The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1893-11-03
THE PRICE or WHEAT.

THE PRICE or WHEAT.
''The Man From Indiana" Explains How
We Are In England's Grip.
J. b. Beadle, the well known CORE
spondent, writing from Chicago to .shiA
county paper" the Rockville ind Trib-
une, explains how conditions which
formerly influenced the worlds wheat
market have changed. He says a sur
plus of wheat or other grain is produced
on every parallel Of latitude from 6S de-
grees north to So degrees south, and SOW
ing and reaping are going on somewhere
every working day in the year. The pillow
and the harrow run every day in some
English dependency, and the sickle is
never idle in the fields from which Eng
land draws her grain supply. Then he
continues:
ssTwo other facts must be noted.
When the season is bad on the western
continent, it is apt to be good on the
eastern; when bad north of the equator,
good south of it, and if it should happen
to be bad all around the semicivilized
ryots of Egypt, India, etc., can dispense
with the use of flour and take advantage
of slight rise in prices. And India,
which but yesterday began with an ex-
perimental shipment of 100000 bushels,
is now relied on for 80, 0O0, 900 bushels a
year and can on occasion bring it up to
&C, 0OO, 900.
''The world is just lousy with wheat,
and this years crop, though considered
short, will certainly reach 2,4OO, 900, 600
bushels, while the normal requirement
has never yet exceeded 1890, OOO, 900. AS
to that, however, nobody knows what
the demand would be if commerce were
free, for even in enlightened Europe
there are 100 ZOO, 900 people who eat rye
and cheaper stuffs for bread. It is not
to be supposed that they do that for fun.
England has her fingers upon the
worlds pulse. When our officials in
March or April or May announce a
shortage in our crop, dispatches fly on
the lightning's wings to all her depen-
denotes, and the area sown is increased.
Her greatest advantage, however, is rap.
idly growing greater. The world owes
her $4,000, 100000. Mr.. Gladstone in
parliament put it at SIC, 900, OO0, 900, but
the head of the exchequer corrected him.
Nearly all the notes, stocks and bonds
which evidence this debt were acquired
over 20 years ago.
''Seven nations and provinces large
enough to figure as nations have since
demonetized silver, and so the power OF
gold to buy the proceeds of labor has in
creased at least one-third You need not
go out of Parke county to prove that.
The result is just the same practically
as if the rest of the world had made
England present of 81 ,OOO, 00O, 900. The
| gOldites call free traders the friends OF
England. Supernal powers! What would
the abolition of every tariff in the world
amount to compared with the addition
of 33s per cent in purchasing power to
her claim for $12, 900, OO0, 900?
1.-The yearly interest she receives on il
is little over $500. 100000. When the
debt took final form, this would have
bought Q872- - not more than 48O, OOO.-
600 bushels of wheat in New York. To
day it would buy 715,0O0,00O bushels.
If not one pound of grain we're raised in
the United Kingdom, the interest on
what the world owes her would bread
all her people, fatten all her cattle, make
whisky enough for medicine and snake
bites and leave gold enough to bride the
free trade editors! If you will take the
prices of silver. wheat, corn and cotton
in 1878 and note that as each nation OF
province demonetized silver it's rate fell
from 2 to 10 per cent, you will see that
while produce fuctuated according tc
the crops there was in term of years
a close correspondence in the decline OF
all four. Now, if we complete the work
of demonstration, and the medicine
continues to operate as it has operated,
there must be another general and con-
siderable decline.
"But it may not so operate. lam com
PEELED to argue on the general principles
of political economy; but, like all others,
they are subject to unforeseen accidents.
There may be great foreign war.
There may be a worldwide failure of a
crop, though very unlikely. The farm
ers in disgust may quit raising wheat
till demands outgrows supply. And
lastly, there may be immense goldfelds
opened in the as yet unprospected re-
gions of Africa, Australia or British Co
lumbia. These all failing, it is lille to ex-
pect high priced wheat for long time to
come. And if demonstration is forced
through congress, as now think likely
there will be a fall some time before
there is a rise, and possibly a year OF
two will elapse before you will see u
cent wheat west of the Alleghanies.
| Allen Is All Right.
In opening his speech upon the silver
question in the senate, Senator Allen oil
/ Nahras11a described hirnsolf os on hmm,