The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-11-27
THE BUSINESS OUTLOOK.

From the Minneapolis Penny Press
Business is hating" says one news
paper 1.-The recent setback to trade
still continues.
1T is alleged that unreasonable wealth
er has continued the check. 1t is claim
ed that merchants were too enthusiastic
in their purchases few months ago, and
altogether overdid the situation and now
find themselves overstocked. Iron and
steel products are still falling"
All that is said with regard to the
weather may have been true last week
and even the week before, but has not
been true since Wednesday morning and
Is not likely to prove true again for days
to come. Nevertheless it must be admit
ted by even the most enthusiastic bust
ness man, that the promises for trade
made six months ago are not being full
filed.
Just how the business men OF the
country trading under gold standard,
which, in spite of sale of $3.50, 0O0,00
of bonds during the last eighteen months,
finds gold flowing out at the present time
at the rate of more than 100000 per
week, can still expect any favorable re-
ports on trade in this country, is beyond
the comprehension Of a man who is a
thorough advocate of bi-metallism.
So long as the balance of trade" be
against our country, 80 long must "bal-
OH ho ~,
shipments of gold must be made to per-
. form that duty.
But the very admission of balances Of
trade being against this country, is to
admit that there Is lack of demand for
the surplus products of this country.
Why is this? Simply because Great
Britain, through her double dealings
maintaining the gold standard at home
and silver standard in her colonial pos
sessions, is able to manipulate silver bull
lion as to convert the same into money
in India at a profit of 35 per cent on the
dollar, and thus raise and import her
wheat from one point, her wool, mutton
and beef from another point, under cir
cumstances that defy competition by the
American producers. !;
In spite of this fact, however, and in
spite Of the fact that bi-metallism would
bring instant relief, seventy-five per cent
of the daily press of the United States are
today advocating continuance of the
gold standard" and monetary system
which is simply reducing the great mass
of the people to penury and utter i'm
poverishment, while it is upbuilding the
few and creating milionaries and Shy.
locks more rapidly than ever before in
the history of the world. !:
1t is the most natural thing In the
world for the common people" to ask
how this condition of affairs is brought
about. The answer is simple as the al
phabet. Almost every paper advocating
the gold standard in this country, without
any reference to what the individual be-
lief of the editor may be, is so thoroughly
dependent upon the money changers and
capitalists that he dare not oppose the
theory of that class of men. Take the
situation in the Northwest as an illustra-
ton. Who controls the daily press of the
two cities? Let us examine little
The st. Paul Globe is owned by lead
ing banker of st. Paul. whose interests
are 80 Intimately connected with the ma
tional banks of the East, that it would be
utterly destructive of personal interests
to assume any other attitude than that
which supports the gold standard theory.
The Pioneer Press-that paper and COR
porate institution of a splendid past-is
now so intimately connected with the
Pioneer Press Building Company that the
latter has swallowed up the former COM
pletely. The bondholders of the Pioneer
Press Company today represent. the lead
ing capitalists of Boston, who are a por-
ton and a part of that small coterie of
capitalists and bankers who furnish the
ard fabric now stands.
The St. Paul Dispatch is the only paper
which is owned and controlled by it's ed
itCr and manager, practically independent
of all financial schemes. 1t is to the cred
it of the Dispatch to say, that it is the
least enthusiastic of all the papers of St.
Paul over 1.-The gold standard theory"
In Minneapolis the Tribune is so bound
up with bankers, capitalists and Eastern
money changers, that it could not adyo-
cate any other doctrine than that Of the
gold standard, even if it would.
The Journal Company is controlled by
Boston capitalists, who render it just as
impossible for the paper to act independ-
emily of the ''gold-bug interests" as for
the Tribune to do likewise.
While this "digresson,''' under a cap
ton like the one standing at the head of
this article, may be somewhat extraord:-
nary, the situation in the business COM
munity will warrant it. Resuming the
usual thread of comment, we will close by
stating that the expectation of wheat
from the United States and Canada
-four being counted as wheat-anounted
to 2,916,000 busheis,-or 100000 bushels
less than one week ago. The business
failures throughout the United States for
the week numbered 1913 against 279 the
week before, and 295 in the correspond
ing week Of one year ago.