The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1896-10-09
decline in corn, oats, rye and cotton. In 1s,7


years preceding the act of 1873. Evidently so
far the geo cent dollar had not made its mark
at all. But will admit the possible plea that,
as they say, the act of 1878 having been passed
in secret, people did not know anything about
it, and prices remained measurably steady, in
ignorance of what dreadful things had hap
pened. If so, then it would appear that, if the
knowing ones had only kept still about it, the
gold dollar would have modestly remained
100 cent dollar and nobody would have been
hurt. But. seriously speaking it may be said
that when the act of 1878 was passed we were
still using exclusively paper money, that pei-
ther gold nor silver was in circulation, and
that therefore the demonstration would not
be felt. Very we'll. But, then, in 1879 specie
payments were resumed. Metallic money cir
culated again. And more than that tho cry
about "the crime of 1872 resOunded in coz
gress and i'll the country. Then at last the 200
cent gold dollar had its opportunity. Prices
could no longer plead ignorance. What hap
pened? In 1880 wheat rose above the price of
1879, likewise corn. cotton and oats. In 1881
wheat rose again; also corn. oats and cotton.
In 1882 wheat and cotton declined, while corn
and oats rose The reports here given are
those Of the New York market. They may
vary somewhat from report Of farm prices,
but they present the rise and decline of prices
with substantial correctness.
If, however, there be somebody believing
of silver by the act of 1873 must in some mys-
ferrous way have done something to depress
prices, / meet him with the affirmation that
the silver dollar was practically demonetized
long before 1873. To judge from the speeches
of our free coinage orators, the American peo-
pie must before 1873 have fairly wallowed in
silver dollars. What is the factf President
Jefferson stopped the coinage Of silver dollars
in 1895. From 1888 to 1873, aside from fraction
al currency-which since 1853 was only limited
legal tender-only about 6, 000 600 of silver dol
lars were coined. They were SO scarce that
you would hardly ever see one except in
curiosity shop as rare coin.
There was constant trouble with the legal
ratio between gold and silver, which could
not be SO fixed as to keep the two metals to-
gether in circulation. Once one of them would
be driven out of the country and then the
other. Meanwhile over 81, 200, 000. 900 of gold
coin was coined. and since 1853 gold was sub
stantially the only full legal tender money In
actual circulation. And those were excep-
tionally prosperous times. Then the civil war
came and swept all our metallic money out Of
sight Paper money took its place, and in that
condition we were In 1878, when the famous
act of 1878 was passed. What, then, was in
reality that law that has since been 80 fierce
ly denounced as 1.-THE crime Of 1882 Why, it
was simply an act revising our coinage laws
and providing among other things that certain
silver coins should be struck to be legal tender
in the payment Of debts only to small amount.
The standard silver dollar, that had practical
ly been out of use since President Jeffer-
son in 1913 had stopped its coinage, was simply
not mentioned in the enumeration. That Is
all. The act Of 1873 therefore did not create
state Of things which had existed for many
and many years. 1t did thereby not only not
destroy half the money Of the country, but
not single dollar OF it.
Why Prices Have Declined.
But what is it, then, that has caused the de-
cline Of prices? I appeal to your common
sense. Do you think that when one man, aid
ed by machinery, does as much productive
work IS formerly ten or more did. and when
our modern means Of transportation carry the
product from the producer to the consumer
with five times the speed at one-ffth the cost
and when in the transmission of intelligence
time Is quite and cost almost annihilated, do
you think that then the product Of human
labor should not in due proportion become
cheaperf If it did not, then modern civiliza-
ton would In one Of its most important and
benefcent functions be fat failure. For
what is the inventive genius of the age that
devotes itself to practical objects engaged in
what else than in dsvising and developing
means and methods by which the things re-
quired by mankind for the sustenance and
comfort of life be made better and more easily
attainable-that ia. cheaper?
The farmer in the United States welcomed
the agricultural machinery which helps him
in planting, raising and harvesting his CROP
He welcomed the railroad, the steamboat, the
low freights. the telegraph, which shortened
the distance between his farm and the market
and the banking arrangements required for
moving and selling his product. But as near
~ all our farmers had the same encourage
ment, SO 1t followed quite naturally that the
wheat crop Of this country increased from an
annual average Of 312 900, 900 bushels between
1870 and 1880 to an annual average of ATS OOO.-
O0O bushels between 1890 and 1895. But also
foreign countries had the encouraging benefit:
new wheatfelds were opened in Russia and
the Argentine Republic and elsewhere and
according to Bradstreet's, very competent
authority, the wheat product of the world
grew from 1889 to 1894 no less than 4o9, 600 600
bushels, while the worlds consumption is es-
timated to increase only H. 0OO 900 to I6 600 GOO
bushels annually. When the increase of the
worlds supply thus gains upon the increase
OF the worlds demand, is it wonder that in
the worlds market, which rules the price for
all exporting countries that price should have
declined? Is not this an infinitely more ra-
tlonal explanation of the decline in prices than
10 ascrloe that decline to the so called de-
monetlzatlon law of 1873, which practically de-
monetized nothing but was actually followed
by an increase of our currency. nearly trebliue
us volume and making the per capita far far
higher than it ever had been before, and high
e cru than IL is In any other country except one?
You might as we'll ascribe our civil war tn the
great comet of 1911.
Our Recent Silver Laws
Cowed by the uproarious cutlery which was
started by the silver miners and taken mn nv
the cheap money" men, congress passed two
laws, one in 1873, the other in $780, in pursu-
ance OF which over 429, 900, 600 of silver dollars
were added to our currency, more than 80
times as many dollars as had ever been coined
BEFORE besides large addition to our sub
s1olary saver coins. Our paper money was
largely increased, SO that while in 1873. the
year IN which the American people were said
TO nave been robbed of half their money-wbile
In 1913, say, we had s774, 1000, 600 Of money in
the United States, we had So, pit OOO 900 in 1895.
nearly tntee times as much, and while in
1913 the circulation was $500 per capita, it
was "S~9o per capita in lS95-ffty times as
many silver dollars and many times more
money OF all kinds than this country had ever
had in its most prosperous days-and vet the
price OF silver In the market kept on falling.
and the prices OF many commodities. agrioui
tural staples included continued in their de.
Ginning tendency. Now analyze this case.
upon what ground do the silver advocates as
sert that the so called demonstration of silver
depressed prices? According to their own
reasoning, because there has not been sufficient
money TO sustain prices Sustain what prices2
Ihose prevailing before 1873 But there ia
now tnree times as much money as there was
IN 1913 ana much higher per CAPITA circula-
ZION. well, what becomes of their arpument2
some OF the silver philosophers have invented
a more mysterious phrase--that prices have
eone uoWn because by the act of 1879 the Unon-