The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-03-10
Ininrlng the Silver Cause.

It does not help any cause to misrep-
resent it, unless the misrepresentation
comes from its opponents, in which case
reaction usually comes after the effects of
deception are removed. To exaggerate
and magnify is species of misrepresen-
tation. The straight truth and bare facts
are stronger than such distortions.
This is applicable to the monstrous as
sertions sometimes made by fanatics on
the silver question. They injure instead
OF aid the white metal. An exchange
calls attention to the error frequently adj
vanced, and recently repeated by Colo
RADIO silyerite, that the price of silver de-
termines the price of wheat. That is to
say, when silver was at S1.21 wheat was
at S1.2O- OF course he meant an ounce of
silver and bushel OF wheat, and that the
low price of wheat now is produced by
the low price of silver.
This is evidently incorrect. Very often
condolences are taken for cause and eff
feet. The price of wheat is regulated like
the price OF other commodities by the law
of supply and demand. If silver were no
higher than 1t is now and there was
wheat famine in the land, its price would
go up as sure as its scarcity existed. And
if there should be a surplus of grain to be
disposed OF, its price would go down even
if silver should go up to the highest fig
ure known in the markets of the world.
The reasons why silver should be re-
monetized on some fair and stable relation
to gold are plentiful without resorting to
the extreme and fanciful fights of so
called argument which are frequently re-
sorted to by cranks on the question, and
which confirm the goldites in their views
and make the silver cause look ridiculous.
For instance, in a solid paragraph of
column and three quarters, our morning
contemporary recently announced that
the depreciation of silver, or rather the ap-
probation of gold, has produced these
astonishing effects: ssFor the last ten
years the producers of this country have
been practically working for nothing or
less Just think of that now. They
would never have known of this astonish
ing effect of the drawing apart of gold
and silver, if the alleged high champion
of the silver cause had not said so.
But he says further "The lunatics in
the asylums, criminals in the prisons,
the number of tramps who wander up
and down the country for the purpose of
plumber only, have all increased in the
exact ratio that silver has seemed to
depreciate or, correctly speaking, in
the same ratio that gold has been
Inflated He might have added
that, the population has increased
in a similar ratio, and then gone on to ar
gue that babies are born as consequence
of the depreciation OF silver. Indeed he
does something very near to this, only it
works the other way. For, he states in
the same connection that marriages
have decreased in the ratio of 900 to every
l 200 since 1882. That proportion of young
men have refused to accept the response
bilities of marriage. That proportion Of
young women have sought other fields in
which to earn living And all this
because of the depreciation of silver.
Wonderful, is it not, what silver
tslarnin" will bring forth?
But lest his argument may seem OBJ
scure to the ordinary mind, he gives the
annexed lucid explanation.
.'What we mean is this: From pro-
portion of lunatics which went to any