The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1896-05-22
/. M'cLEARY's SPEECH.
Demolishes Free Coinage Fallac les Va !,

L
= contains q speech by J. I. McCleary
:" minnesota, against unrestricted
coinage OF silver" which is the mos
thorough, entertaining and convincin,
discussion of the silver question W.
nave seen. Every aspect of the question
ID presented. Every argument of thu
honest believer in free coinage is pa
tiently examined and demolished. The
wee OF the free coinage advocate. It i,
SHOWN, Is that he picks his facts. 10
norlng such as do not favor his arpn
ment. He does not see the whole truth
put only SO much of it as suits his Dur
pose The silverite begins usually with
the statement that there has been q
rulnous fall of prices, beginning with
1878, when silver dollars were excluded
from free coinage, and that the decline
OF prices was due to the exclusion OF
silver. But If he would consider the his.
tory OF prices before 1873 he would find
that the recent decline began in 1865.
Inc fall between 1865 and 1873 was
larger than between 1873 and the pres
ent time, though the mint was then
open to silver. But this was not the first
period OF low prices during the present
century. In the period from 1918 to
1852, while the mint was open to sill
yer, there was fall in average prices
practically the same as that which has
taken place since 1873.
The price of silver before 1873 did
not decline along with that of other
commodities, as it has done since 1879.
Silver was not then their faithful COM
panion, but held itself aloof from the
general tumble. Between 1909 and 1865
there was a tremendous fall, followed
by tremendous rise of prices of COM
modities, but silver hardly varied. And
there is not now-more than before
l873-any connection between the
price OF silver and the price of other
things.
The decline of prices has not, how
ever, been universal. 1t has been large
in articles worked by machinery, as
textiles, minerals, manufactures, ETC.,
but it has not been large, as rule, in
products of agriculture, tropical prod
ucts, animal and fish products, etc. The
reduction of transportation rates has
lowered the price of wheat phenom-
enally at the points of consumption, as
in the east and in England, but the
price obtained by the farmer of the
northwest has not been materially
changed. Beef, butter, eggs and SINH
lar articles have not followed the down.
ward course Of silver, even at points of
There is one commodity
which is dealt in, bought and sold, more
universally and in grenter volume, it
may be said, than all others put togeth-
If it has not fallen in price,
it is folly to say that there has been "a
general fall OF prices-due to the de-
of silver" And it has not
fallen. On the contrary, wages have adj
1anced, and the wages OF 1890, with sill
yer demonetized, exceeded by SO per
cent. the "bimetallic" wages of 1860. In
power the wages of to-day
exceed those of the earlier period by 70
per cent.
Much is made by silverites of French
but Mr.. McCleary shows
hat France did not, by her law of 1903.
IS a matter of fact, Sustain for 70
,ears her legal ratio of fifteen and one
lalf to one" as the commercial ratio of |
he world. The price fuctuated, not
the law. Nor did France
yer have the concurrent circulation of |
liver and gold. From 1920 to 1880 |
france had only silver, and from 1850
o 1868 only gold coin in circulation. 1t
vas not the French legal ratio that kept
he commercial ratio near fifteen and
ne-half to one from 1903 to 1873.
In concluding his telling speech Mr..
lcCleary, himself protectionist, de-
ounced the Pennsylvania protection
SITS who are going in for the free COIN
ge of silver because they may thus re-
uce American wages 10 the level in
lexico, Japan and other countries on
he silver basis.-Baltimore Sun.