The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1895-09-06
THOSE GOOD TIMES.

A New York Banker Says They Are Mostly
Apparent and Not Real.
William p. St. John is one of the few
presidents of a New York national
bank who favor the free coinage of
silver. Mr.. St John, who is president
of the Mercantile national bank, is
not only conservative business man,
but thinker and student of finance.
Here is what Mr.. st. John had to say
on the currency question the other
day:
ITO my thinking the alleged era of
prcA perity is not in sight. We have
had, and are still having, recoveries
from extreme depression. with some
advances in wages from figures that
were below a living scale. But signs
of exhausted recupcration appear al
ready with decided lull in at least
three important branches of our man
ufacturing industries. Cheap talk of
higher prices for iron mention also
new trusts and proposed combinations
among iron men, which are usually in
restrain. of trade, rather than har-
bingers of widening prosperity. The
great staples of wheat and cotton. hav-
ing been depressed beyond reason and
rebounding naturally, have been adj
| vauced speculatively to prices equally
unreasonable, but at the time when
the farmer and planters are not bene.
flied.
Both of these staples are now
threatened with new decentralization
in market, with consequently poor re-
turns to the producers for the incom-
ing crops. The present money market
in New York-214 per cent per annum
for five months strictly prime CONNER
cial paper-is not the representation
of an era Of prosperity. On the con-
trary, it is the seal upon the proof of a
new sacrifice of the little prosperity
that appears. 1t betol1ens a lack of
profit to borrowers in any use of
money, and presages such prices as
discourage buyers of merchandise for
a future market. Therefore, the silver
lining is wanting from the cloud, and
| is neither here nor even in sight.
LAS grounds for my impression that
the reopening of our minis to silver is
essential to an era of even moderate
but continuing prosperity. L remark as
| follows: The prices that are governed
by the volume of current money are
normal prices. Scarcity on the one
| hand or superabundance on the other
hand of any commodity relative to the
| demand for it will yield abnormal
prices for that commodity. Scarcity,
abnormally high price; superb bun
dance, abnormally low price. Which
is to say that price means money.
What is its price means how much
money for it. Hence a normal guam.
tity of any commodity relative to the
demand for it will afford high price
or low price for that commodity, ac
cording to the scarcity or abundance
of money. Our normal price of wheat
the price upon which as fulcrum
our scale of prices for wheat swings up
or downs set absolutely by the vol
ume of our current money. Therefore
if we enlarge the volume of money, as
by d reopening of our minis to silver
we shall raise the normal price of al
commodities.
Hence we are conspicuously ma
ton of producers, our national pros
perity is favored by enlarging the vol
ume of money SO as to increase the
prices of what we produce. TO reopen
our minis to silver is thus to put pre-
MUM on production rather than upor
consumption, and to bestow upon the
producer liberal share of the wealth
| for which our consumers are thus
debtors. When such is done we ma y
see an era of prosperity that has come
to stay"