The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-07-07

thinker and student of finance, Here
is what Mr.. St John had to say:
'@To my thinking, the alleged era of
prosperity 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 living Ecale. but signs
of exhausted recuperation appear al
ready with a decided Iull in at least
three important branches of cur manu-
featuring Industries. Cheap talk of
higher prices for iron mention also
new trusts and proposed combinations
among iron men which are usually in
restraint of trade rather than ilar-
bingerS of widening prosperity. The
great staples of wheat and cotton hav-
ing been depressed beyond reason, and
rebOunding naturally have been I'D
yanced Speculatively 70 prices equally
unreasonable, but at {, time when the
farmer and planter are not benefited
Both Of these staples are now threat
ened with a new decentralization in
market with consequently poor returns
to the producers for the incoming
crops. The present money market in
New York-2H per cent per annum for
five months strictly prime commercial
paper-iS not the prOgnosticatiOn of an
era of prosperity. On the contrary, it
is the seal upon the proof of a new
sacrifice Of the little prosperity that
appears. It betokens 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.
'sAs grounds for my impression that
the reopening OF our minis to silver is
essential to an era of even mod
crate but continuing prosperity, 1 re-
mark as follows: The prices that are
governed by the volume of current
money are normal prices. Scarcity, on
the one hand, or superabundance on
relative to the demand for it win yield
abnormal price for that commodity.
Scarcity, abnOrmally high price; super
abundance, abnormally low price.
which is to say that price means
money What is its price means
how much money for it. Hence nor
NAL quantity Of any commodity rela-
tive to the demand for it will afford
high price or low price for that COM
modify according to the scarcity or the
abundance of money. Our normal
price of wheat-the price upon which
as a fulcrum our scale Of prices for
wheat swings up or DOWNS set albso-
lutely by the volume of our current
money. Therefore, if we enlarge the
volume OF money as by reopening of
our minis TO silver we shall raise the
normal price of all commodities.
Hence as we are conspicuously
nation of. producers, our national pros
perIty is favored by charging the
volume of money so as to increase the
prices of what we produce. To
reopen our minis to silver is thus
TO put premium upon production
rather than upon consumption, ana
10 bestow upon the producer lib
eral share Of the wealth for which our
consumers are thus debtors. When
s,Ich is done we may see an era of
prosperity that has come to stay.
Ex-Assistant Secretary of the Treas
ury Ellis II. Roberts, was just going
out of town when seen, but ne referred
the reporter to President George Gun
ton. of the School Of Social Economics,
saving: ''He has written two books
on the subject, and knows more about
the principles upon which these mat
tiers are based than any half dozen
men in Wall street"
President Gunton kindly furnished
the following carefully revised state
ment: s"The present revival of |-ade is
the result of causes the opposite of
which created the depression which
began early in 1892. Capital is very
heroic when it feels perfectly safe, but
it is the most cowardly thing on earth
with uncertainty or danger in sight.
There are two important facts that
explain the changes of Industrial con-
fdence One occurred in 1892, and the
other in 1894 In 1892 both legislative
and executive departments Of the Fed
eral government passed into the hands |
of new party. This of itself would
not necessarily have exercised any par
ticular influence but for the fact that
the specific object of the new admins
tration was radically to change the |
system which everybody knew
would disrupt existing industrial and |
business relations. This certainty of