Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1896-07-31
What the Gold Standard Did.

In 1888 farmer borrowed $1,000 at
10 per cent interest. Each year he
paid his 800 interest. To raise this
sum then he sold:
so bushels of wheat,
or 1865 bushels of oats,
or 1875 bushels of corn,
or $50 pounds of butter,
or 500 pounds of pork,
or $50 pounds of wool,
or 500 pounds of cotton.
In 1895 the mortgage was renewed
and the interest cut down to Z per
cent, but the farmer finds at the re-
duced rate of interest he was Obliged
to sell in order to raise the $40 inter
est:
1876 bushels of wheat,
or 46G bushels of oats,
or 265 bushels of corn,
or 535 pounds of butter,
or 100 pounds pork,
or 450 pounds Of wool,
or 1000 pounds of cotton.
The gold standard people will tell
you the cause is overproduction, but
statistics show that of none of the
articles mentioned is any more pro-
duced per capita than in 1888, hence
some other reason must be assigned.
Under consumption is a better reason.
And every farmer and producer
should asd ask, why is there under
consumption?"
"The Commercial Trade News, an
English trade journal reports first a
decline in the per capita of wheat to
be consumed. Second, fall in price
per bushel of quite fifty per cent,
though there was 73,OOO,O0O less than
the average. The inability of people
to pay for, use and consume the
varied products mentioned is one
reason why the price of the article
declines. People compelled to live on
soup, with scarcely taste of meat or
butter, and who are clad in rags can
be of but little benefit to wool grow
ers or its manufacturers. Denied la
Dor and destitute of money, they are
unable to buy, use and consume the
articles which others have produced.
The following article copied from the
Dubuque Telegraph give the cause
and the effect, as we'll as the remedy:
The great mills of John and James
Dobson, of Philadelphia, are to be
closed in few days, and the last of
the 5000 employees discharged. The
products of the mill include wooden
blankets, clothes. doeskin, plush,
velvet, different fabrics of woman's
fore the market for them has been
extensive. But with the contraction
! of money the market has steadily
contracted, till finally the industry,
| which for many years has sustained
assaraverage population of about Is, 600,
IL forced to suspend. Mr.. John
Dobson, the chief Of the firm, has no
delusion respecting the cause. While
he Is a rotectionist he does not
attribute the decline of his market to
the Willson-Gorman tariff, nor yet to
the agitation for free coinage. An
advocate of free coinage himself, lie
fully understands why all industries,
] his own included, have been
Frustrated, and he clearly states the
reason: I'VE have been running for
months without an order, in eXpecta-
ton of being enabl to find an i'm
provement in the market. 1T is not
Il story of to-day, or yesterday. but
the depression has continued to grow
for several years. The dullness in
the trade can be attributed to lack
of purchasing power on the part OF
the general public. When every
working man and every working
woman is employed ut good wages,
they have in their hands the power
to make others prosperous Ivy
purchases. The Chicago convention
has nothing to do with the stopping
of our mills. Things have been
getting steadily worse for several
years. The diminished purchasing
power of the public is due to the fall
in prices, profit and wages, the fall
in these is u direct result of the up.
probation of gold, and the rise of
gold is attributable to the fact that
the primary money of Europe and
the United States is restricted to that
metal, and that the production OF
gold has not kept pace with the
demand for it for money use. To in
crease the consuming power of the
public more money must be coined,
and as gold is not obtainable for this
purpose the only practicable thing
70 do, and the thing which must be
done if mills and factories are to be
kept in operation, is TO coin silver on
the same terms rs gold.
"The pints are coming silver bull: