The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-09-17

| planning Of general business stagnation and
| OF a scarcity OF money. In some parts OF the
/ country, especially the south and west, there
/ are many people complaining Of a want OF
/ capital and a too high rate Of interest The
/ cry for more money l. the favorite cry. These
| are the principal and the most definite com.
1 plants. Beyond them, however an impress.
| sion has been spread by agitators that an or
| ganized conspiracy Of moneyed men, mainly
great bankers, in America and in Europe,
| backed by the monarchs and aristocracies Of
the old world IL seeking the general establish.
| ment Of the gold standard OF value to monopo
| lie or corner the worlds money 70 the gen
| ersl detriment.
| All this has found definite expression in the
| following declaration Of the Chicago platform:
| I'VE declare that the act Of 1873 demonetizng
| silver without the knowledge or approval OF
| the American people has resulted in the APP
| probation Of gold and n corresponding fall in
| the prices Of commodities produced by the
| people; a heavy increase in the burden Of
taxation and Of all debts, public and private;
| the enrichment Of the money lending class at
| home and abroad, prostraton Of industry and
tmpoverishment of the people. >" Mark well
| that all these evil consequences nre ascribed
70 the demonetization OF silver in the United
States alone-not 70 its dem onetization any.
where else. This is 20 justify the presenta.
| ton as "A sufficient remedy OF the free coinage
| Of silver in the United States alone, "without
waiting for the aid or consent OF any other
| nation"
This platform IL smplifed by free coinage
orators, who tell US that the act OF 1873 called
'the crime OF 1873, " has surreptitiously ''wip-
ed out" one-h half of the people, money-name-
ly, silver: that in consequence the remaining
half of our metallic money-namely. gold-as
a basis of the whole financial structure has to
do the same business that formerly was done
by gold and silver together: that thereby gold
has risen 70 about double its former purchas-
ing power the gold dollar being virtually a 200
cent dollar; that the man who produces things
for sale Is thus being robbed Of half the price,
while debts payable on the gold basis have be-
come twice as heavy, and that this fall OF
prices and increase of burdens IL enriching the
money changers and expressing the people.
What Are the Facts?
Are thee complaints well foundedf Look
at facts which nobody disputes. That there
has been considerable fall in the prices OF
many articles since 1873 Is certainly true. But
was this fall caused by the so called demone-
tizstion OF silver through the act of 1872 Now,
not TO speak OF other periods of our history,
such rs the period from 1916 TO 1851, everybody
knows that there was a considerable fall Of
prices, not only as to agricultural products
cotton, for instance, dropped from 81 "A pound
in 1854 to IL cents in ls7l-but in many kinds
Of industrial products before 1873 What hap.
pened before 1873 cannot have been caused by
what happened in 1873. This is clear. The
shrinkage after 1873 may, therefore. have been
caused by something else
Another thing is equally clear. Whenever n
change in the prices Of commodities is caused
by a change in supply or demand, or both,
then II may affect different articles different.
ly. Thus wheat may rise in price, the supply
being proportionately short, while ut the same
time cotton may decline in price, the supply
being proportionately abundant. But when a
change of prices takes place in consequence OF
q great change in the purchasing power of the
money Of the country, especially when that
change is sudden, then the effect must be
equal, OF at least approximately so, as TO all
articles that are bought or sold with that
money. IL by the so called demonetization OF
silver in 1873 the gold dollar or the dollar ON
the gold basis became a 100 cent dollar at all,
then IL became 200 cent dollar at once and
for everything. II could not possibly be Mt
the same time 2tO cent dollar for wheat, and
a 40 cent dollar for coal, and a 100 cent dollar
for cotton, and 100 cent dollar for corn or
for shoyels. ! challenge any one 10 gainsay
this.
Prices and the Act Of 1873.
Now for the facts The act Of 1873 In ques.
ton became n law on the 18th Of February.
What was the effectf Wheat. rye. oats and
corn rose above the price of 1872, while cotton
declined. In 1874 wheat dropped a little: corn
made jump upward cotton declined; oats
and rye rose. In 1875 there a general de-
cline. In 1870 there ~ss rise in wheat and
decline In corn, oats rye and cotton. In 1877
there was another rise I'm wheat, carrying the
pvice above that of 1870 and up TO that Of 1871,
years preceding the act OF 1873. Evidently 40
Tar the 800 cent dollar had not made its mark
at all. But will admit the possible plea that,
"a they say, the act Of 1873 having been passed
In secret, people did not know anything about
~, ana prices remained measurably steady, in
Ignorance Of what dreadful things had hap
pened. IL 10, then IL would appear that, N the
knowing ones had only kept stll about IL, the
gold dollar would have modestly remained n
lO cent dollar and nobody would have been
hurt' But, seriously speaking, 10 may be said
that when the act Of 1873 was passed we were
stiii using exclusively paper money, that mel.
ther gold nor silver was In circulation and
That therefore the decentralization would not