The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1894-08-10
PRICES Since 1878. !.
WAGES, FARM LANDS AND MANY
FARM PRODUCTS HIGHER NOW
THAN IN 1873.
DR.. Hill Exposes Some of the Alb.
surd aud False Statements of
the Silver Men.

the free silver people. DIR. Hill is tb
youngest son of the late Britton A
Hill, one of the ablest champions O
fiat money OF the old Green
bnck party. DR.. Hill was educate,
IN the best universities in Europe.
has been been generally suppose,
that he would follow in the footstep
OF his father and advocate fiat money
There is but little doubt but that ht
made special study of finance fol-
the purpose of securing arguments
against the gold standard. Study
changed his opinions, as is apparent
from the following quotation from
his excellent pamphlet:
But, say the silver men, prices have
gone down since 1873. This is their
great hobby. and they dwell on it.
They say that country must have
high prices to be prosperous, and they
propose to re-establish high prices by
making so cents dollar, 40 that when
we sell something for $1.0O on the
new basis, though in reality we will
only get so cents the same as now,
our feelings will not be SO badly hurt
because the name will have been
changed.
am six feet tall; suppose new
law should make six inches a foot,
then under the new measurement
would be twelve feet tall. Would that
actually increase my height, or is it
simply the foot that has been short
ened? This reminds me OF Mark
Twain's joke about the Portuguese
money, where the unit OF value, the
reis. is SO small that it takes about
10000 reis to pay for dinner. But
let us see about the decline of prices.
The silver men assert that prices
have gone down. and that therefore
they in the most simple way prove
that gold has gone up. They con-
veniently forget the thousand and one
factors that enter into a decline in
prices. They forget the laws of sup
ply and demand. That we cannot ex-
pect to get as high price for our cot
ton when We raise crop of almost
10000, 900 bales in 1894 as when we
raised only 1914, 351 bales in 1872, or
for our wheat when we raise 46O,-
267, 416 bushels in 1894 as when we
raised only 249, 997, 100 bushels in
1872.
They conveniently forget the enor-
nous decrease in the cost of produc-
ton of our manufactured products,
due to the invention and use of Ia
bor-saving machinery, the utilization
of by-products, and the decrease in
the cost of transportation. I have
lately read some statistics compi led
by Edward Atkinson, the statistician,
covering some 200 articles in common
use. and he has shown that in every
where decline in price has
occurred it has been more than Offset
BY decrease in the cost of produc.
lion.
But the silver men cannot even sus-
ain their favorite contention. because
he facts are against them. The prices
IT all things have not gone down.
Many things are higher now than
hey we're before silver was demone-
lied. Their favorite cry is about the
wages of labor; the contraction of the
,old standard has caused the wages OF '
he laborer to decline, and they are 9
,oing to raise his wages by paying
i'm three fifty-cent dollars a day in
tead of the three northumberland
ollars a day he gets row. Let us see L
bout these wages. Take the U. s. a
ensus figures of 1860, thirteen years v
efore silver was demonetized, and &
hose of 1890, seventeen years after.
his is fair test. If gold has en-.
anced in value, it ought to show it
,lf in that time.
Annual wages paid in the factories
the United States:
No. of En- Total Wages Ave.per
ployes. Paid. CAPITA
so. L 81, 246 q SIS, S7S, $50. =. 1928
30. .4,711.ss2. :. 2.2s2, 1928, 265..... 4s4
Increase in the average wages per
pita 95 per cent. +; almost double.
Decrease in the purchasing power
gold, as far as wages are concerned,
per cent. The gold dollar only
ought about one-half the labor in
80 that it would in 1859. Not only
at, but the laborer got more than
Zoe as many gold dollars for the
me amount of work, because the hours
labor in many places have been
ortened from twelve and ten to eight
urs day.
Now what does the census say about
m lands?
Ave. Value
Gross Value. per Acre
D.. .S 6.645, 900, 900. go. -...Sl6.27
J.... -. 1000, 600. -. 2L3l
Increase in the average value per
q of farm lands about 33 per cent.
Take live stock;
Ave. PEI