The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1895-10-17

ard There are two or three objections,
however, urged by our free silver friends
to which | desire to call attention,
Alleged Appreciation of Gold.
One is that gold has constantly appreci-
ated, and that consequently there has
been a continued decline in the prices of
commodities, The question as to whether
there has been an appreciation of gold is
an exceedingly difficult one to determine,
and there are so many elements which
enter into the problem l shall not at
tempt to solve it. How far the overpro-
duction of silver or the suspension of its
coinage has affected it's price is as diff
fcult to determine as the other. The fact,
however, is that there is more of both
gold and silver used as money today than
ever before in the history of the world. In
terest is lower, wages are higher, and the
necessaries of life are cheaper than ever
before in the history of modern nations.
1t seems to me that these truths should
control in influencing the people of the
United States to be content with their
monetary standard,
High Wages and Cheap Commodities
If this be true, then are we to be con-
graduated, for wages are 6S per cent.
higher than they were in 1860, and the
prices of commodities are 4 per cent.
lower. You often hear free silver advo-
Gates descanting on the act of 1873, but
the fact is that wages were 2 per cent.
| lower in 1873 than they are now, and the
prices of the neCessaries of life were 40
per cent. higher. For a quarter of n cent
ury Democrats have been struggling to
reduce the tariff and make prices lower.
| Now that the tariff has been revised the
advocates of free silver complain Of low
prices. This is illogical from the Demo-
cratic standpoint, If high-priced goods
are wanted, then we were mistaken
when we made war on protection
Modern LnbOr-saving Machinery.
All the modern appliances for saving
labor have had the effect to reduce the
cost of production, and consequently to re-
duce prices. A machine which will do the
work which required the manual labor of
fifty men hundred years ago must neces-
sarily affect the price of the product, es-
pecially in cases where other machines
are making the same goods. can re-
| luGlllDtI hItH Nutul was opNn w Manu-
and planted with a one-horse plow; it
was cut with a scythe and cradle, bound
by hand and thrcshed by the tread of
horses or beaten out with a fail 1t is
now sown and cultivated, cut and bound,
threshed and sacked, by machinery. All
this must necessarily in some degree af-
feet the price.
And so it is that the marvellous inyen.
tons of this age have interposed to dc
mans work in all the gainful occupations
This has lessened the cost to the con
sumer and resulted in bringing into the
daily lives of the people the use of com
! modities and the enjoyment of conyen
fences and luxures which were unknown
to their ancestors. 1t is absurd TO attrib
ute these results of progress and civil
t cation to the appreciation of money.
silver, Cotton, Wheat and Corn.
But the free silver advocates have al
J idea that the price of silver regulates tn,
, price of farm products. They have, will
: unending iteration and re-iteration, i'm
: pressed upon the farmers of the countr!
: that there was some connection between
= their products and silver which made tn
price of the latter control the prices o
D the former. Charts have been draw
: tracing the rise and fall in the marke
: Of silver, wheat, corn and cotton 50 as t
e attract the eye and fix in the mind thi
f theory.
: 1t is true that silver is a commodity
0 and its value is measured in gold, lik
everything else. 1t is very largely use
. in the arts, and when times are hard an
trade is dull its price is affected Xix
everything else. In times of panic an
!. depression prices are generally lower, an
: silver falls within the general rule. ]
y the advocates of free coinage were to il
y stitute comparison between silver an
: iron, or copper, or dry goods, the sam
- argument might be made with equ;
: force.
q In 1894 during my canvass for Coz
II gress, silver was very low, and cotton ha
J. run down to about ) cents per pounc
J. This was attributed to the appreciate
y Of gold. Men were told to vote for me
n they favored adversely and 5-cent co
:. ton, but if they wanted prosperity an
u lO-cent cotton vote for my opponen
II At that tine corn was selling at a goc
price, but wheat was very low. Nv ODD
+ nents did not take time to inquire WI
" corn was high and cotton was low. b,
i contented themselves with assuming thi
, cotton was low because money had n
% preciated, without attempting to accoul
IA for the high price of corn. The true re
y, son for the fuctuation in prices is tw
- fold:
~ Hard Times Depress Prices.
~ 1t is the universal experience of Il
o. commercial world that a financial pan
~ always brings depression in all depaI
N ments of business, and materially affec
- the value of commodities. When co
. fdence is destroyed business is suspen
- ed, manufactures are closed, and
= markets sympathize with the adverse co
al ditions. Lands, farm products, dry good
~ groceries and iron and steel goods a
-, all depressed for the want of markt
nj Men out of employment and out of mon
y. will live as economically as they can, al
# will only buy what they are able to
w, are obliged to provide for their wants
is ] have no doubt that the panic of IS
av seriously affected both cotton and whe,
"a and especially the former. The long-co
ha tinued depression which followed tn
" panic, l have no doubt, cost the farme
of of the South millions of dollars, as it &C
20 the owners of land the merchants, t
no manufacturers and the holders of seeu
he ties vast sums of money But perha
r. the greatest loss fell on the men and "
ce men who were thrown out Of employmeI
g. and thereby lost wages amounting
Mt many millions of dollars which they wor
he otherwise have earned. So Tie Gallant