Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1896-08-28
Q. How are such declines in wheat

G. How are such declines in wheat
for instance, to be explained? A. by
the enormously rapid increase in grain
growing area throughout the world.
g. Has this increase been especially
rapid since 1872. A. The increase in
grain growing area in this period, es-
pecially in North America, South
America and Asia, has never been an
preached in any equal period in the
history Of the world.
@. How do We judge of actual COM
petition in the sale of wheat? A. by
the supplies thrown annually ON the
worlds great distributing markets.
@. What market in particular? A,
England, where most Of the buying ma
tons go to purchase their grain.
@. What are the figures? A. AS re-
Gently as 1880 Great Britain imported
for consumption and re-export, o5,26l,-
924 hundredweight Of wheat large
increase over the preceding annual
average. In 1896 it imported Sl,749,eo5
hundredweight.
@. What has made possible this re-
marhable increase in wheat production
A. The exceedingly rapid development
of transportation facilities in newly
cultivated grain countries; among them
India, Russia and the Argentine Repuo-
lie.
@. Has there been an increase IN the
United States itself? A. An enormous
increase.
@. How large? A. In 1879 there We're
2G.3S1.512 acres of v ',eat cultivated IN
this country: in 1891 there We're 59,-
gl6,S97, an increase Of 90 @er cent. Inc
WELD in 1875 was 292 1876 o. bushels, a
heavy increase over preeed'2s years.
In 1891 the yield was 611,7So,oCl. Even
last year, with a greatly reduced 2cre-
age and a partial crop failure, the
yield was 467, 100000 bushels.
O. Has the yield of other crops in
creased correspondingly" a. 1t has.
@. Give instances. \. The cuitl-
waited area of corn in the United
States in 1871 was 34,O91 1877 acres; in
1891 it was 76, 2O4, 515; increase. 124 per
cent. The yield of corn last year
was more than double that OF any
year prior to 1919 Both the acreage
and the annual average yield OF oats
have doubled since 1871. Our cotton
crop in 1894 was so per cent greater
than in any year prior to 1887.
O. Was a decline in grain and cotton
prices under such conditions inevi-
table? A. AS inevitable as decline In
the price of clothing, or furniture, OF
books. or steel rails, or pins, when COM
petition in their manufacture has ex-
tended enormously.
O. Would free coinage help the pro-
ducers of grain to a larger profit under
such conditions? A. Not in the least.
O. Why not? A. Because if the NOM
iral price of grain were to rise through
imitation of the currency, the price OF
everything else would Rise ass, aud
the farmer would be relativel. 10 bet
ter off than he was before.
O. Do the free coinage advocates
use in their speeches these statistical
facts which we have examined? A.
They do not.
o. Can the subject be understood
without examining them? A. 1t can
rot. The whole question rests on these
facts regarding money and produc-
ton
@. Why do the free coinage speakers
not use these facts and fignres2 A. Be
cause the facts and figures are against
them.
@. Is there any dispute over the truth
Of the figures quoted in these answers?
A. They are undisputed even by free
coinage men. They are taken from
the reports of the United States treas
ury. Of the department OF agriculture.
of the director of the United States
mint, OF the United States bureau Of
statistics. and OF the British board OF
trade, all of them in their respective
spheres, the highest known authori-
ties.