The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1895-05-10
THE RATIONALE or PRICES.
Democrats Opposed 20 Artincisiiy CresteA
Increases.

DsmOerats Opposed 10 Artt0ciaily Crestea
Increases.
Some Of our republican contempt
raries have taken occasion 70 criticise
democratic newspapers that have ex-
pressed qualification at recent advances
IN the prices Of many commodities
They say that democrats are great
sticklcrs for cheapness. and that they
have no right TO be gratificd at an in
crease Of prices.
This shows only how easy IL Is to
misrepresent an opponents position.
and how naturally this becomes the re-
sort O. those who cannot meet ques-
ton squarcly without suffering discom-
future. The sort of high prices which
democrats chiefly oppose are those
artihcially produced. Democrats be-
lieve in the free play of economic forces,
SO that each man may get what he
earns without interference from the law
except 50 far as may be necessary to
provide revenue for the government
They contend that when the govern
mcnt intervcncs 10 advance the price Of
one set Of commodities and To lower
the price or the exchangeable value Of
another set il perpetratcs an injustice.
Without such interference By the gov
eminent or others, prices will rise or
fall in proportion TO supply and demand.
II is altogether differe Mt in the case
Of artiticially high prices. This is very
well illustrated by the cutlery about
the recent advance in beef. II this
were due 10 decrease in the supply Of
cattle, and the advance in beef COR
responded with the better prices re-
ceived by the raisers of cattle for ami
mails on the hoof. there would be no
just grounds for complaint. Ii is be-
cause the people believe that great
com bination. which plumbers producers
and consumers alike, is putting up
prices. that they complain. II this is
actually the case. there is good ground
for the excitement that exists on the
subject. If, on the other hand. it is
due TO the unrestricted operation Of
supply and demand, prices will remain
high until the supply is increased, or
the demand falls off The same may
be said of the price of petroleum. If
the wells are really failing. as the
trust magnates insist, then we have
seen the last Of cheap oil until new
sources of supply are discovered or an
acceptable substitute provided.
The advocacy Of prices that arc as
low as supply and demand dictate in
wolves no approval of panic prices.
There is no controversy about the fact
that we have had disastrous panic.
however we may differ as TO the cause
Of it. Panics involve large falling
off Of deiLard, because they diminish
the purchasing power of the people.
Large quantities Of goods are forced
upon the market and sold low to at
tract buyers II is not a healthy, but
O morbid condition. In normal state
Of trade prices do not 20 below the
cost of production. When they do
there must be either an excessive sup
ply or an inadequate demand. When
we have a rally of commodities from
panic prices, due to an increase Of de-
mand, which. in turn, is due to better
business and the increased purchasing
power of the masses. it is. Of course, q
subject of congratulation. Thus the
advance in cotton and wheat, which
had been abnormally low, was vel
coined both as affording better remun-
Grafton to producers and as symptom
of better times.
That cheapness is desirable in itself
cannot be disputed by anyone who OBJ
serves the whole trend of our civiliza-
ton. The ultimate measure of value
of all commodities is the labor required
to obtain them. The more of the nee
essaries Of life man can obtain for q
days labor the cheaper they are te
him Now, the whole tendency OF thi:
| prominently industrial and CONNER
| cial age is to increase the product oi
a days labor. Where the old hand
looms of less than century ago pro
duced only few yards of cloth to tho
| operative hundreds are now produced
| The effect of this, of course, is to make
things cheaper. Hence the improve
mcnt Of machinery and the various in
venticns and discoveries have cheap
ened enormously many articles o
| prime necessity. The reduction o.
price has in turn led to an immense in
crease in consumption. SO that more la
borera are employed than before. Tn.
laborcrs. earning more, have received
higher money wages at the same time
that the purchasing power of money
has increased enormously. Thus tn.
standard of comfort for all classes ha
been raised. and the masses have beer
greatly benefited.
The protectionists try to make thu
supply of certain goods artificial,
small by shutting out foreign compe
tition by the tariff. and domestic com
petition by combinations. Their Oh
jcct is to put up prices above the leve
of those that will afford REASONABLE
and just profit upon the capital EN-
barked. As improved machinery, how
ever. diminishes the cost Of production
of some goods faster than the tarif
can increase the prices. they impudens
" pretend that it is the tariff that ha
cheapencd commodities, though al
intelligent people know that they hav
simply become cheaper in spite OF tn
tariff.-Louisville Courier-Journal.