Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1896-10-02
BRYAN'S india FAKE.
His Repeated Assertions Concern
ing India Wheat Proven
False.
HON. JAMES BRYCE SPEAKS.
Denials by Members Of the English
Parliament and Prominent
London Merchant

In the speech delivered by William
Jennings Bryan to the farmers of New
York assembled at Chautauqua, the In
dia wheat fake was rcvamped by the
silver candidate for president. The as
sertion made by Mr.. Bryan in his
Omaha debate last May that the Eng
lish spectators could drive great bar.
gains in buying silver and trading It
for India wheat to the detriment uf the
American farmer was reiterated and
embelished by his fervid Imagination
so as to create the impression that the
decline of silver has made India the
most formidable competitor of the
American wheat and cotton growers
AS usual. MIR. Bryan talked at raniom
without taking the trouble to acquaint
himself with the actual facts.
The Bee now has the facts and the
figures that effectually explode Mr..
Bryan's India fake. Over two months
ago the editor of the Bee directed per-
sonal inquiry on this subject to Hon.
James Bryce, who is now and has for
many years been a member of Parlia-
ment and was member of the
British board of trade. Responding to
this letter, under date of August 1, Mr..
Bryce says:
lyon are quite right in thinking that
British merchants gain nothing at all
from the closing of the Indian mints
The sharp competition. especially of the
Hindoo native merchants, cuts down
their profits and they lose heavily on
the exchange between India and Eng
land in turning into English gold the
silver prices they receive for the goods
they export to India. The export of food
stuffs from India has not. l gather, in
creased during. the last few years and
the closing of the mints has not increased
1t. Manchester and our manufacturers
generally complain that business with
.lndia is improbable. Our cotton indus
try is ut present greatly depressed. SO
Britain Mt least gains nothing. You will,
therefore, be safe in denying that there
has been, or is, any bonus or benefit to
British merchants or manufacturers"
This letter has been supplemented by
Prof: Bryce with an article prepared by
his brother: j., Amman Bryce, a very
prominent London merchant, who was
for many years resident of India. Mr..
]. Amman Bryce says:
''FOr Mr. ROsewater's guidance have
made up the annexed statement, which
shows in rarallel columns the exports of
tine. Russia and India up to 1873 be-
fore the fall in silver and rupee ex-
change became pronounced. You will
observe that while the exports from the
Ouhteu States, RuSSla ana Arsentlne are
on the whole increasing. those from In
dia are falling off, and that in the year
1895 the exports from India were the
same as in the year 1877. OF course it
does not do to reason ON individual years,
as there may be special circumstances,
such as famines to account for very
short years. For instance, 1878 and
1870 were the years of the great fam
inc in India and 1892 was the year of
the famine in Russia.
Dividing the last twenty years into Pc
RODS of five years each. YOU will see that
during the last three tive-year periods the
exports. from India have been falling off,
while those from rom the United States. Ar
Ing. although all the while rupee ex-
change has been steadily falling with
as regards Indian wheat, which has
always been the great bogy with the
port has had nothing to do with the
fall of silver or rupee exchange. The
silver man would be moro sensible if he
were to take alarm at the growing ex-
ports from Argentine and from Russia.
But he could make nothing of the silver
argument here: for neither Russian nor
Argentine exchange depends on silver
Both countries. during the whole of the
period embraced in my statement. had
for the bass of their currency and of
course foreign exchange an inconvertble
paper currency and not either silver or
gold,
Altogether the. facts illustrate the
Noundness of MIR. Rosewater's conclusion
that the fall in prices of commodities ia
due to more economical production and
transport In India in RUSSIA and in
Argentine wheat exports became possi-
rupee. the .rouble or the dollar fell. but
because railways were built into districts
previously inaccessible. In India the
providing of railway facilities stimulated
0rkN N,NsNy ~
Punjab, for instance, many millions of
acres were brought into cultivation under
irrigation as soon as the opening of the
railway to Karachi made the export pos
sible. But in India there no longer
remains any large new field to be openei
up. and in most of the wheat-producins
districts which depend on irrigation l
believe as much water is now taken out
Of the rivers as they can give. Ameri-
in the future even if silver and rupee
were likely to go lower, which they are
The statistical exhibit accompanying
this statement is exhaustive and con
arrived at by Mr. Bryce w In 1s9s til.
export of wheat from the United State.
to England WIn MAS oGn 45;72l .6Gt; bushels: from
fraction over 1.250.0OO bushels. In 1877
wheat exports from the United State.
had reached 107 ,42GGG6 bushels: from
Russia, 57,12O.OOO bushels: from Indi;
l6,633,33 bushels: Argentine still ha,
NO wheat to. export. In 1898 wheat .ex
ports from the United States adreachet
S23,e13,333 bushels: from Russia, 1O9.
875,OOO bushels: from India, 27,O66. .66t
bushels, and from Argentine. 42.O00,O0i
bushels. In 1894 Argentine exporte.
6SO0O,00O bushels of wheat to England
while India did not increase its expor
over the preceding year. In 1895 tn
wheat export from the United State
vas ITO. 333. 1893 bushels: from Russia
i66, ,8S3, 1873 bushels; from Argentine
$4,000, 900 bushels; from India, 1920.
The average price Of wheat in BON
bay from 1869 to 1875 was $1.20 pc