The Louisiana populist., 1894-11-16
The Cause Of Causes.

agrlcultural depression III the
South. Every honest man, every
true patriot wants to discover the
true cause and the true remedy.
Heaven knows that we are willing
to work for the remedy, no matter
what is the cause. We want to
build up, not pull down. We are
ready to accept any solution that
furnishes relief.
But pending the discussion, we
saate constrained to adhere to
/, the opionion that the two great
Causes of depression in cotton are
future gambling and contraction
of the currency. If it had not
been for these two causes we would
have a 100000 cotton mill in sue
:. eessful operation in Monroe.
Bad Legislation produces bad bu-
siness. Can any man who suffered
from radical misrule in this State
doubt that politics, that bad legis-
lation can produce ''hard timesl'
Why, it is unnatural, it is incredi-
BILE that any one should believe
that the mismanagement of finan
ces at Washington would have no
serious effect on the business of the
country.
We are glad to see that our able
contemporary, the Times-Demo-
crat, which has had the enlighten-
ing Iiberality to offer 800 for the
best essay on the best way to meet
the present agricultural crisis in
the South, has assigned due i'm
portance to the currency question
in its issue of Oct. 21. 1t demon
strates what we have always said,
that the disease from which the
commercial and agricultural world
has been suffering for twenty years
is the appreciating gold standard of
money which has made slaves of
the debtor class, which has increas-
ed their burdens from year to year,
which has made money dear and
labor cheap, which has decreased
the price of farms and farm pro-
ducts and raised the rates of inter-
est. Saws the Times-Democrat:
sWith cotton at ste, and wheat
at so cents per bushel, there seems
to be a growing conviction that the
worlds financial system is laboring
under some general and deep-seat-
ed disease. The malady is gene
raj. Therefore it is vain to attrib-
ute it to any local cause. Over
production will not explain it. If
we take cotton as an example, we
find that middling was selling at Z
cents at the close Of the season of
1S93-94, while it was still unknown
whether the crop of 1S9+95 was
to be very small, moderate or very
large. The visible supply was
then equal to fifteen weeks con
sumption. If we 90 back ten
years from that date, we find mid
ding selling at 10s, with a visible
supply equal to fourteen weeks
consumption. The difference in
the exchanoeable value of silver
and gold at the two dates mention
ed explains the matter. ANY other
explanation is merely an attempt
to deny the existence Of disease
II order to refuse the patient the
remedy he demands"
This is as true as gospel. 1t is
strange that our people SO vitally
interested cannot understand it.
The Tlmes-Democrat points to the
fact that prices have not fallen in
silver standard countries and that
the price paid for cotton to-day in
India is the same as was paid when
middling was selling at - cents in
New Orleans. Yet England fixes
the rrice in both markets. All
over the world there has been a
shrinkage of values where the gold
standard has prevailed. The
Hmes-Democrat well says that the
repeal of the Sherman law intensi-
fed the crisis and that relief must
speedily come or we shall have a
social revolution.
Here we stand. We see clearly