Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1896-10-16

thcTc was hnOtntT III wheat, carrying
price above that Of 1870 and up 10 that Of 1911.
years preceding the act of Is73. Evidently 10
TAR the 200 cent dollar had not made its mark
Ut all. But will admit the possible ploa that.
- they say, the act OF 1873 having been passed
In secret, people did not know anything about
II, and prices remained measurably steady, in
ignorance OF what dreadful things had hap
pened. II w, then IL would appear that, If the
knowing ones had only kept still about IT, the
gold dollar would have modestly remained "A
lO cent dollar and nobody would have been
hurt. But, seriously speaking, 10 may be said
that when the act Of 1873 passed We were
Etill using exclusively paper money, that nei-
ther gold nor silver was in circulation, and
that therefore the characterization would not
DO felt. Very we'll. But, then, In 1879 specie
payments were resumed. Metallic money cir
culated again. And more than that, the cry
about 1.-The crime Of 1872 resounded in con
gress and In tho country. Then at last the 20
{ mt gold dollar had its opportunity. Prices
could no longer plead ignorance. What hap
ponedP In 1880 wheat rose above the price OF
1872 likewise corn, cotton and oats. In 1881
wheat rose again; also corn. oats and cotton.
In 1882 wheat and cotton declined, while corn
and oats rose. The reports here given are
those OF the Now York market. They may
vary somewhat from report Of farm prices,
bGt they present the rise and decline OF prices
with substantial correctness.
If, however, there be somebody believing
that, in spite Of these facts the demonstration
Of silver by the act Of 1873 must In some mys-
terious way have done something to depress
prices, meet him with the affirmation that
the silver dollar was practically demonetized
long before 1873 To judge from the speeches
Of our free coinage orators, the American poo
pie must before 1873 have fairly wallowed In
silver dollars. What is the facti President
jefferson stopped the coinage Of silver dollars
in 1906. From 1883 to 1873, aside from fraction
al currspcy-which since 1883 was only limited
legal tauder-only about SOOO,OU OF silver dol
lars were coined They We're 50 scarce that
you would hardly ever except IN a
curiosity shop rare coin.
There constant trouble with the legal
ratio between gold and silver, which could
not be fixed as to keep the two metals to-
gether In circulation. Once one OF them would
be driven out of the country and then the
other Meanwhile over 81 ,OUO, OOO,OO0 Of gold
coin was coined, and since 1853 gold was sub
stantially the only full legal tender money in
actual circulation. And those were excep-
tionally prosperous times. Then the civil war
came and swept all our metallic money out of
sight. Paper money took its place, and in that
condition we in 1873, when the famous
act OF 1873 passed. What, then, was In
reality that law that has since been fierce
ly denounced as "tho crime II loi3f' Why, II
was simply an act revising our coinage laws
and providing among other things tnat certain
silver coins should be struck to be legal tender
Ia the payment Of debts only 10 "A small amount.
The standard silver dollar, that had practical
H. been out Of use since President Jelfer-
sJn in 1893 had stopped its coinage, was simply
lot mentioned in the enumeration. That Is
al The act Of 1873 therefor did not create a
new state Of things, but simply recognized "a
ate Of things "aich had existed Tor many
ina many years. Ii dld thereby not only not
destroy half the money Of the country, but
lot u single dollar Of It.
why Prices Have Declined.
Dut what is 1t, then, that has caused the de
line Of priccsg | appeal TO yoar common
use. Do YOU think that when one man, aid
i hy riacLaury, does as much productive
,tyI., as formerly ten or more did. ald when
..'r Iau.erl in.:,.i5 of transportation carry the
r1.Gyt fT1ia the producer Ia the consumer
.l;A ave Tunes She speed az one-hfth the cost,
81 N ru M To- transmission Of intelligence
..lt L. d, .it, ana cost almost annihilated, do
~ t..., tIIt thra the product OF human
DOR Iul. not IN due proportion become
oapor: If II did NOT, then modern civiliza-
"a wound il one Of its most important and
q, ..ent functions be fiat failure. For
,.aa, j. the inventive genius Of the age that
votes lfsoN 10 practical objects engaged in
what els. tLln in deyising AMI developing
cans and methods hy which the things re
uircd bv mankind for the sustonunce and
pmfurt Of life be made better anu more easily
l;taiHAble-that Is, cAoapcrf
The farmer III the United States welcomed
ne agricultural machinery which helps him
i planting, raising and harvesting his crop.
.Ie welcomed the railroad, the steamboat, the
Dw frcights, the telegraph. which shortened
ne distance between his farm and the market.
III Tie banking arrangements required FOR
loving and selling his product. But near
i; all our farm rs haI the same encourage
iICnt, 80 II followed quite naturally that the
wheat crop OF thl~ country increased from an
annual average of l2,OJO,O0O bushels between
i5,U and lasO II IN annual average Of 415, 90,
~ bushels between 1880 and 1850 But also
,5reigu countries had Ia" encouraging benefit ;
NV yEea+heids were opened IN Russia and
the Argentine Republic and elsewhere, and,
4ccordng 10 Bradatreet's, "a very competent
.uthOrity, the wheat product OF the world
rev from 1859 10 1874 no Less than 800, 90
bushels, while the worlds consumption Is es.
,Imatcd 20 increase only 10000 to 1000, go
bushels annually. whoa the increase OF the
VCri.. supply thas gains upon the increase
. the world demand, Is IL wonder that in
the world = market, which rules the price for
al exporting countries, that price should have
l,pcl ncdf Is not this an infinitely more ra-
tional explanation OF the decline IL prices than
% ascribo that decline 70 the so called de-
monetization law Of l5,3 which practically de-
muuotI2ed nothing, bat was actually followed
10y an increase of our currency, nearly trcbling
las volume and making the per capita far. far
higher than IL ever hal been before, and nigh
rr than 1t l. IN any other couss - except onef
great comet OF 1911.
Our Recent silver Laws.
Cowed by the uproarious cutlery which was
started by the silver miners and taken up by
the cheap money men, congress passed two
laws, one IN ISIS, the other IN $780, in pursu-
uncc Of which over 429,OOJ,O0O Of silver dollars
were added 10 our currency, more than 80
times as many dollars As had ever been coined
before, besides a large addition % our sub
sidary silver coins. our paper money was
largely increased, SO that while in 1873, the
year IN which the American people were said
10 havo been robbed OF h III their money-while
in t73, | say, we had $4,000, 80 Of money in
the United States, we had -, III co. OOJ in 1855
nearly three tmC, rs much, and while in
$50 tAr circulation YVES siSOI per capita, it
was ss1.96 per capita in lsgj-hity times AS
many silver dollars and many times more
money ot ali kinds than this country had ever
had IN it, most prosperous day and yet the
price OF silver in tho market kept un falling,
and the prices % many commodities, agricul
tural staples included continued ia their de
Ginning tendency. Now analyze this case.
Upon what ground do the silver advocates as
scrt that the SO called characterization of silver
depressed prirosf According tu their own
reasoning, because tn sro has not been sufficient
money % sustain prices. Sustain what priccsi
Those Prevailing before 1913. But there Is