The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-21
THE WORK OF GARBLERs.

correspondent in Rockport sends copy
of a circular, which is being distributed,
which purports to be extracts from a mes
sage of ex-President Harrison in favor of
silver. The extracts are from his n.e.;sa ge
of Dec 1, 1890. AS given in the circular
they appear to be a continuous statement,
when as matter of fact, the first part of
the circular is taken from the part of the
message devoted to the repor4 of the Sec
rotary of Agriculture 1t notes the advance
in the price of wheat from 81 cents III Oc-
tober, 1882 to $101s4 in .0c-ober, ica0, and
of corn and other farm products. No cause
is there assigned, BAT .he cause is found
in the fact that the corn crop cf 1889 wac
PIP, 900 bushels, while that of 1890 was
only Ass. $4,000 bushels, and that the wheat
crop of 1882 was 49O,50O,0O0 bushels. There
was, soon after the pa Usage IF The Mckin-
ley act, Oct. s, 1890, a general p,I-5nfy ap of
prices, based upon the opinion that the
tariff would sustain them, which it did not
1t was charged by tie D.smn,.ars n thu
canvass that the general advance of prices
was due to the tariff Ii was the assault
upon the high prices, which were attributed
to the tariff, which gave The elections to
the Democrats, and it in answer to
those charges that General Harrison, in an
other part of the message, said:
The general provisions of the law (Mc-
klnley) have been in force less tlln sky
days. Its permanent effect upon trade and
prices still largely stand in conjecture. 1t is
curious to note that the advance IN the
prices OF articles " 11lv Unaif1 crrI uy tie
tariff act was by many hastily ascr:hed TO
that act. Notice nas hey,n taken OF The
fact that the general tcadancy uf the mar
kets was upward from iniiLe,ces v.olly
apart from the recent tariff legislation The
enlargement of our currency by In. liver
bill undoubtedly gave an upward tendency
to trade and had a marked effect on prices;
but this natural and devised eject of the
silver legislation was by many enormously
attributed to the :ariss 1T.
Those who made the foregoing extract
began with the sentence beginning 1T is
curious" and put it directly after the quo
tation of the rise of agricultural prices. If
said in that message about silver they
would have quoted the aragraph noting
the rapid depreciation of silver bullion after
the middle of August, 1890. in spite of the
fact that the United States was taking
nearly the whole product of the American
mines. If they had been noting what Cen
eral Harrison was saying, while President,
about silver they would have quoted his
remark that for the first time in recent
years the imports of silver exceeded the
exports by the sum of 81, 745, $685." showing
that when we made market for 1000 900
ounces Of silver a year outside countries
availed themselves of it. If they had hon
estly desired to give the ex-President's
views on the silver question they would
have made the following qrotatlon:
1 am still of the opinion thai the free coin
age of silver, under existing conditions
would dis2strously affect our business in
terestS at home and abroad. We could not
chasing power of the gold and silver dollar
in our own market, and in foreign trade
the stamp gives no added value TO the bull
lion contained in coins. The producers of
the country, its farmers and laborers, have
the highest interest that every dollar, pa
per or coln issued by the government. snail
be as good as any other. If there is one
constant errand will be TO pay them for
their toll and their crops. The money
lender will protect himself by STIMULATING
for payment in gold, but the iaborer has
never been able to do that. To place bust
ness upon a silver basis would mean a
sudden and severe contraction of the cur
rency, by the withdrawal of gold and gold
notes. and such an unsettling of all values
as would produce a commercial panic.
If at that time. December. 1891 General
Harrison should have noted the tendency
of prices with another years experience
he would have said that the advance in ce-
reals which he had quoted in December