The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-10-04
THE MOVEMENT OF PRICES,

ton is lost sight Of on all hands in
the general appeal to the selfish in
terests of men. Free coinage is com
batted on the one hand with areu-
ments showing the money losses it will
cause, and sustained on the other by
arguments, or assertions rather, show
ing the gain in prices and wages that
will follow it. The deeper question Of
right, morality and honesty is infre-
quently presented. There is a shrewd.
ness in this kind of appeals. for self
preservation is the first law of nature.
and mankind is not apt to let ethical
considerations stand in the wsy Of
gain or of measures to prevent loss.
SO, perforce, discussion runs on the
lines of the effects Of the proposed
change of policy ON individuals, and it
becomes matter of moment to ascer-
tain II the contention of the Bryanites
is correrct that, by reason of some oc-
cult relation of silver to all other COM
mooltles, the latter have been pulled
down by silver in it's downward price
movement
Men are apt to mistake condolences
for causes and their effects. A familiar
illustration Of this was the favor,te
syllogism of Republicans when the
tariff was the issue For thirty wears.
they said, we have had an era of I'M
exampled prosperity. For thirty years
we have had a protective tariff. There
fore we have had prosperity because
we have had a protective tariff. The
syllogism is very sillygism. But our
silver friends are pursuing the same
line of inconsequential statement and
deduction. Their logic will no more
stand the test of comparison of facts
than did that Of the protectionists If
their minds are still open to the per-
ception and reception of facts this can
be readily shown. The fall in the
prices OF the staple commodities and in
that of silver have been neither syn
chronous nor similar. This is shown in
the pamphlet recently issued by Mr..
Ford. statistician of the treasury de-
partment in which the movement Of
prices for ten years, 1854, are exam
tned and charted SO that the eye can
take 1T in at glance and easily trace
the movement. The tables are those
of Sauerbeck, and his index number of
100 for the period of 1866-1877 is ap-
Piled to the range Of prices for the
period covered
Sauerbeck took as the basis of his
calculations the average price of forty
five commodities, embracing articles
Of vegetable food, animal food. sugar
tea and coffee. minerals, textiles and
sundry materials, stating their sep
arate and aggregate averages for the
period selected-one most favorable to
stability Of prices-and making the av-
| erage price his index figure Of 100.
Subsequent comparisons are made
with this figure, prices being stated as
averaging above or below 100 The
tables given continue these COMPARE
sons down to 1894. Turning to the dia-
gram across which are traced the
variations of prices of total food
products" total materials" their
grand total" and the line of silver"
prices, one obtains clear and COM
plete refutation Of the claim Of the
harmonious fall Of silver and commod-
tiles For instance, silver stood at 81
in 1885, as compared with 100 in the
period 1867. It's course was steadily
downward until McKinleyism attempt
ed to turn it upward in 1890, when IT
| reached S5. Since then its descent
was more rapid than ever terminal
ing at 46.5 in 1894. The total average
of food products started at IA when
silver was 81, and, while falling. 1T
only went down to 81, a fall of 10
points in the time that silver fell 44.5
points. Silver fell four times as far
as the average of food products.
Materials stood at II In 1886 and
| moved in a line that fell and rose
until 1890, since when it tended steadily
down until 1t reached SO, a fall OF Il
points against the AS points for sill
yer. The line of grand total" which
covers all the forty-f1ve commodities
| taken as basis. began at IT'S In 1885
| and ended at 81 in 1894, fall Of IL
points while silver was making its
descent of AS points. This completely
destroys the alleged connection be-
tween silver and other commodities,
showing that independent causes af-
| feet each. and that no relation Of