The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-05-01
4 spoNDENrTAKEsU Us TO TASK

1 this mornings issue criticising our ar
tlcle OF the 18th in review Of the letter
! Of W. a. Harvey 20 Mr.. Cleveland con-
corning the letter the President address
cd to the citizens OF Chicago who invited
him to speak there. Mr.. Boswell has ap-
Piled what we said Of W. II. Harvey 70
all bimetallists. He says The Times said
bimotallists have thrown off all disguise
and are now openly proclaiming their
true purpose. which is to repudiate
large part Of the debt that is due.
We may think this but we have not
said IL. TO be frank. we think. in fact.
that this is the aim Of the great body Of
them. But we do not think it is true Of
all Of them We know many very sincere
and honest men who believe that the
Government by stamping fifty cents
worth Of silver as a dollar, and impart-
ing to IL power to force itself on a cred
itor as payment Of a full dollar, can con-
vert Il into a real dollar These are
honest men, it is true, but they are en-
tiroly deluded men, and TO be classed with
those who believe it possible to invent
perpetual motion.
We said that Harvey. speaking for the
| bimetallic convention in Chicago. had
thrown off all disguise in that letter,
and had announced in It that the ad-
vocatcs Of free silver aimed at repudating
ono-half Of the debts due. Tbs applied
to Harvey and his letter, and not TO BIZ
lnetallists as a class. IT states what
Harvey SAYS the bimotalllsts intend. Mr..
Boswell must read our article again.
And we would like by the way. 10 hear
where Mr.. Boswell got his authority for
calling Mr.. Harvey Professor" OF
| course IT sounds all the better to attach
learned title to the advocate Of ones
theories. but our own opinion is that if
any institution has conferred this title on
him it is the one that gave his to Or.
Pangloss. and that it has given Harvey
a degree that it might confer on him Dr.
Pangloss' title i'm full lie is richly en-
titled to 81.
Mr.. Boswell insists as all advocates Of
free silver do, that the record of the
prices of wheat gives their doctrine great
aid. We have more than once published
the New York Suns examination Of the
facts relating to the price of wheat, but
il is so full and so instructive that we
reprint it here as follows:
While our correspondent assures us
that the price for an ounce Of silver
has. for many years, been the value Of
Il bashcl of wheat. yet he has neglected
ID inform us in what particular market
this parity of values has obtained, nor
has lac told Us for what definite term of
years.
From the very patient consideration
given 10 this matter IL appears That the
pI.cc of silver has everywhere tended
downward since 1859. that II mad fallen
six cents an ounce between 1853 and 1913.
and that Stree 1859 there have Deen bat
four movements, Of very limited duration.
In the opposite direction while the price
of wheat has in the United States, at
least, varied yearly, as varied the guam
tity available fer export, there having
been rs many as eight movements up
ward since 1878, some OF them trdvcrsing
more than Cnc-third Of the scale ia a
single year. though in but one instance
pIiOr TO 1893 has silver varied as much
as per cent. in any one year.
Not having been informed where silver
upon the same price level. and being
more especially dsred to consider Ameri-
can conditions. we take, as anording an
absolutely fair comparison the prices
received Ly the growers In the farm
markets of the United States at the close
Of each calendar wear. We find. that as
a result of a mcagre harvest in the lS76'V
crop year. the quantity available for ex-
port from that harvest and from the
residue of previous harvests diminished
p per cent. and that the price rose %
per cent, that the two succeeding crops
were such as to increase the surplus
available for export by fully 200 per cent.
and that the price fen from Sl.OS bushel
In 1871. TO IS cents IN 1878, or 2S per cent,
although silver fell but three cents an |
ounce. The next year. however wheat |
advanced 81 per cent, while silver rose
but two cents an ounce The follow |
ing year, lSS0-'Sl the exportable surplus |
increased. and the price fell Is cents
bushcl while the years average price !
of silver remained the same. In lSSl-'S2 |
the quantity Of wheat available for eX- |
port shrank &c per cent. and the price |
advanced y per cent, although the price |
for silver was at Standstill In 1928 |
the cXportable surplus increased 46 per |
cent, and the price declined p per cent.
as against fall of about per cent. |
i'm the value of silver. The next year |
the amount available from the harvest |
and the remaindcrs of previous crops. |
from which exports might be drawn, |
shrank l3 per cent, and the price rose |
4 per cent, while the price Of silver was |
again constant After garnering the inn |
mense crop Of lSS4'S5. the greatest ever |
grown until 1891. the eXpOrtable surplus |
augmented by 3S per cent, and the price |
fen from 81 10 20 cents a bushel or = !
per cent, as against decline Of less |
than per cent i'm the value of an ounce |
of silver
The harvest of 1886 was from an area |
100000 acres less than that Of the pre- |
ceding year. and the stocks from which |
wheat for export could be drawn dimin- |
ished % per cent. Although still excessive |
by reason of the great remainder from |
the previous harvest; and the price rose |
~ per cent, 10 fall 10 per cent. In lSS5-'S7. |
ron an addition of is per cent. 10 the |
surplus available for expor. In the /
meantime silver fell four cents an ounce
IN two years. In lSSS-'S9 the surplus
slisnk II per cent. and the price ad-
vanced from IS 10 SO cents a bushel or
81 per cent. while silver fell two cents
on ounce. The next year the quantity |
available for shipment increased 81 per
cent, and the price at once fell from % |
TO 20 cents a bushel. despite the fact
that in this year the price for an ounce |
OF silver rose two cents. In lS90-9l the
quantity of wheat from which exports
could be drawn decreased nearly as
much as IL had increased the preceding |
year. and the price advanced from 20
to "a cents; and at this juncture tho