Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1896-10-29
HOW DISPARITY WORKS.

| rort Douge Messenger; When gold
went to a premium in 1852, the bust.
ness of buying gold and selling IL be-
gan among the brokers of New York
City. 1t was necessary business.
Everyone who had II payment to make
abroad, from the servant girl In Min
nesota who was sending part of her
wages to her parents in Sweden, to the
importer Of merchandise, had to buy
gold to do 1t, and there was u legiti.
mate business In supplying this de.
mand. The servant girl in Minnesota
who wished to send 800 to her folks in
the old country would arrange with II
bank at her home for the draft. The
local bank would order its New York
correspondent to buy gold. Thousands
of these buying orders came into New
York every day, and everyone who had
gold to sell took it to the same place
for market. The price Of gold varied
from day to day with the supply and
demand, and also with the value of
our paper money, which was affected
by its supply. SO the bank in the in
terror which sold the draft to the ser
want gin had to charge her enough TO
cover the possible price of gold. Fred
Thompson, the wagOnmaker of Fort
Dodge, had to make a payment abroad
In 1864 and out of his wages of $l4 per
month he had to give 1915 for each
dollar of gold which he sent from Wis
conSin to Denmark. This uncertainty
III the value of gold as compared to our
currency in which wages and prices
were fixed had to he covered in every
transaction. The prices of all mer-
chandise followed the price Of gold
more or less closely; when it took
more paper money to buy IL dollar in
gold it took more Of it tC buy pound
of groceries. For example we have
copied the following from the DuUu-
que, Herald. 1t is,from the llcrald's re.
view of the Dubuque wholesale mar
kets July IL, 1864. The reporter who
wrote it was thinking only Of giving
Information to the public the next day,
but it is full Of information for us,
thirty-two years later:
The markets have been excited and
advancing TO keep up with the depre-
citation OF the currency. Gold has sent
all articles of manufacture and con-
SUMPTION up to exOrDiaut rates.
Flour advanced 81 per barrel last
week and dealers are not anxious to
press sales.
Groceries are going out OF sight and
are advancing every day. Sugars
advanced last week and were firm
teas were higher, 50 now asked for the
best; spices and candles are up, crack
ers and candies are advanced; Ill fact
there is nothing but what is higher.
Some articles have advanced since we
were writing this review; coal oil sells
at 81 per gallon; salt is firm, with
with rumors of another advance; tubs
have had 90 cents per box added to
their cost; wood is up also all kinds of
coal, gunny sacks, tin and nails. iron
and powder have advanced. Red and
white sole and upper leather are higher.
Lumber will probably advance this
this week; dealers were talking Of it
today and were refusing sales.
These were wholesale markets. All
of these goods were following gold.
What sense is there in telling the wage
Garner or farmer that he is not con-
cerned in the relation to gold of the
money in which he is paid.
At first the buying and selling of
gold was carried OH like merchandise
in various brokers offices in New
York. But soon the gold room was
established. The gamblers appeared
as buyers and sellers, and manipula'
tion affected the price. These manip-
ulations affected the price of all the
merchandise in the United States. The
merchant had to look at the gold quo
tation every morning to know what
his goods were worth, and he had to
charge for them not only the ordinary
profit but a margin to cover the pos
sible price of gold when he came to
renew his stock. The buyer of farm
products was governed by the same
quotation, and had to ask his margin
to cover the same risks. The risks and
losses sell at last on those most help
less to control the prices of what they
had to sell Talk about the specula-
tion of Wall Street now, at the expense
of the government, it has been nothing
compared with what the speculation
Of the gold room cost the people of the
United States when 1t gambled daily