The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-28
SOPHiSM MET BY TRUTH
MIR. p. f. sTUDEBAkER TELLS WHY
PRICES HAVE DECLINED.
Railroads the Cause.-The Crime
OF TT" Not Responsible.

New York Commercial Advertiser.
Mr. P E. Studebaker, of South Bend
Ind. who is an intimate and personal
friend of ex-President Harrison. and is
noted for his financial knowledge, called at
Republican national Headquarters to-day
and gave Il good account of the political
situation in the Hoosier State. To "a re-
porter who saw him later ne said that he
had no doubt about the Republicans win
ming in Indiana. The third ticket would
he added help the Republicans because
thousands of sound-money Democrats in
the middle Western States would vote for
Palmer who might otherwise vote for Bry-
an, in order to say they had voted the
Democratic ticket Mr.. Studebaker paid his
respects to free silver as follows:
THE claim that the low prices are caused
by the stoppage of the coinage of silver by
our government in 1873 is false. The pass
age of that act had no more TO do with
the change of prices in America than the
man in the moon. excepting so far as the
discussion of this subject for the last
twenty years has tended TO destroy con-
fidence, and thus contract business 1t
must be borne III mind that no matter what
our basis of money is, or it's volume we
viii have, periodically, financial money
panics and contraction of business.
AS l understand it, the object of the
stoppage of the coinage of silver dollars
in 10 was TO establish, beyond doubt the
fact that our bonds would continue to be
paid in gold, as they always have been in
the past. Although the term coin had
been used never in the history of our gov
eminent had it paid anything else for its
bonds or interest. In fact, they could not
have paid in silver if they had been dis
posed TO- there was no silver in the
country to speak OF.
ORIGIN OF THE SILVER AGITATION
The report of the government mint tells
US that from 1892 to 1860 we produced 81. $780,
600 of silver in this country, and during the
same time $500 0O0. 600 of gold. But after
we commenced producing silver so rapidly
the question arose should silver decline.
whether the payment of the bonds in de-
preciated silver, inasmuch the word
coin was used might not be made an issue.
This thought prevailed not only in the
East, but also in the West. 1 recall a con-
versation | had in the seventies with John
w Young. of Brigham Young who
predicted that if we should continue to find
silver in large quantities it would become
as cheap lead. This belief in the possi-
bic decline in the price of silver affected
the credit of the government.
After that matter settled by the
passage, in 1853 of the act stopping the
coinage of silver the credit of the govern
III,
and we were enabled afterWard to refund
government bonds at Il much lower rate of
interest than ever before. The result was
a saving of millions of dollars to oar peo-
pie in interest. The cry of the silver men
that great crime had been committed by
the stoppage of the coinlge of silver is
very unfair and unjust. Although the gov
eminent stopped the coinage of silver at
that time. the American people did not stop
using silver We are using to-day S626 600 :
CO of silver more per capita than any other
nation on earth except France and yet
the silver men are not happy If we as a
people after stopping the coinage of silver
had also stopped using the coin, there
by forcing the silver men to throw their
products on foreign markets, they might
have had some grounds for complaint. 1t
makes no difference to the farmer whether
the wheat he sells is ground into flour or
is swallowed whole. long as it is con-
sumed.
FACTS FOR SILVER MEN.
THE great mistake ourrsilver men make
is their claim that silver has fixed value
They claim that because it was once worth
s1-29 per ounce it should be worth that price
now and forever. The truth is we have no
fixed condition of things. l maintain that
the true cause of the change of prices in
America and the world over has been
science and improved machinery. Every
thing can be produced cheaper than ever
before. When we first commenced to man
ufacture wagons steel was worth $120 per
ton. To-day it is worth $50 a ton. Iron
cost 500 a ton then; to-day the price is
| s25. The freight on the first carload of
wagons ever shipped to Chicago was
$41: to-day it is $12.
Freight wagons, such as the mine own
erS bought from us in 1865 and 1866 to haul
their machinery from st. Joe to Colorado,
Utah, Montana and Idaho and for which
they paid $780, will sell to-day for $50.
THE first car of farm wagons ever
shipped to Kansas City was in 1865. We re-
ceived for each wagon 1924. delivered on
the levee The freight was $1S per wagon,
/ netting $106 at the factory. To-day we
will sell the same wagon at $50. VIII de-
liver it to Kansas City for $53 The reduc-
not so bad, considering the wicked railroads
did it.
N.,r first agent in Galveston. Tex, was
Ex-Governor Lubbock. a grand old man.
He paid us $40 for the same kind of wag-
ons sell now for $50. His freight per
car was $500, the wharfage at New Or
| leans was $21 per car and the wharfage at
Galveston SIS per car. The freight now is
about S125 per car The freight is
gold for wagons, and l had to carry it in
my gripsack to Galveston to get New
York exchange. Suppose he had paid me
| in silver. 1t would have weighed about
| $50 pounds, and / would have had to ship
it as freight. I don't believe Texas will
vote for a silver standard. The people are
called q little rough down here, but they
have lots of good, sound business sense,
even the cowboys.
1.-The silver men might say that the de-
preston to-day in the livery business is
| due to the crime of 49, but the livery
men all know that there is another reason
for this-bicyces.