The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-11-02
WHYsTHE SUN RISES.

The danger OF generalizing on too few
facts, the unsoundness Of conclusions
based on the assumption of eoinci-
dences for causaI forces. so frequently
shown in this campaign. is we'll illus
trated in a pamphlet that comes to us
from the pen of Ellsworth Daggett, Of
Salt Lake City, an ex-surveyor general
the Tribune Of that city as "a man Of
scientific turn of mind" of high in
tegrity and an aptitude for mathemat-
les and statistical study. Mr.. Daggett
adopts the method of Sauerbeck to
prove that the trend of prices of TWEEN
ty-one of the chief commodities of this
country has been steadily downward
during the past quarter century in
sympathy with and because Of the fall
in the price Of one of their companions.
silver. What others of his school merely
assert he marshals figures to establish.
and, emitting all consideration of other
causes, he arrives at their conclusion.
The logic runs into the following syllo-
gfsm. The market values Of these twen-
ty-one staple commodities have fallen
since 1873. Silver was demonetized In
that year. Therefore, commodity val
ues have fallen because silver was de-
monetized.
1t is related Of some Eastern tribe
that for years the problem puzzled it's
wise men why 1t was that the sun rose
every morning over the eastern hills.
After much bordering and investigat-
ing. one Of them discovered that the
cocks crowed every morning just before
the sun rose. Whereupon he announced
the discovery that the sun rose be-
cause the cocks crowed. and thereafter
the cock was holy bird in all that
tribe. Mr.. Daggett and his school are
hardly less ridiculous in their reason
ing than were the simple men of the
East. They as unquestioningly accent
condolences for cause and effect. and
base their financial policies upon them
as trustingly as did the Orientals their
generation of4the roesters on their sup
posed efficacy in making the sun rise.
The scientist1rin any other branch Of
inquiry who would dare to base a the
DRY upon such data would be speedily
laughed out Of court. Br'er Jasper has
a far more plausible ground for his
contention that the sun does revolve
about the earth than these disciples
of the price theory of commodities
have for theirs, and yet Jasper is the
butt even Of school children.
Aside from this opposition to the
greatest blessing our progress has yet
bestowed upon the race, the increased
ease with which labor commands all
those things essential to it's sustenance
and comfort; aside from this childish
and futile opposition to the working of
immutable laws, the weakness Of the
| conclusion reached by Mr.. Daggett and
others Of his sentimental school is in
the omission of powerful factors work.
ing in the reduction Of prices. Incl
dentally, it may be noted that he and
they omit the important fact Of the
use in our currency of sixty times more
silver since 1873 than was coined into
dollars in ourn mints from 1892 to 1878.
But beyond THAT, and tending directly
to decrease vof bost and increase of
product, in SILVER as well as the other
twenty commodities, have been inven-
lions and DISCOVERIES acting in con-
junction with the opening of vast
sources of fresh supply. No one with
"the scientific turn of mind" Mr. Dag
gett Is said to have would for q mo-