Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1896-09-19
THE FALL IN PRICES.


@. Is it true, nevertheless, that the
prices of wheat and many other farm
products have fallen heavily? A. 1t is.
@. How are such declines, in wheat
for instance, to be explained? A. BY
the enormously rapid increase in grain
growing area throughout the world.
@. Has this increase been especially
rapid since 1872? A. The increase in
grain-growing area in this period espe-
cially in North America, South Amer
ica and Asia. has never been ap-
preached in any equal period in the
history of the world.
Q. How do we Judge the actual COM
petition in the sale of wheat? A. BY
the supplies thrown annually on the
worlds great distributing markets.
q. What market in particular? A.
England, where most OF the buying
nations go to purchase their grain.
Q. What are the figures? A. AS re-
Gently as 1880, Great Britain imported,
for consumption and reexport, 81, ,261, :
924 hundredweight of wheaJ-a large
increase over the preceding annual
average. In 1895 it imported 81, ,749, $50
hundredweight.
Q. What has made POSSIBLE this re-
markable increase in wheat production?
A. The exceedingly rapid develop
ment of transportation facilities in
newly cultivated grain countries,
among them India, Russia and the
Argentine Republic.
O. Has there been an increase in the
United States itself? A. An enormous
increase.
Q. How large? A. In 1875 there
were &c, ,3Sl ,512 acres of wheat culti-
waited in this country; in 1891 there
were So, ,9l6, ,S97, an increase of so per
cent. The yield in 1875 was 292, 1856, ,00O
bushels, heavy increase over preced-
ing years. In 1891 the yield was GIL,
100000. Even last year, with greatly
reduced acreage and partial crop fail
ure, the yield was 467, 100000 bushels
Q. Has the yield of other crops in
creased correspondingIyp A. 1t has.
Q. Give instances. A. The cult
yated area OF corn In the United States
in 1871 was 34,09l ,137 acres; in 1891 il
was 76, 6,204, ,515; increase 124 per cent
The yield of corn last year was more
than double that of any year prior tt
1875. Both the acreage and the aver
age annual yield of oats have doubled
since 1871. Our cotton crop in 1885,
was 80 per cent greater than in any
year prior to 1857
@. Was decline in grain and cottor
prices, under such conditions, inevi
table? A. AS inevitable as a decline
in the price OF clothing. of furniture, OF
books, or steel rails, or pins, wher
competition in their manufacture ha!
extended enormously.
Q. Would free coinage help the pro.
ducers of grain to a larger profit, un
der such conditions? A. Not in the
least.
Q. Why not? A. Because If tine
nominal price of grain were to rist
through initiation of the currency, the
price of everything else would rise also
and the farmer would be relatively NJ
better off than he was before.
Q. Do the free-coinage advocates ust
in their speeches these statistical fact
which we have examined? A. The,
do not.
Q. Can the subject be understood
without examining them? A. 1t can
not; the whole question rests on thes
facts regarding money and production
Q. Why do the free-coinage speaker
not use these facts and figures. A
Because the facts and figures ar
against Them
Q. Is there any dispute over tn
truth OF the figures quoted in thes
answers? A. They are undisputed
even by free-coinage men. They ar
taken from the reports of the Unite
States Treasury, of the Department c
Agriculture, of the Director of tn
United States Mint, of the Unite
States Bureau OF Statistics, and of tn
! British Board of Trade; all of them i
: their respective spheres, the highes
known authorities.