The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1896-08-13

Of silyer they never put II in connection with
this other fact. Thus 1t to never revealed by
;Lsm that during this long period when silver 4ssr
aloof from other commodities, impotent alike
10 prevent their fall or to promote their rise.
8. We note, in the third place, that the re-
1865. When those who are trying to foist upon
this country the unlimited coinage OF silver
as a panacea for all our ills, real and imagin-
airy, seek to establish their position by stats
tics OF average prices and by giving the
prices Of certain great commodities like wheat
and cotton, why, in the name OF candor, do
they not go back at least few years further
and show that in relation to some oil the most
tween 1865 and 1878 double discounted any
thing in the way of fall that has taken place
since 1873 that 1t was greater in those eight
years than in all the years SINGER Why, for ex-
ample, don't they remind the cotton planter
that the price OF middling cotton fell from
81 OILS pound in 1854 to less than II cents In
1871? Do they not possess adequate Information
on vital points2 Or are they willfully suppress
ing portion Of the truth, having lively APP
probation of the fact that this simple state
nent would be sufficient to overturn their en-
tire contention
And now. Mr.. Chairman having shown by
my colleagues own figures that the fall In
prices about which he and other free silverites
say so much is not the only one or even the
great one Of this century; that 1t did not be-
ein in 1873 ard hence Is not due TO the cause
Ia which they ascribe IT. and that free sill
yer having demonstrated in the past its IN
competency to affect prices ,eyen Il that had
been shown TO be desirable), cannot reasonably
sc expected to affect them in the future-thase
things having been proved. Mr.. Chairman. our
side can fairly rest our case and demand the
Judgment of all candid men,
What Caused the Two Great Falls In
Average Prices.
Taking the century as the period for invcs.
tigation. and reverting again to my chart
for the course Of prices. let Us try to discover
the reasons for those mighty changes in the
level OF prices
We note first of all that there have been in
this century two periods Of very high prices
and two periods Of gradual fall in prices Can
any principle or law be discovered IN accord
ance with which these changes in price levels
took placer If So it is very pertinent to this
discussion.
Let US see if the two periods Of high prices
have anything in common. The first of thesn
periods extended from 1889 to 1874 with its
highest point at 1869. 1t is very important to
remember that these were the years Of the
Napoleonc wars. which cost Europe SO much
in blood and treasure; It Is noteworthy. also.
that the second period OF very high prices coy,
ers the years Of great wars, the Crilnean in the
early fifties, our own mighty conflict in the
early sixties, followed in the later sixties by
the war between Prussia and Austria and in
1870 by the Franco Prussian war
Now war is great destroyer OF property.
while at the same time it takes from the pro
ductive industries vast numbers OF their best
workmen. II is a time Of abnormal demand
coincident with abnormally restricted supply,
hence period marked by great wars is always
a period of nbnormally high prices.
What on the other hand, is the natural and
legitimate effect on prices produced by long
period OF peace2
Every person within the sound Of my voice
has as one Of his proper ambitions the acquire
ment Of o competency for his old age. Now.
Mr.. Chairman, what is the rational basis Of
such hopper In its ultimate analysis 1t Is this:
That each month and each year the person en-
pertaining such hope shall produce more
than he consumes. This IL the basis Of increase
In wealth, personal and national
Now price depends chiefly ON two things: !.
the relation between demand and supply, and,
2, cost of production. 1t therefore follows that
in long period Of peace, when production
naturally exceeds consumption and when the
wit of man is free to exercise its ingenuity in
devising new and better methods Of produc-
ton, prices naturally fall Thus It has been
Following the Napoleonic wars at the begin.
ming Of the century. and following the Franco
Prussian war of 1870. came long periods OF
peace, accompanied Ivy the usual fan In aver
II peace conditions are normal. three Incl
dental results should appear. and al! u them
have appeared:
| /. There should DO improvement IN the
standard of living. This implies
| 2. That given amount Of labor should bring
larger returns in the comforts Of life ard
.. The demand for more and better things tn
eat should show itself in sustained prices for
those better foods whose production cannot be
increased indefinitely.
+ What soetbeer's Summary stc'-'
Pushing this investigation ii,*ee /. -fher.
] let us find out what articles have f-er most
affected by the fall in prices.
The price tables Of DR.. Adolph Soetboer, the
i great German statistician are justly regarded
/ as high authority. Let us see what they show
when considered, as he himself sums them up
by groups. The numbers in the following table
are his index numbers. with ls47-50 prices ID