Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1896-10-31
A FEW FACTS
FOR FARMERS.
PROSPERITY SINCE 1878
How the Government Has Be-
friended SiIver-Increase Of
Wages Since 1873.

Mr.. Bryan and his associates are fond
OF saying that the "demoneti zation Of sill
yer" In 1873 Is to blame for the low prices
Of wheat and Agricultural products dur
ing recent years because the purchasing
power Of gold has Increased, and of silver
has decreased They forget that the farm
ers, workingmen and people generally
have enjoyed many years OF prosperity and
high prices since 1878 They also forget,
or they neglect to say, that since 1878 our
government has coined more than 90 times
as many standard silver dollars as had
been coined In the whole previous history
Of the country. Here are the exact and
official figures:
From 17es to 1905 there were coined
1,499, 517 silver dollars From 1905 to 1885
no silver dollars were coined. From 1896
to 1873 there were coined 6, bo1, TAI dollars
The total coinage of silver dollars from the
foundation OF the government to 1878 was
S,OS1, 1888. From 1873 to 1873 no standard
silver dollars were coined From 1873 to
June 80, 1895, there were coined 4SO, $780,
041 silver dollars In addition TO the above
S5, 96E, 994 trade dollars were coined from
1878 to 1883.
In addition TO this coinage of silver dol
lars there were purchased under the Sher-
man act 16S, GA, $50. 5S ounces of sil-
YER. or the whole amount of silver
purchased under this act there still TO
manned unooined In the treasury on June
30, 1895. 131, SSS, I9e-46 ounces, which
cost CHS, COS, 9O9. %.
Standard silver dollars are still coined
by the government Secretary Carlisle
says that from Jan I, 1895, to Sept. 30,
1896. standard silveS dollars were coined
90 the amount of V18, 912, 51e, and that
from Nov. /, 1898, the date of the repeal OF
the purchase clause OF the Sherman act, <
| Sept 80, 1895, standard silver dollars had
| been coined to the amount Of 81, 1893, 491
or more than twice as much as was coineI
/ during the whole period OF our histor,
| prior to 1873, when the 50 called "crime'
was committed The secretary also say
that the coinage OF standard silver dollar
Is going on at our miuts every day, ant
at the rate OF about q, 100000 monthly.
1t appears, therefore, thss9 instead OF be
! irsg unfriendly to silver since the year o
its alleged decentralization, ahe goyernmen
has since that year been particularly friend
| ~ to the coinage of silver.
It may be further added that there 1
more money in circulation in this.countr.
today per head OF population than In 1878
tine official figures being In 1873 an
&22. 06 In October, 1895. IN 1850, befor
the first greenbacks were issued, the pc
capita circulation was only $l9. SO. An
4 VIC hOhCy tiitt ~ III ClICukANlO1 DOllity-
gold, silver and paper money-is Gil goo
money, every dollar being cas- good q
gold" And this also may be said-tha
never before in the history OF this countr
would dollar buy as much OF the PROD
ucts of the loom, the factory and the WORT
shop as it will buy today.
/ Not only can the wOrk1ngman of TIL
country now buy with silver dollar {
any other dollar a larger quantity of MAJ
ufactured products than ever before, BIT
he now receives more dollars for day
labor-or did receive moro dollars befol
Mr.. Cleveland's last accession to the pres
dency-than he had ever before receives
The average wages of American working
men In % industries were 60.7 per Gel
higher in 1891 than In 1860, and the pric
OF 223 commodities, not including rent
have fallen In average OF 3. 8 per cent fro
1850 to 1891. These are Instructive fac
and they 60 a long way toward disproviE
the claim of the silverlkes that the goverl
, ment has been nnfrisndly 70 silver, tn
. low prices are the result of the alleg'
'tcrime OF 1872 and that the purchasiI
power or the dollar has been lessened