The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1895-10-02
THE FALL OF PRICES.
Nuts for the Gold Standard Advocates
to Crack.


citation OF gold, and insist that the
fall of prices is due to improvements
in production, transportation, new
territory, etc, are given a very
tough nut to crack by the move
ment of prices last year and this
year. Last year there was heavy
drop in average prices, not only in
this country, but throughout the
world. Many persons explain all
such movements by local causes,
but the similarity of the record
abroad makes such explanations
absurdities in this case. English
prices were not affected by tariff
legislation, or fear of an exhausted
gold reserve, or any other known
cause except the worlds money
system. The English price record
now universally accepted as authori-
tative is that of Mr.. Sauerbeck,
which is based on the movement in
prices of forty-fve leading articles
of commerce, the average prices of
the several articles from 1867 to
1877 being assumed as the standard.
The average price level of these
articles fell from Is in 1893 to 63 in
1894. In other words, the average
prices of these articles were a. per
cent. lower in 1894 than in 1898, 9
per cent. lower than the average
of the preceding ten years, 20 per
cent. lower than the ten years 1877
IS, and 81 per cent. lower than the
eleven years 1867.
This is a remarkable record, and
one of its peculiarities of the last
year of the movement was that it
affected all the commodities con-
sidered Says Mr.. Sauerbeck:
"The decline during the past year
extended to all commodities, and
in no case was it less than six per
cent. Sixteen of the articles fell
to the lowest point recorded in the
present century, and among these
were such staples as wheat, flour,
rice, sugar, lead, cotton, jute, merino
wool, silk and soda Will some of
the advocates of the theory of fall
of prices from natural causes point
out the natural causes that had so
marked an effect in 1894? What
did it? Was it improved machinery,
new processes, better transporta-
ton, or some other cause2 Where
was the new territory brought into
the worlds use in 1894? What was
the new machinery, processes, or
other alleged cheapening agency
that reduced the price of every one
of Mr.. Sauerbeck's forty five com
modities at least 6 per cent? What
was the cause that affected alike
the sheep and the silkworm, that
made the production of both lead
and soda less costly, that cheapen-
ed rice and jute2 The bimetallist
points to the cause without hesi.
fancy. 1t was period of general
depression. There was unusual de-
mands on standard money. Gold,
in which all these articles arc
measured, appreciated in value on
account of the increased demand.
That is an explanation that covers
the ground, but where is any other
explanation that covers it2 They
did dot fall as measured in silver.
On the contrary, silver fell moro
than the average of these forty-five
articles, going from an average of
SIS per ounce in 1873 to S.63 per
ounce in 1894. What were the
natural causes that explain the
movement?
This years movement thus far
furnishes the argument from the
other side. Most of these prices
have advanced. Silver is now up
TO S.67. What natural causes ac-
count for it? Has machinery sud
denly deteriorated? Have the new
processes been Iost2 Has the cost
of transportation increased2 Has
any territory been closed to the
world? Have any silver mines dis.
appeared? Has the expense of min
ing silver increased? How do you
explain it? The bimetallist has no
difficulty in assigning a cause. The
depression is passing off. The abb
normal demand for standard money
is decreasing. Gold is depreciating
on account of Iessened demand. We
should like to see some of our
gold monometallist contemporaries
wrestle with this problem. as
scientific question, from a monome-
tallist standpoint, it presents more