The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-09-14

One of the most conclusive discus
sions of the great financial question
that is now convulsing the country
which has come to our notice is to be
found in an article by the Hon. David
A. Wells, published in a recent num-
Der Of the New York Tribune. Mr..
Wells is one of the first economic au-
thorities in this country, and any sub
ject which he touches is certain
to be Illuminated with a great wealth
of fact with logical clearness and
power. Mr.. Wells is a lifelong stu
dent of economic facts and forces, and
his familiarity with conditions all over
the world for long period of years
gives him the broader view whose alb
sence is the principal cause of the
thousand falIacies of others that af-
flict us.
The paper in question is too long
and exhaustively written to admit of
even summary here. But the value
of the work which Mr. Wells has done
upon one or two points in particular
is so great that we wish to present
briefly his conclusions and his proofs.
The phenomenal fall Of prices during
the last thirty years is, as he SAYS.
the bone of contention over which
parties and theorists are now raging.
The advocates of the free coinage Of
silver charge it to legislation in 1873.
Now, as Mr.. Wells very justly asserts.
If they cannot bring true and convinc-
Ing proof that this act of 1873 was the
cause of the fall of prices, and if on
the other hand, there is direct proof
that other causes were at work suf-
ficient to produce the effects noted.
then this one argument of theirs is
disposed of.
Mr.. Wells notes first that the fall of
prices has been worldwide and not ma
tional. If it were due properly to the
decentralization" of silver, then we
might expect it to affect those coun-
tries in which that has taken place
to more marked degree than those in
which the silver standard still pre-
walls. On the contrary, as Mr.. Wells
points out, all trade statistics show
that the Chinese and Indian producer
of opium and wheat has suffered lust
as much as the Dakota farmer. In
all countries, gold standard and silver
standard alike, and among all civiliza-
tions, high and low, the enormous in
crease in the stress of BUSINESS COM
petition has brought prices down to
traction of what they were before.
This is. the first proof. If, now, the
advocate on the other s1oe asserts that
the fall in prices is universal because
1T is due to an appreciation in the pur-
chasing power of gold, Mr.. Wells is
ready with the reply, which has been
often made but never answered. that
the history of wages refutes that
proposition finally and complete
ly. If the appreciation of gold is the
cause of the fall of prices, then it
must affect the prices of eyervtbino.
since 1T is their common measure Rut
he finds that, on the contrary. wages
have risen steadily and generally in
all civilized countries since 1870, more
than ever before in the worlds his
tory. 'The average rate of wages in
the United States was highest in 1890
and the average rate today in this
country is higher than that of any
other" In no other country in the
world, observes Mr.. Veins, do the peo-
pie dream of such a thing as attrib-
uting the fall in prices, which they
feel in common with us, to anything
In their monetary system 1t is only
in the United States that this par
ticular delusion prevails.
Having disposed of the argument on
the other side thus effectively. Mr..
Wells proceeds to show what are the
causes which have operated to produce
this great fail in prices that is clearly