Birmingham state herald., 1895-11-27
NO BENEFIT FROM LOW PRICES.

The Mobile Register. driven from its position that the value of money has not increased 50 per cent-nay 100 per cent as measured by all agricultural and in dustrial commodities falls back upon the favorite argument of the single standard, namely, that what we have to buy has fallen one-half. Of course this argument leaves out of view the fact that the value of the products of labor being reduced one-half, the laborer must be reduced to one-half pay or one-half of the laborers must be turned out to become tramps. The Register says:
 "The Birmingham State Herald quotes, with great flourish. the declaration of President Andrews that the national debt could have been paid off in 1865 with IS, 900, 900 bales of cotton or 25, 900, 900 tons of iron, whereas in 1884, though the face of the debt had been reduced, 30.- 100000 bales of cotton or 30 0000,0 900 tons of iron would have been required to liquid ate 1t. Argal the debt had increased about 90 per cent, and if paid in 50 cents dollars the creditors of the government would get about all they were entitled to. No attention whatever is here paid to the fact that the expense of making cotton and iron were reduced more than 50 per cent in the same length of time, and that the people would have been bet ter able to take up 30,00000 bales worth of debt in 1884 than 1S.000,000 worth in 1865"
 It is not true that the expense of mak- ing cotton has been reduced more than 50 per cent. This is not true as respects the rent of land, the taxes, the doctors bill, the picking and ginning or the plough ing. The fallacy aof this argument was we'll shown by Senator George in his -fl TIL. said:
 But our gold friends, driven from every post, have to make their last and final stand on the quicksand that low prices do no harm.
 "They say that if we are compelled to sell at low prices we also buy at low prices, and in the end there is no differ ence But the slightest reflection will teach us that in our present situation certain to continue many years, low prices in purchases can be no compensa- stion for low prices in sales; besides our condition is that we have had continu- ally falling prices and not stable prices, even when very low. Without going Into an extended argument on this point. 1t is sufficient here to note there are certain fixed charges that have not been reduced. Taxes have not been reduced. Salaries and pensions and railroad freights, on cotton at least. have not been reduced.
  which are being fixed by custom-as fees of lawyers and physicians-that have not been reduced. And the present low prices when all these have been paid out of the small income coming to the farmer for the low price of cotton, the remainder has far less purchasing power than the . sum remaining after these payments have been made when prices are high.
 "To illustrate, we will suppose the pur- chasing power of a farmer who does all his work In five bales of cotton, which at 10 cents a pound would bring s250 If these fixed charges, as l have stated, should on an average be $50 altogether, that would leave him $2OO for the pur- chase of commodities. Suppose cotton and all the commodities he purchased should fall one-half, so that the farmers crop of five bales would bring only $25. Tn this case S75 would remain to purchase commodities instead of $200, as in the first case. But as commodities have only fallen one-half he would have $100 to purchase the same amount as before the fall: but he has only $75, a loss of one fourth. He must increase his product one-third.
 This means he must by increased hours of labor add two days labor to each week; or, if he worked nine hours before, with high prices he must work twelve hours day with low prices to buy the same amount of commodities. The difference between nine hours and twelve hours a day is the difference be- tween health and vigor on the one hand and sickness and languor on the other; between cheerfulness and despair; be- tween leisure for social enjoyment and mental improvement and that treadmiil constant wearying la bor. which sends the Ia borer to his he'd for repose as soon as the allotted hours for labor have been completed"