Milford chronicle., 1896-09-25
The Farmer and Free Silver.

uG WdI CRY VI Juc duNOCdbeS Vi
the free coinage of silver when talk
ing to an audience of farmers is :;
"Vote for free silver and dollar
wheat" They also say that the
present low price of wheat has been
brought about by the demonetiza-
tion of silver and a contraction of
the currency. They tell the farmer
that if the country should be flooded
with silver through free coinage the
price of wheat would double. Let
us take them on their own statement
that an increase in the amount of
silver in circulation would increase
the price of wheat.
The records of the United States
Treasury Department show that in
1871 there was S52, 100000 of silver
in circulation, and the price of wheat
was $l.25 per bushel; in 1875 there
was $69 100000 of silver in oircua-
ton, with wheat at 81 bushel; in
1880, with $l63, 100000 of silver.
wheat was 50 cents and so on down
to 1895, when with 1925, 100000 Of
silver in circulation wheat had fallen |
to fifty cents bushel If we should |
follow this out to its logical conclu- |
sion the price of wheat under free !
silver would fall to almost nothing. |
However, this is false reasoning and !
is only used to show that the guam
titY of silver more or less in circula-
ton has nothing to do with the price
of wheat, which is governed by other
conditions outside Of the currency
What, then, has been the cause of
this fall of 60 per cent. in the price
of wheat? The United States have
for many years raised considerably
more wheat than they have con-
sumed. This surplus has had to be
marketed abroad; and it is a we'll
known fact in the laws of trade that
The price received for the surplus
determines the price of the whole [
product For many years we con I
5rolled the wheat supply of two {
thirds of the worlds markets; we
low supply but one third. The to- f
al wheat crop Of Russia, India and Il
Argentina for 1894 was about ESQ., !
100000 bushels. In 1871, 1872 and =
S73 the average price of wheat here :
vas 81 90 per bushel, which was ?
higher than il has ever been since. Z
n those three years Russia and :,
ndia together supplied Europe with !,
bout 81 5000 bushels, or an aver u
ge of about 100000 bushels per s.
mum while Argentina did not send "
ny wheat to Europe till 1878. India Ia
Practically exported no wheat until p,
fter the Suez Canal had been COM
leted, in the winter of 1869. The
bnormal conditions of the Franco o.
russian war of 1901 took all the tc
valuable men from the fields of those u
Ountries and compelled them to al
urchase from the outside the wheat 81
hich they could not raise at home. &C
he surplus from America could not til
agin to supply the European mar ms
cts, and prices were consequently lie
gh. m
Now all is changed. Europe has in
zen at peace for nearly twenty SCI
ears, and all the countries practi- ed
lily supply their own markets, with ally
e exception of Great Britain and 70
olland, except in the years when bbss
e crop happens to be light. The for
pidly increasing yield of India and ths
rgentina has become the controll- ma
g factor in this limited MAJ ket,and PpSg;l
s thus cut down the price to the
nerican farmer.
Wherein could the farmer be ben
Lted by free silver The free coin
e of silver would in a very short q
ne after its adoption drive out all tim
, gold from the country. In that Sep
emit the silver dollar would at once I
to its bullion value of about fifty as !,
Its; but the farmer would still i yu.,
the Liverpool price for his grain, CITY
| no more. He would get more Raj
lars, but dollars of half value. tow
e only possible advantage of the use
mer would be a temporary oppor- at ~ :
ity to cheat his creditors. India Bait
put wheat on the docks at Liv- eth
DOL for fifty cents per bushel, to
ch is lower than the American pass
ner can afford to put it there.
, fear of free silver has created
mess stagnation here for the last s wSe
se years, and should it become paril
ity the conditions would become of Til
Sc very rapidly and the decreased s la,ss 5
would decrease prices. Great
ecord. siren
IL the sufferer knows the misery of Ho