Mohave County miner., 1893-12-23
Cause Of Hard Times.


instance can be found in the Republican
of this city in last Sundays issue. 1t
there states that the cause Of the present
hard times is the uncertainty about tariff
legislation. Logically It disputes the
statement 10 another editorial on the fol-
lowing day. The statement is directly
contrary also, to many others on the
subject which it made during the silver
discussion. Mos, OF the eastern journals
protesting Rspu blicAn principles make
the same kind OF statements regarding
the cause OF hard times.
1t seems as il in matter - simple as
this there should not be such wide and
changing difference OF opinion regarding
the cause. There are few facts known
to every thinking merchant and manu-
facturer in the United States which seem
to US 70 be suffi :ient TO determine the di-
rect il not tho remote cause.
The most marked one OF these is the
constant and regular decline in prices OF
almost every article in the line Of trade.
To the merchant and IN anuf fActurer there
is no need Of telling the effect Of falling
prices. They pay dearly enough for their
knowledgs ia this line to understand how
they make business stagnant. To the
IN an who is not a manufacturer or mer-
chant it may be in place to state well
known facts.
Take the iron manufacturer as an Illus
tration. Hs sess pig iron or steel bilets
constantly declining in prices II he Is
wise he st,ntly bny, Only enough VI
th,,s to supply i'm n lii'e wants, instea ad
OF m king Contracts Dr fuiure supplies
extending over months to come, which
he would d. ii he hi re. s'n,ble cause
70 IN nk tn It price, w)1li rem .n staple
or ad yance The result is that the pro-
ducer OF pig iron or steel billits, hnding
no ch lnce TO m Ike contracts extending
into the future, will IN ks NJ contracts
for ore farther IN wat he needs for
present de hands. The next results is
the iron ore mi1sr, fn ling no m irket for
futures, disch Urges u p,rtion or all OF his
miners and restricts his production or
stops it entirely. This affects the mer.
ch Ant, and mechanics and shop keepers
of every kind In the mining town where
the ore il produced. Their trade declines,
and as result thsy oiy lass go,is from
the j,hber and whole3i iler and like the
iron IN lnuf tcturer by no'hing for the
future. So with the cloth manufacturer
when he sees wool and cotton constantly
declining he buys only enough to manu-
fscture for orders, instead Of running his
mill to accun1li Ate \ stock for trade. No
sensible Manufacturer would buy wool or
cotton to ma nufactuTe into cloth for pro-
spsctive trade, when he thought that in
six m )nth, in the fu:ure he could buy the
raw material cheaper than then. So, too,
no merchant will buy a heavy stock OF
goods when he knows that their price is
likely ~ constantly decline.
II we we're asked to cay what is the
cause Of all commercial stsgnstion, idle
mills, mines and men, and the parent OF
more misery, poverty and suffering than
any other one thing, we would say that
the answer is falling prices
Then would arise another question,
which is "what canses the falling prices ?"
Let US, like doctor who is treating a
disease, 20 to the original cause, and re-
move that, and then we can cure it, But
don't let US be quscks and treat case Of
liver complaint as a case OF consump-
tion.
III the tariff bill ia the cause OF falling
prices, will the Republican or other party
journals tell why prices have been con-
stantly dec lining since 1873? Will they
tell US why the prices OF agricultural pro-
ducts, which are not affected by a threat
ened approach to free trade or revenue
tariff, are lower than they ever were be.
fore? II our "fair trade" or revenue re.
formers are correct in their theories, the
proposed tariff bill should advance prices
Of agricultural products instead OF de.
press them. They have claimed all the
time that the products of the farmer
have brought low prices only because
the foreign market was restricted by our
high tariff; and now when low tariff
bill is among the immediate certainties,
and the foreign market is about to be
opened to this country, agricultural pro-
ducts should at least show a tendency TO
advance In rrica. hnt ON the contrary