Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1896-08-21
HOT SPRINGS, SOUTH DAKOTA, FRIDAY AUGUST 2l 1896.

of prices of manufactured goods ant
grain but that he would demonstrat,
clearly that the falling of prices wa
not due to the contraction of the cur
rency but to greatly increased pro
duction, improvement in machiner,
and reduced cost of transportation
AS falling prices were attributable by
.he silverites to the SO called demone
tization of silver and contraction o.
the currency, the whole grounds TO,
their contention gives way and the
fallacy of their theory is exposed wher
it is demonstrated that falling price.
are do to other causes. He would MOI
call up as witnesses, he said, noted
leaders of the republican party, but
would Gallup such eminent economists
statisticians and profound students a.
} David A. Wells and Edward Atkinson
whose writings, it must be admitted
are strictly unbiased and non- bipartisan
Mr.. Crawford quoted at great length
from the works of these eminent au
thorities, all of which was to the effect
that overproduction brought about by
immense extension ofagriculturall land
especially of wheat, corn and cotton
acreage in the United States, Argen-
tina and India,-the marvellous i'm
provement in labor-saving machinery
increasing the output enormously and
doing away, largely, with hand labor,
and the immense reduction in the cost
of transportation by land and water.
1t is pointed out that the modern
ocean steamship and the Suez canal
have brought the great wheat fields of
India to the very doors of Liverpool;
that the modern machinery used in
loading and unloading ocean steam
ships, the shortening of the route and
the vast improvement in motive power
had increased the tonnage from India
within the past few years % ,O00, 900 tons
and the number of men employed in
this traffic was reduced 1900. "This
means 5000 men out of job" said Mr..
Crawford, 'and consequently 5000
liickers; and 1 don't blame them for
kicking. But they had toadiust them
selves to the new conditions" Twenty
years ago one man could cut five or
sin acres of wheat a day; now one man
with modern machinery, can raise
/ $500 bushels of wheat, and one man
| i'll the great Pillsbury and Washburn
mills i'll Minneapolis. can make it into
-four. Thus is the cost of production
decreased enormously and thousands
of men thrown out tofemployment: this
means several thousand more kickers
who can not be blamed for kicking. but
who in course of time adjust them
selves to the new conditions. All of
this. we are told. was brought about by
the decentralization of silver in 1879
Strikes and other industrial disturban-
ces are largely the result of the pro-
gress of the world along the line of
improved machinery and increased
production, and consequently the
employment of less labor. All this is
charged by the silverites to the "de-
monetization of silver in 1873" The
ends of the earth have been brought
together by fast steamships and rail
road trains, Transportation charges
by rail have been reduced from 1.95
cents per ton per mile in 1869 to .6S
cents in 1879 and now extensive and
long continued famine is impossible.
) Mr.. Crawford gave numerous illus.
) trations of the increased output of
} manufactured goods by the improve.
ment in machinery. A few years ago
ten men could make 5000 pins in a day
, now three men can make 100000 pins
: i'll a day. A large eastern shoe factory
has during the past few years increased
its output two-fold by the introduction
of improved machinery and 1900 en-.
1 ployes were thrown out of work by the
change. Result: Greatly reduced
price of shoes and 1900 kickers.-who
> could not be blamed for kicking,-all
5 we are told, brought about by the de.
monitization of silver way back in 1873
At the recent Atlanta exposition were
shown long rows of cotton machinery
in operation, turning out thousands OF
: yards of cotton cloth of various kinds
while at one end of the long hall was
l a typical southern "Auntie" making
towels, napkins, ETC., with an old fash.
l ioned spinning wheel and loom, and
3 selling her products for souvenirs
: She would cast envious eyes toward
} the humming machinery which re.
: quired little attention and remark that
she ''didn't stan no show with that 'ar
1 machine" The list of manufactured
$ articles that have been materially re-
: duced in price during the past few
years is amazing and well-nigh limit.
9 less. We can only eat and wear 50
? much, but the extent of the production
$ of goods to be eaten and worn is un.
limited and consequently prices must