The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1896-02-21


pssss ~ shs Assrsees PseAsesss-
We Asss 1ersu silvss.
There has recently been q very pro.
nounced rise In the price Of cotton
while silver has not made . correspond.
ing advance. Taking this faet - . text
the gold press tof the south particular
ly) 10 now literally tearing the vltals oul
OF those crazy free silver liars" Who
have been claiming that there u close
connection between the prices Of silver
and cotton. The riss In cotton while
silver has remained nearly stationary.
10 declared to b conclusive evidence
that the rise or fall Of silver has moth
Ing to do with the price Of cotton.
Ct course = man may b sincere who
uses such An argument. but he certaiL. y
u not justified in assuming the position
OF . public educator. Anyone who has
followed the course Of this discussion
ought to know that the "silver men. :"
As they are called. have never claimed
that silver and cotton or silver and
wheat moved on exactly parallel lines
always rising ssd falling together In
perfect harmony. Such . contentioa
would be absurd.
What they say IL this: Cotton 10 sold
In competition with India, which pro-
duces that staple on Z silver basis.
Therefore the rise or fall Of silver must
Be an element affecting the price Of
cotton. II silver goes up the tendency
Is to carry cotton up with 1t: II silver
goes down the tendency II the ether
way. With other conditions normal,
they will rise and fall very closely to-
gether. II. however. something of an
extraordinary nature occurs. peculiarly
affecting the one and not touching the
other at all. II will. Of course. break the
Of their movement.
Suppose. for example. that the entire
cotton crop Of the United States should
be destroyed. while nothing unusual oc-
ours with respect to silver. The price
OF cotton would rise enormously. In
cidentally silver would rise too because
Of the demand for that metal With
which to purchase cotton In India. But
With the aggregate supply Of silver re-
naming the same. while cotton be-
comes exceedingly scarce. Il b clear
that the value of the cotton must be
affected in . greater degree than the
value Of the silver. So II our cotton
crop should fall on ene-half or one
third. the same thing would occur, only |
not to % great an exteot This u about
the present situation. The Gotten crop |
has dropped from more than 1909 900 |
bales to some $4,000 or 7.eoe. 80.
while nothing in particular has hap
pened to silver. The result y that cot
ton has . veritable boom. while silver
10 scarcely Affected at all.
But II must be remembered that at
present the advanced price Of cotton ID
} speculative one. The bulls Of the
market are gambling on q short crop.
Il the reports Of disaster are fully cen
irned, and . demand arises for East
india cotton to supply An actual den-
.iency. there will come q sharp rise in
'ilver. The same considerations apply
o wheat.
The demonstration Of silver lowered
he prices Of all products. except where
'omething else may have supervened to
prevent 1t. But cotton and wheat were
Affected in two ways: First. generally.
he same az other things. by the dimin-
shed supply Of money. and second. spe-
:ially. by the competition Of silver Us
Nc countries, which vas rendered
much keensv by the appreciation Of
yold. Hence we find that these two
eriously Affected than almost any 9th
~. This IL q matter Of especial con-
.ern Of the United States because SO
arge . proportion Of them must be
old In the European market. which has
djusted itself to the silver basis.
There II not . trade journal in
Europe or America which does not
ecognise the fact that under average
onditions the general course Of silver.
otton and wheat are very nearly the
anne. To arrive 1t average conditions ,
ve must take . series Of years. When
yS w tubo ~ 1ouUOG N WoICo kue |
,old PRICES OF silver. cotton and wheat
ave descended the incline together. II
o remarkable ~ 10 leave Ne room for
|oubt that there 10 some general cause
{ work. which applies to them all.
Even In the face Of the recent extra
rdinary rise Of cotton an ounce Of sill
er will buy very nearly the same guam
ity that II would In 1871.
A short crop Of Gotten has been . per.
ct God-send to the gold champions OF
he South. For twenty years the advo-
ate Of ths gold standard has persis-
entity claimed that the great fall Of
riess ID owing 70 over-production. Al
olnfely the only remedy he has offered
- been to advise the people 70 produce
70. The advantages Of . monetary
ystem which can only - defended
pom the basis Of crop failures, idls fec.
prizes and unemployed men. are pre-
Isely the advantages that have been