The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1895-06-18
Tho clipping to which our journalistic
friend refers Is rs folowa:

70 buIhClS Of wheat.
or lGh bushels " oats,
or IL bushels OF corr,
OF 80 pounds OF butter,
ar bOl pounds OF port,
or 30 pounds OF wool.
or 1Ol pounds OF cotton.
III lSi tht mortgage was renewed and the In
iercSt cut down TO per cent. but poor Smith
found. even at That reduced rate Of Interest ho
was Obliged TO scll In order TO raise tho so In
forest.
i?j bushels OF wheat
or 500 bushes Of oul',
or ~ bushels OF corn,
or Oh pounds ~ butter,
or l,lO0l pounds ut pork,
or 40 pOundN OiwOnl.
or loo pounds OF cotton.
smith may not know II, but Il was the gold
Standard that did him up,
Observe tho style OF this article, tho
caption given 10 il, anu tho nature OF
tho argument employed. Sec how il
appeals TO tho prejudice aud tho igno-
rance Of tho agricultural classes Note
how it portrays favorable and iii I'M
favorable situa,ion, and how tho change
from the one 10 the other ia attributed
to the existence o! tho gold standard,
and how consequently tho iarme is en-.
Outraged to think il only the country
were given free silver tho status OF
things would be entirely ditlcrcnt-ov-
cryouc would DO prosperous and happy.
The farmer IL told that though he is
Obliged to pay only : per cont interest
on his loan now. whereas in lSSS lie
had to pay 10 per cont. yet that tho
price OF all his products has been so
greatly deprecintod that it takes from
two to three times the quantity OF one
OF these products TO meet tho so an
nual intercnt now required than it did
the 500 required on tho came loan ut
the enrllor date. OF course the farmer
knows that ut some time in the past he
has received much higher prices for
what he raiges than those now ruling,
and no is consequently inclined 10 nc.
cept without question both the figures
set before him with such show Of
plausibility and also the reasoning built
upon them.
But let US examine littlo into tho
results given. Tho article asserts that
the planter could in lSSS pay an annual
intores; debt OF 500 with 500 pounds OF
cotton. What does that statement inI-
ply? 1t implies that the planter was
able to realize 20 cents pound for his
cotton in 1855 How far from the truth
this is will appear when We say that the
price o. cotton even hero in New York
| mot to speak OF the price on the planta.
| tlons) has not ruled ns high MS 20 cents
pound al any time for twenty-five
years-not since 1873. As matter OF
fact the average ut this point for the
whole year lSSS was less than 10 cents
pound-actually only 81 cants-so
that it took not 500 pounds OF cotton 10
pay an Interest! debt Of SOD, but 1909
pounds.'
So in the case OF the other articles go.
lcc.ed. The writer says that so bushels
OF wheat suilicod 10 pay an interest
, charge OF 500. That would make the
price OF wheat pcr bushcl 3. which is
absurd-we say absurd because, though
the price n. Chicago did touch =
towards the close OF Septe NJ Der, 1883.
that was nero momcntary quotation
caused by Il corner in September con-
tracts NJ that point. Tho price dropped
quickly back, and the average 4. Chi
cago for tho year was but SSi cents.
According to tho statistics OF the Now
YORK produce exchange the average
price OF wheat in New York in 1888 was
Oh cents. On this latter average it
would require over one hundred BUSH
OILS to meet charge OF 500 per annum.
For oats to make l65 bushels equal to
500, tho price per bushcl would have
to be over 60 cents; tho actual average
on tho produce exchange in the year
1888 was only 351 cents. in Chicago but
oSs cents. Corn would have 10 sell 4:
50 cents a bushcl to give rs bushels
debt-paying power Of 500; tho
average for that cereal in Now
York in 1855 was but 81 5-l6 cents, q:
Chicago onlyiGl cents. Butter wc arc
to understand sold at 10 cents 4 pound
in tho year taken, go that go pounds
suticcd to square au interest account Of
500; but tho records OF our Produce
Exchange show that tho average here
ior state diary. good to fancy brands,
was only 20 ll-lGa2i SIG conts. What
taxes our creduliiy most OF all. howover,
is that VIC arc asked to believe that 800
pounds OF pork had market value Of
500. making tho price pcE pound %
cents. The actual average prics in New
York in tho year in question (taking
mcss pork MS n. Dasis) waa only 7.S5
cents to 7.73 cents. For wool, too. the
average above works ont higher than
the market price in the year rcforred
10. |! is well to point out, moreover,
TINT in tho case OF all these articles,
with tho exception OF wool. tho average
prices wore higher for 1883 than for the
years Immediately preceding. In tho
following wo compare tho falao prices
for 1883 with the actual market pricol
in New York in that year, adding also
tho averages for 1857:
AVERAGE YEARLY PRICES N NEW Y0EK.
-lsSs.-, Average