The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-06
Figures That Show CopcIusfveIy the
Decline i'm Prices Was Not Caused
by the "Crime of '73."
ATTEMPT TO DELUDE VOTERS
POPOCRATS' DECEPTIVE APPEAL
THOROUGHLY VENTILATED.
Efforts of Mr.. Bryan to Array the
Masses Against Capital and Hood
wink the People Condemned.


the address of Carl schurz, who spoke un-
der the auspices of the American Honest
Money League. Mr.. Schurz has paid par
ticular attention to the New York speech
of Mr.. Bryan, and his description of what
woul" occur IF Bryan is elected" pro-
voket repeated cheers from his audience.
He fatty declared that if Mr. Bryan be-
lieved certain things. which he quoted
from Mr.. Bryan's New York address, then
Mr.. Bryan did not know what free coinage
meant-even though he was its most ardent
apostle. The audience. which numbered
about $500, received Mr. Schurz's address
with great enthusiasm. He spoke in part
as follows
"Fellow-citizens- have come from the
East to the West to speak to you for hon.
est money. / do not imagine myself to be
no enemy's country within the boundaries
of this Republic. Wherever L am among
friends. bound together by common inter-
ests and common patriotism. In this
spirit | shall discuss the question of the
ophy. but in hard and dry facts.
There are sporadic discontents in the
country, partly genuine, partly produced
by artificial agitation They may be spe-
cited thus: There are farmers who COM
plain of the low prices of agricultural prod
uctS; labor1ng men complaining of lack OF
remunerative employment; men in all sorts
of pursuits complaining of a general busi-
In some parts of the country, especially
the South and West, there are many
people complaining of a want Of capital
and too high rate of interest. The cry
for money is the favorite cry. These are
the principal and most definite complaints.
Beyond them, however, an impression has
been spread by agitators that an organized
conspiracy of moneyed men, mainly great
bankers, in America and in Europe, backed
by the monarchs and aristocracies of the
old world is seeking the general estab-
lishment of the gold standard of value to
ha nrlI I'r
to the general detriment. All this has
found definite expression in the follow
ing declaration of the Chicago platform:
:, We declare that the act of 1873 demon
etlzing silver without the knowledge or
suited in the appreciation of gold and
corresponding fall in the prices of COM
modities produced by the people; heavy
all debts, public and private; the enrich
ment of the money-lending class at home
and abroad. prostration Of industry. and
impoverishment of the people.
Mark well that all these evil conse-
of silver in the United States aioneNnot to
its demonetization anywhere else. This is
to Justify the presentation, as a sufficient
United States alone, without waiting for
the aid or consent of any other nation
orators, who tell us that the act of 1873.
called the crime of 1873. has surreptitous-
money. namely. silver: that In conseouence
the remaining half of metallic money
namely, gold as basis of the whole finan-
cial structure, has to do the same business
that formerly was done by gold and silver
together; that thereby gold has risen to
about double it's former purchasing power
the gold dollar being virtually two-hun-
dred-cent dollar; that the man who pro-
duces ds things for sale Is thus being robbed
the gold basis have become twice as heavy
and that this fall of prices and increase OF
burdens is enriching the money-changers
and depressing the people.
NOT WELL FOUNDED.
Are y Sc complaints well founded? Look
at facts which nobody disputes. That
there has been a considerable fall in the
prices of many articles since 1873 is cer-
tainly true. But was this fall caused by
the so-ce' decentralization of silver
through It of 1873? Now, not to speak
of othe DDS of our history. such as the
period m 1916 to 1851, everybody knows
that there was a considerable fall of prices.
not only as to agricultural products-cot-
ton, for instance. dropped from 81 a pound
In 1854 to u cents in lsll-but in many
kinds of industrial produets, before 1873.
What happened before 1873 cannot have
been caused by what happened in 1873. This
Is clear The shrinkase after 1873 may,
therefore, have been caused by something
else.
Another thing is equally clear When
ever change in the prices of commodities
is caused by change in supply demand
or beth, then 1t may affect different arti-
eles differently Thus wheat may rise in
4
short, while at the same time cotton may
decline in price the supply being propor-
tionately abundant. But when a change OF
prices takes place In consequence of a great
change in the purchasing power of the
money of the country, especially when that
change Is sudden. then the effect must be
equal, or, at least, approximately SO, as to
all articles that are bought or sold with
that money. If by the so-called demoneti-
zation of silver in 1873 the gold dollar or
the dollar on the gold basis, became a 2O0-
cent dollar at all, then 1t became a 200-cent
doll ar IN rUf hf /, n
dollar for wheat and a 120-cent dollar for
coal and a 150-cent dollar for cotton ana
a 1o0-cent dollar for corn or for shovels. I
challenge any one to gainsay this.
Now for the facts. The act of 1873 In
question became a law on the 18th of Feb
ruary. What was the effect? Wheat, rye
oats and corn rose above the price of 1872
while cotton declined. In 1874 wheat dropped
a little; corn made jump upward: cotton
declined; oats and rye rose. In 1875 there
was a general decline. In 1876 there was a
rise in wFeat and q decline in corn. oats
rye and cotton. In 1877 there was another
rise in wheat, carrying the price above that
OF 1870 ana up TO that of 1871. years prRced-
ing the act of 1873. Evidently so far the
200-cent dollar had not made its mark at
all. But / will admit the possible plea that
as they say the act Of 1873 having been
passed In seIrVS p opie did not know any
thing about IL, and prices remained meas
urably steady, In Ignorance of what dread
full things had happcred. Ii so. then IL
would appear that if the knowing ones had
only kept still about It., the gold dollar
would navs mcdstty remained a l00-cent
dollar and nobody woCie have been hurt
But, seriously speaking, IL may be said that
when the act OF 1873 was passed we were
still using exclusively paper money that
neither gold nor silver was in circulation
and that, therefore. the demonetization
would rot be felt. Very we'll But then in
1873 Specle ayments were resumed Metal.