The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1894-02-17
W by is Wheat Cheap
Editors UeStern RalrdL:

Editors Vestern Rural:
In your issue of January IS, we not
ice an article Farmers Boards of
Trade, " written by Mr.. c. s. Cannon,
discussing a method of raising the
price of wheat. With your permission
| would like to suggest another meth
Cd, which l believe, VIII accomplish
more in raising prices, than the one
advocated by Mr.. Cannon. | refer to
the free coinage of silver. At first
very little relation between the price
of wheat and that Of silver, but a more
careful consideration will show that
they are very closely related, for the
following reasons: The average price
of wheat in India if SLY a bushel in
silver, the freight to Liverpool is 2O}
cents in silver, SO that a bushel of In
dia wheat laid down in Liverpool costs
81 .373 in India rupees.
Silver is coined in India at the ratio
-! to |, or fifteen and one-half ounces
of silver are equivalent to one ounce of
gold. Thus an ounce of silver coins
into $1.37t which Is legal tender for all
debts. Since the characterization of
silver IN the United States in 1878,
and before the closing Of the Indian
minis to individual coinage, the Eng
lishman purchased an ounce of silver
at, for instance, IS cents (the present
price,. He sent this 10 any Indian
mint of which there are seven, and re-
celyed in return $l.373 III rupees with
which he bought bushel Of wheat
and paid the freight on it to Liverpool
Therefore he bought the bushel of
wheat, laid down III Liverpool, for IS
cents, the price of the ounce of silver
he had coined. We must compete
with this because Liverpool makes the
price of all products grown by us in
excess of home consumption. There
fore our wheat must be laid down in
Liverpool at IS cents, or there will be
no demand for it. This makes it cost
go cents in Chicago and 10 cents at
home
The Indian farmer who has mortg
age can pay $l17 of it with his bushel
of wheat while we can pay but - cents
with ours. Now if silver should 90 to
80 cents an ounce, the Englishman
would have to pay 80 cents for it. But
the Indian farmer would still demand
SLY in silver for his wheat for he does
not care anything about the bullion
value of the rupees which he receives.
As long as he gets the same number
he is satisfied. Therefore would not
Indian Wheat cost 80 cents laid down
in Liverpool? Would not this raise
the price of American wheat i'll pro
portion?
Suppose we should adopt the free
coinage of silver at the old ratio of 16
to l. This would raise the price Of
silver to $l.29 an ounce because no one
would sell an ounce of 1t for less than
that when the government offered HIM
that price. Then the Englishman
would have to pay $l.29 an ounce for
it; and the Indian farmer still de
mands the same number of rupees for
his wheat that he did when silver was
only IS cents an ounce. Therefore In
dian wheat would cost $1.29 laid down
in Liverpool, and ours would be the
same. This would raise the price of
our wheat to fl.l9 III CHICAGO and
about 81 90 at home
Since the indian mints were closed
TO individual coinage there is no
change III the manner of competition
with us, except that The Indian gov
eminent now requires the Englshman
to buy rupees at a l.tlle above the bull
lion price of silver, with which to pay
for his wheat. 1t is this competition
which keeps the price of wheat low in
this country,
The only way to give the American
farmer an equal chance with the Indi-
ali farmer is TO = sc the price Of silver
50 that England cannot get it so cheap
with which to settle for her purchases
i'll India. She tries III every possible
way to keepit down for she thus keeps
the price of wheat down. For years
wheat has fallen in an exact ratio with
silver because of this gigantic English
scheme. Just as fast as silver rises our
wheat viii rise. If you want a proof,
look at this: In 1890 silver rose from
81 cents to S1.2I. Wheat at the same