The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1896-08-20

need scarcely tell you, for all intelligent
men understand it, that the export price
the price in Europe-is the controlling fac
tor of our home price. The price of wheat
in Liverpool fixes the price in New York,
Duluth and Chicago, and when foreign
wheat reaches England. Holland, Nor.
way, Belgium or France, for sale,
will the currency of the country where the
wheat was raised have any material bear
ing on the price the purchaser Is willing
to pay? Does he inquire whether the farm
err paid his help in gold, cheap silver or de-
preciated paper? Will Russian wheat,
raised under a paper basis, on a silver
standard, bring better price than wheat
raised under our standard Of money? Does
not the law of supply and demand operate
in silver standard countries as well as in
gold standard countries? United States
Consul Bornholdt of Riga, Russia, evidently
thinks it does. This is what he states in
his report Of October, 1895: "Despite a
bOuntiful harvest, the grain trade remained
in depressed state; throughout the season
prices continued to decline; and the year
closed with the lowest prices on record for
nearly every kind Of grain, and there is lit
tie prospect of an Improvement owing to
the large stocks remaining in the country
In 1894, according to the report of Consul
Baker, there was exported from Argentina
about 100000 bushels of wheat at the
average export price of about So cents per
bushel. During that same year, the aver
age export price of wheat. at New York,
was g. cents bushel: and owing to anti
quated methods of handling and high inland
transportation rates. the Argentina farmer
got much less for his wheat than the Amer
lean farmer. In this connection. the words
Of Consul General Jeruigan. from whom I
have already quoted, are very apt and ger
name.
The Wealth of n Nation
is the margin between the cost of produc-
ing an article and it's price. 1t is this mar
gin that constitutes the wealth of agricul-
tural and manufacturing countries. The
merchant, bankers and general traders are
more concerned with the gains and losses
OF exchange operations between countries
having different standards of value, but
the producer and manufacturer are more
concerned with the uniform international
value Of money.
fOr One-half Of the world to use gold as
money and the other half to use silver,
necessltates rivalry in commercial rea-
lions in which the cneapness of labor enters
as a potential element of success Such
rivalry is made energetic and effective by
the improved means Of commercial inter-
course. The Occident and Orient are no
longer separated by impossible seas.
Steam and telegraph have bridged as it
were. the largest sea of the world, and the
prices which rule the Occidental markets
are posted in the capitals of Japan and
China as early as they are posted in the
exchanges of London and New York. Can
there be stronger argument in favor Of
an international standard of value than this
fact?
See how the law Of supply and demand
seems to have operated on some of our
other crops in the years 1894 and 1895
The following table shows the amount of
corn. oats. barley and potatoes raised in
the United States in 1894 and 1895, and
the average price received for the same: