The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1895-06-28

i Prices Of Wheat and cottoa.
The influence of the price of sill
yer on prices of wheat and cotton is
a subject of interest, especially to
the farmers considering the money
Question. 1t is not claimed that
this is the only influence, but only
that it is potent one, and in the
consideration Of the following it is
Iof course understood that effects
mentioned are also subject to other
causes, as is largely the case just
now.
| The nations which are our prin-
Icipal competitors as TO agricultural
products in the markets of the world
J are silver standard nations, prin-
cipally Argentine, Egypt and India.
THE free coinage of silver has up
held its price (the price OF silver) in
them. Deprived of its free coinage,
the price of bullion has fallen in the
United States. An ounce Of silver
(two and one-half rupees) will still
buy a bushel Of wheat from the In
dian shipper at Liverpool, as the
same has done for many years.
Even in India the action of the
council Of some time ago has had
little effect on the price, and among
the great native population its bull
llion value was comparatively little
affected. The same ounce Of silver
will buy a bushel of Argentine
wheat. The American bushel Of
wheat must consequently sell at the
: same price, the price Of an ounce OF
j silver in Liverpool, or not sell at all.
! Liverpool is the worlds exchange
market and buyers there handle the
, mediums of exchange of about all
nations. The Englishman will buy
{ with that with which he can buy
cheapest. Consequently each Of
these agricultural competitors at the
I Liverpool market gets an ounce Of
!, silver, or the value Of an ounce Of
silver in his own country, for his
!, bushel Of wheat. To the Argentine
i man (Argentine beinga silver stand
& ard nation) this ounce of silver is
I; worth about 1929, and he gets that
{ lin value for his Dushel OF wheat.
! To the American this ounce OF sill
yer is worth-say 80 cents and he
gets that at Liverpool for his bushel
ot wheat.
Nominally, they receive the same
price at Liverpool. In reality the
!, |American receives about 80 per
|, cent. less than the Argentine at
Liverpool. The price of bushel
, of wheat in the local American mar
ket is consequently the price Of an
ounce ofsilver with the cost Of trans
portation from the town from which
lit is shipped to Liverpool deducted.
Liverpool is the worlds wheat mar
ket, and the market price Of wheat
there sets the price for the world.
i Exactly the same conditions hold
good as to cotton. Every nation
which completes with America in
|, raising and selling cotton is single
Isilver standard nation. In the same
manner the Egyptian is getting just
about the same old price for his cot
ton, and the American is getting
lust about the same amount of sill
yer bullion for it that he formerly
did. The trouble is that when silver
bullion has deprecated in value he
gets what that silver bullion is
worth in currency, measured by the
lgold standard.
Secretary Manning, in report as
isecretary Of the Treasury, called
this phenomenon the monetary
dislocation," and Senator Mills,
then a Representative, said that
from the depreciation of the price
from 1873, of silver the farmers Of
the country had lost $50 10 81 lost
by the silver mine owners.
Speaking Of the falling Of the
price Of silver following its right to
free coinage in the mints Of the
United States in 1873, Professor Il.
IB. Andrews in his Economies"
says: "The power Of silver Gas
bullion) 10 purchase commodities
did not sensibly, II at all, decrease,
. but that of gold increased. Gen
. eral prices, the only sure test, fell
in gold countries and remained sta
tionary in silver countries"
4 And this has been q potent cause
OF the low prices Of cotton and
wheat --American Rimotallisf