Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-05-24
GOLD STANDARD CONVENTION.
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(ccntinued from Third Page)
prices OF many articles and the wages
OF labor In many occupations were as
| certained during each year as far
| back ns 1870 and for the purposes OF
comparison the prices of commodities
| and the wages OF labor In the year 1850
were adopted as the standard. The sut-
| ficiency OF the reasons for selecting
that year rather than any other viii
| not, think. be questioned. There were
| no great financial or other disturbances
| during that year, business was Ia a
normal condition IN all parts OF the
country. no changes had been made In
| the monetary systems OF the world for
| many years, the United States was
using gold as tho measure OF value,
| Just as It Is now, except that there was
| no legal tender silver in circulation as
| there Is now. the people were prosper
! Gus and the prices Of commodities and
| the wages Of labor were fairly adjusted
with relation to each other, At the
| time when this investigation was made
all the legislation In regard 20 silver
now specially complained Of had been
accomplished and II prices or wages
had fallen there was as much reason
TO attribute the reduction to that legls
l1tion then as there Is now. Ample
time had been afforded for its effects.
II It had any upon prices and wages
10 Dc telt, ana inc tNcl thut the lnNtH-
LEGATION was not made for the purpose
or influencing legislation upon the Sill
Yer question adds TO the value of It's
results.
In the first place. the committee
unanimously selected 232 articles in
common use which It was agreed com
atituted the great bulk OF the con-
sumption and expenditures Of the peo-
pie, and these articles were separated
Into eight classes or groups that is,
clothes and clothing, fuel and light
ing, metals and implements, lumber
and house building materials, drugs
md chemicals, house furnishing goods
und miscellaneous commodities, II was
found that the prices Of articles used
FOR food tnlJnR them altogether, bad
fallen less than 10 per cent. since 1873
while the prices Of clothes and clothing
Ind fallen 81 per cent; fuel and light
nearly ~ per cent; metals and implc-
ment9, % per cent; lumber and build
ing materials. 81 per cont; house fur
nishins goods. ~ per cent; and mis-
ccllauepus articles 10 per cent The
prices for the year 1850 being taken as
the standard were represented by l0O
and increases ami decreases were
shown by dcylatiuns from that mum
Dor up or down, as the case might be,
The Investigation showed that
al the timu II was made ar
tlcles OF food stood at 103. 0,
or nearly { per cent higher than
In 1850; clothes and clothing at s1.l;
fuel and lighting at ~ metals and i'm
PIGMENTS at 7lg; lumber md house
building materials at 1913; drugs and
chemicals at So house furnishing
goods at 70l. ana miscellaneous artl-
Giles at O5.t. These results Of the In
vcBtlgntlon establish three facts which
have an important bearing upon the
present controversy, The first fact es-
tnblshcd IL TINT prices OF articles OF
food which are the products of the
farms, gardens, orchards and dalrics
OF the country wore Gbout 4 per cent
higher than they were In the year 1850
long before the silver Legislation now
complained Of; the second IL. that the
fan In the prices Of thcgc farm pro-
uuCts since the year 1873 has been
much loss than tho fan In the prices Of
the commodities the farmers have to
buy; and the third iH. that the reduce
lions In prices hayO not been Uniform
either as 70 particular articles or
groups of articles, and therefore cannot
be attributed to/uno and the same
cauee-to the appreciation OF gold, for
instance, The conclusion IL Inevitable
that various influences have operated
10 produce these changes In prices,
some affecting one group Of articles and
some another, and doubtless some af-
footing all. but to no one influence can
Allt Nlblf ftNNlk DC hNlIAbuittt COTTON
and wheat are the commodities most
frequently referred to by those who
contend that the fall in prices Is due
TO the appreciation OF gold. but there
Is nothing whatever in the methods OF
producing those articles or In trans
porting or selling them, or In the char
acter or the money received for them,
which would make the appreciation Of
gold affect their prices more than It
would affect tho prices OF other COM
moditlcs produced by our people. In
addition TO the various causes which
have more or less affected the prices OF
all articles the prices OF these two
products have been seriously affected
by the enormous increase In their pro-
duction since the year 1879, which was
the last crop year preceding the lcgis-
lntlon In regard to silver. The pro-
ductlon OF cotton In this country In
1878 was 2,97i, 95l bales, containing an
average OF l39 pounds not weight, whilo
the production IN 1894 was 7,5i9.Sl7
bales. containing an average Of f7i
pounds net weight. or an Increase that
has taken place In competing coun-
tries; and IN 1915 the production here
vas much larger, being nearly 10 0OO.-
600 bales, According TO the statistics
OF the agricultural department, the
production OF wheat In this country ia
lSf2 was 1897 100 bushels and in
1894 i60.261, i1G bushels, or nearly twice
aa much, and there has also been an
enormous Increase OF production in
competing countries. But. gentlemen,
Notwithstanding the great Increase In
tho production OF cotton and wheat,
here and In other countries, and the
consequent decline In their prices, n
given quantity OF ether OF them win
now purchase In our own markets and
in the markets abroad a larger share
of many other usful commodities
than II would have purchased in 1872
or 1871, 80 that, IN fact as compared
With many other things, the values Of
cotton and wheat have appreciated.
The only thing which has been less
affected by the changes in the relation
| between supply and demand, by Inn
| provements IN the methods Of produc-
ton and distribution and by the other
Influences which produce fluctuations
| IN prices OF commodities generally, Is
| labor, and II Is by far the most I'M
portant single source OF Income
| possessed by our people, a much larger
1 amount being expended every year In
| the payment OF wages than for any
other one purpose. Tho cost OF labor
| IN the manufacturing and mechanical
| industries alone during the census year
1889 was se,ssS, 2i6,b29 which was nearly
two and opo-half times the value OF