK Indian wheat.
But ii the grower does not get sl.Si for his
wheat VINO then does, The Senator says he
the shipper has got slSi OF vlsj Tor his
wheat he realizes Sl.s4 or Sis, according
% the market price Of silver, for bis wheat -
Our producer Gets for his bushel OF wheat
g0c and the Indian shipper gets for his 81
10 @l.sj Liverpool price IA silver tor wheat
which has cost him 'Sl20 IN Bombay plus
4c freight OF a clear profit of SOC. silver on
every bushel exported Think Of that, ye
American shippers, only too ready 10
ship wheat all tho year round for
an average profit OF one OF two
cents. and envy your Indian brethren
say profit of zoe. q bushel for tue exporter;
Wrong. ] should have said 9ic. "A bushei. be-
cause the ~ona,er says the Indian shipper
can buy wheat. send 10 20 Great Britain aud
sell 10 for y0c. busnel and make money -
the difference between being able 20 sell at
Soc without loss and actually selling Tor .l.5i
OF b ]. eJ being clear profit Ot 94 or g0c. You
cannot and must not question this statement,
because tho learned senator has studied the
subject and senator d. always sure OF his
fact. when he makes a. set speech.
What enVable dogs these Bombay wheat
shippers are. twenty-five millions clear profit
this year on go 900. 900 bushels exported 4j0,-
coo. 900 next year. when, according 10 the Sena-
tor. they VIII export 100000, 600 bushels. aud
500. 600. % D the year after. when according TO
the same authority. they Will export Z0O.OO0.-
ono bushels or 20 be certain. say IN 1900
With this neat profit OF fifty cents. 10 say
nothing OF the ninety-four cents profit the
Indian exporter Will turn all India into wheat
fields and he may soon be supplying the staff
OF life TO the whole OF the Atlantic slope
tree coinage or 10.
seen through Senator Teliers glasses the
wheat growers of Minnesota and the two la
ko,a, have dismal prospect before them
and ! see 40 hope Tor them unless some iu-
ture Mckinley arises and induces lis party To
protect these States with glass 50 that they
may raise oranges. bananas and other tropical
productions. his would DO brand new IN
dustry If most magnificent proportions aud
no true prOtectiOuist could refuse his counte-
nance and assistance. 'IwOull 10 merely
carving out the tlu-plate principle. Thus
good VIII be brought out OF evil as IL ever IS
in the economy Oh Divine wisdom.
Proof l. good, but too mucn proof like that
offered by the enatOr Is Ike yaultng am-
DluOn-it o'erleaps itself so with the bes.
feelings for silver am afraid the Senator by
proving too much has injured instead OF ben
Gifted his darling cause. in his eagerness 10
prove that silver Is tie pivot on which the
economic world turns. and that 10 discredit
Is tho source OF al our woes, certainly agri-
cultural woes he reminds one OF tho tanner
who ia solemn conference on the subject OF
Notifications, grayely asserted that there was
nothing Ike leather 80. IN exaltlug silver
SO disprOpOrtionately the senator runs tho
risk 81 bringing silver into rlIlcule as much
a. the tanner brought leather into ridicule by
claiming that It WAS the best thing tor fOr,ih-
cations.
Silver may be horribly maltreated by the
world. and may be worthy OF AL the tender
consideration claimed for it b. Senator
Teller. but think he IS far from proving that
decentralization Is responsible for the low
price Of wheat and cotton. and. therefore
responsible for or agricultural depression
Decentralization 10 only minor cause, II that
4 MN VINO HdDE HISTORY
lie saved the Life of General Grant, Accord
ing To His Own story.