The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1896-09-17
THE FARMER.

The farmer who is supposed to be
making public his reflections on the
money question. through The Pilot,
may be supposed to continue as fol
lows:
"Mr Bryan says that free coinage
will raise the price of silver to Sl.29
an ounce, what is denominated It's
natural value or at the ratio Of lG
to l. 1t is now about 20 cents per
ounce, so that the advance would be
nearly 100 per cent That is quite a
big undertaking for one country In
opposition TO all the progressive cOun,
tries of the world. To double the
price Of a commodity requires extra
ordinary effort and unusually favor
able circumstances. | cannot safely
take any mans word for it unless it
is fortified by past experience
Let me see what the facts of his
tory are, From the very first record
the price of silver as compared with
gold has been declining. | find there
ave brief periods when the price of
silver advanced. but tue general ten
dency has been downward. The laws
of trade must have been responsible
for this. because even when silver was
coined free by ali The progressive IA
tons of the world and was even the
standard III some. ii fell in value
measured by periods sufficiently long
to absorb local conditions. As foreign
commerce increased, the reduction in
the price Of silver became more mark
ed.
The United States in 1878 tried TO
check the downward tendency OF sill
yer and agreed to take 1000 ounces
per month This was taking nearly
three fonrths of the total output of the
mines of the United States at It's mar
ket value. Qnite a nice thing for the
mine owners. That was furnishing a
good market for silver and consider
ably increasing the demand. We
farmers had to furnish a portion of
the money to purchase this silver for
the benefit of the mine OWner5-that
Is to create q market for their surplus.
What was the result of this forced
purchase Of nearly three fourths of
the output of the United States silver
mines? At the beginning, one pound
of gold was worth seventeen and nine
tenths pounds of silver. In 1890 when
the purchase ceased one pound of
gold would buy 10 and Z tenths pounds
of silver, OF in other words silver lost
III II years almost 10 per cent.
Nov, | would like to have Mr..
Bryan figure this out for me:
If finding market for 240O0,000
ounces of silver per year reduces the
price of silver 10per cent in II years,
how much silver should we find n
market for to raise the price of silver
100 per cent?
That Is fair problem seeing he has
a scheme for raising the price of sil
yer, something which is to make us
prosperous.
~ ell, may be if the government
would take more silver, create great
er market for it, the price would ad-
vance, Let me see if there is any
thing in our experience with silver
which will make this appear plausible
The price of silver kept going
down and in 1890 the silver men in
duced the government to more than
double the amount of silver it would
buy, saying this would surely raise the
price OF silver or at least stop lis
going down. The government agreed
to take 100000 ounces per month, or
the whole output of the
| nited States silver mines. At the
beginning pound Ct gold would buy
IL and tenths pounds of silver. In
1898 when the law was repealed be
cause the government was threatened
with bankruptcy. one pound of gold
would buy 26 and Z tenths po4nds of
silver. Or the value of silver reduced
about - per cent. IN three years.
Now then another problem for Mr..
Bryan who has a scheme for enhanc-
ing the value of silver:
If tile government by purchasing
a, 0O,O00 ounces of silver per wear
foI Il years, causes reduction of 10
per cent. and then by increasing its
purchase to 50,000.O00 ounces per
year causes a reduction of 81 per cent.
in three years. how much silver must
be coined and how long will it take 10
make silver advance 100 per cent?
Il am plain farmer and don't I'm
1erstaId this double rule of three |
business, but think Mr.. Bryan will