The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1896-10-09

decline In corn, oats. rye and cotton. In ls77
there was another rise in wheat, carrying the
price above that of 1870 and up to that of 1871,
years preceding the act of 1873. Evidently SO
far the 200 cent dollar had not made its mark
at all. But will admit the possible plea that,
as they say the act of 1878 having been passed
In secret, people did not know anything about
1t, and prices remained measurably steady, in
ignorance of what dreadful things had hap
pened. If so, then it would appear that, If the
knowing ones had only kept still about 1t, the
gold dollar would have modestly remained q
100 cent dollar and nobody would have been
hurt But, seriously speaking, it may be said
that when the act of 1878 was passed We're
still using exclusively paper moneJ, that nei-
ther gold nor silver was in circulation, and
that therefore the demonstration would not
be felt. Very we'll But, then, in 1879 specie
payments were resumed Metallic money cir
culated again. And more than that, the cry
about ''the crime of 1873" resounded in con-
gress and in the country. Then at last the 200
cent gold dollar had its opportunity. Prices
could no longer plead ignorance. What hap
pened? In 1880 wheat rose above the price Of
1879, likewise corn, cotton and oats. In 1881
wheat rose again; also corn, oats and cotton.
In 1882 wheat and cotton declined, while corn
and oats rose. The reports here given are
those of the New York market. They may
vary somewhat from report of farm prices,
but they present the rise and decline of prices
with substantial correctness.
If, however, there be somebody believing
that, in spite of these facts, the demonstration
Of silver by the act of 1873 must in some mys-
terious way have done something to depress
prices, meet him with the affirmation that
the silver dollar was practically demonetized
long before 1878. To judge from the speeches
of our free coinage orators, the American peo-
pie must before 1878 have fairly wallowed in
silver dollars. What is the fact2 President
Jefferson stopped the coinage Of silver dollars
in 1905 From 1888 to 1878, aside from fraction
al currency-whioh since 1858 was only limited
legal tender-only about S,000, 600 of silver dol
lars were coined. They were SO scarce that
you would hardly ever see one except in a
curiosity shop as rare coin.
There was constant trouble with the legal
ratio between gold and silver, which could
not be 30 fixed as to keep the two metals to-
gether in circulation. Once one of them would
be driven out Of the country and then the
other. Meanwhile over 81 ,0o0, o0o, 600 Of gold
coin was coined, and since 1858 gold was sub
stantially the only full legal tender money in
actual circulation. And those we're excep-
tionally prosperous times. Then the civil war
came and swept all our metallic money out OF
sight. Paper money took its place, and in that
condition we were in 1873, when the famous
act Of 1878 was passed What, then. was In
reality that law that has since been 80 fierce
ly denounced as "the crime of 1872" Why, it
was simply an act revising our coinage laws
and providing among other things that certain
silver coins should be struck to be legal tender
in the payment of debts only to a small amount.
The standard silver dollar, that had practical
ly been out of use since President Jsffer-
son in 1915 had stopped its coinage, was simply
not mentioned in the enumeration. That is
all. The act Of 1873 therefore did not create
new state Of things, but simply recognized
and many years 1t did thereby not only NOT
destroy half the money OF the country, but
not q single dollar Of it.
why Prices Have Declined.
But what is it. then, that has caused the de-
4 cline of prices7 ! appeal to your common
sense, Do you think that when one man, aid
ed by machinery, does as much productive
work as formerly ten or more did. and when
our modern means OF transportation carry the
product from the producer to the consumer
with Eve times the speed at one-ffth the cost,
and when In the Transmission Of intelligence
time Is quite and COST almost annihilated, do
you think that then the product of human
labor should not in due proportion become
cheaper7 II it did not, then modern civiliza-
tion would in one of its most important and
benefcent functions be fat failure. For
what is the inventive genius Of the age that
devotes itself to practical objects engaged in
what else than in devising and developing
means and methods by which the things re-
Quired by mankind for the sustenance and
comfort of life be made better and more easily
attainable-that is, cheaper?
The farmer in the United States welcomed
the agricultural machinery which helps him
IN plaubl0g, raising ana harvesting DIS crop.
He welcomed the railroad, the steam boat, the
low freights, the telegraph, which shortened
the distance between his farm and the market,
and the banking arrangements required for
moving and selling his product. But near
ly all our farmers had the same encourage
ment, SO it followed quite naturally that the
wheat crop Of this country increased from an
annual average of 312, 600, 600 bushels between
1870 and 1880 to an annual average Of 475, Co.,
600 bushels between 1890 and 1895. But also
foreign countries had the encouraging benefit;
new wheathelds were opened in Russia and
the Argentine Republic and elsewhere, and.
according to Bradstreet's, very competent
authority, the wheat product of the world
grew from 1889 to 1894 no less than 42o 600 900
bushels, while the worlds consumption is es-
timated to increase only 12 O00 600 to 16 000 600
bushels annually. When the increase of the
worlds supply thus gains upon the increase
Of the worlds demand, is it a wonder that in
the worlds market, which rules the price for
all exporting countries, that price should have
declinedf Is not this an infinitely more
tional explanation of the decline in prices than
to ascribe that decline to the SO called de-
monetization law of 1873. which practically de-
monetized nothing, but was actually followed
by increase of our currency, nearly treblino
its volume and making the per capita far far
higher than it ever had been before, and high
or than it is In any other country except one?
You might as well ascribe our civil war to the
great comet of 1911.
Our Recent Silver Laws.
Coyed by the uproarious outcry which was
started by the silver miners and taken UP by
the "cheap money" men, congress passed two
laws. one in 1878, the other in 1890, in pursu-
ance OF which over 49, 0O0, 600 of silver dollars
were added to our currency, more than so
times as many dollars had ever been coined
before, besides large addition to our sub
sidiary silver coins. Our paper money was
largely increased SO that while in 1873, the
year in which the American people were said
to have been robbed of half their money-while
in 1878, say, we had STA, 900, 900 of money in
the United States, we had So. 217 600 600 in 1896
nearly three times as much, and while in
1878 the circulation s1S.04 per capita, it
was s22. 90 per capita in 1S95-ffty times as
many silver dollars and many times more
money of all kinds than this country had ever
had in its most prosperous days-and yet the
price of silver in the market kept on falling,
and the prices oe many commodities agricul-
tural staples included, continued in their de-
clining tendency. Now analyze this case.
Upon what ground do the silver advocates as
sert that the called demon etization of silver
depressed prices2 According to their own
reasoning, because there has not been sufficient
money to sustain prices. Sustain what prices2
Those prevailing before 1873 But there is