San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-09-22
THE PROFIT FEATURE OF
THE MONEY QUESTION

| In connection with the discussion
of the financial problem there is a cir
cumstance vital to the interest of the
laboring man, the farmer, and in fact
| all the consumers of merchandise
| and materials, to which they should
devote earnest thought and serious
consideration.
The free silver advocates claim that
the prices of all commodities and pro-
ducts will advance upon the adoption
of their financial system.
Admitting this to be a fact, it fol-
lows that prices of all manufactured
articles must follow in the wake of
the higher-prived raw materials of
which they are made. Therefore the
consumer must pay more for every
article of wearing apparel, all food
products, tools of trade, agricultural
implements, every article for the fur
nishing of home from kitchen uten-
SilS to parlor furniture, all the ordi-
nary conveniences that the comfort
of decent living requires, all necessa-
| ries and luXuries alike.
Now comes the point requiring re-
Election. All manufacturers, mer-
| chants and dealers ordinarily do bust
ness upon the percentage plan. To
simplify the explanation let us take.
say, manufacturer of -four as an
example and illustration of the result
in all of the manufacturing indus
tries.
With wheat at so cents a bushel, he
produces a barrel of flour which he can
| make, say, at So, and on which he adds
his customary profit, of say, 10 per
cent, enabling him to sell his flour at
/ $3.50.
Were wheat advanced to one dollar
per bushel, this wheat would cost him
(other expenses being equally say, s.,
and adding the same percentage he
would have to sell it for $3.50.
Let us suppose he handles 100, 900 bar
rels of flour per year. On the 50cent
basis for wheat he would make a prof
it of 80 cents per barrel or $4,000; on
the 81 basis for wheat the profits are so
| cents per barrel, or $50, 000-almost dou-
| BILE the profit on the same business. The
bulk of goods handled, 100000 barrels)
remaining exactly the same.
The same result applies in connec-
ton with the midddleman and the re-
| tail dealer who handle the flour before
it reaches the consumer. Each fixes
his customary percentage of profit and
of course, makes correspondingly more
profit the higher the valuation grows.
AS an example in the case of deal
ers, let us suppose a hardware merch-
ant buys $4,000 worth of hard ware in
a year and sells the goods with 20 per
n - ~ &c,
years business. With values increas-
ed, he handles the following year the
same bulk of goods, paying $4,000 for
them and adding the same profit he
makes $4,000. The consumers have
taken no greater quantity Of goods out
of that store than they did the provi-
GUS year; yet they have left $1,000 more
profit in the hands of the dealer.
See the point?
So it is evident that the high prices
the silver men hope to bring about will
rebound greatly to the benefit of the
rich manufacturer, the affulent COM
mission merchant, the wealthy retail
dealer. And who pays for it Brother
Farmer, Brother Laborer, Brother Me-
chanic? These added $4,000 profit on
every 100000 barrels of flour the miller
makes, with the same swelled profits
to the middleman and dealers must
come out of somebody's pocket. Can
you guess who it is? You not only in
fate values for these people but you
pay them profits on the imitation as
well as on the sound money value.
Even if the most sanguine among you
expected your wages to be icreased to
an extent that would enable you to
stand this drain, it would not be pleas
ant to reflect that you are still giving
something for nothing(and right here
you should consider that If wages are
increased as well as cost of wheat, the
SO flour will in all probability advance
to Sc instead Of IS and you are presen-
ting the miller with $4,000 instead of
$40 10000
But are you sure, beyond preadven-
ture of doubt, that wages will be in
creased in such proportion as will adj
nit of your paying these increased pro-
fits on imitation? If you are not, then !
stick to sound money and low prices or
you are lost Buried in a grave of
your own digging! STUDENT. |
THE SULTAN FIRM |