The Portland daily press., 1896-09-01
Est. Paul Pioneer-Pr

The following correspondence between
F. r. Baker, well-known farmer OF
White Hall, ILL.,, and B. W. Snow. for
many years assistant suatistician of the
department. of agriculture at Washing
ton and now connected with one of the
leading agricultural papers of the United
States, will be read with interest," by every
farmer and every citizen interested In
the relation of silver to prices of our
products. Mr.. Snow has made careful
study of these subjects for many years,
and the fact that he held an important
position in the department Of agriculture
for more than decade, shows the value
of.his judgments and the reliability and
accuracy of his statements and deduc-
tions Ever farmer and everybody inter-
ested in this subject should not only read
this letter carefully, but see that his
neigbbors read it.
White Hall, ILL.,, August /, 1885, Dear
Sir: The advocates of tbs free and I'M
limited coinage of silver are telling our
farmsrt that the present low price of
wheat is the direct result of the demone-
tization of silver in 1873. Wheat is GER
tainly very low now, and / would be glad
to have your opinion as to cause and if
you think 1t is not due to the demone-
tization of silver, please give me the
facts upon which you base your opinion.
Yours truly, E. E. BAKER.
Chicago. August s, 1s9.-Dear Sir:
The claim that the low price of wheat
is due to the so-called demonstration
of silver in 1878 is without support. In
the ffrSt n1aoQ a.
tized" in 1873. 70 demonetize means to
deprive of value; to withdraw from use
as money, and neither has been done
with silver. Up to 1873 this country had
only coined, since the opening Of the
minis 5000, 600 silyerssdollars; sinoeathat
year it has coined 1913, 900, 600, every one
a full legal tender and of purchasing
power equal to gold. ThatSyear, instead
of marking the stoppage OF coinage of
silver, really marked it's beginning SO
far as its large use is concerned, as 81,
600, 600 of all classes of silver currency
were coined in that year against So,
500. 600 in 1872, and followed by nearly
81, 600, QUO in 1874, SO. 600, 600 in 1875,
and constantly increasing until $50, 000,
600 came from the minis in 1890.
WHEAT DID NOT DECLINE.
The records of wheat prices during the
lasb buifby years u0IuouSUrht6 buo llslbAuy
of the claim that values declined as re-
suit of the financial legislation of 1878.
In the period of five years, covering the
fifteenth to the twentieth year afer that
legislation, the value of wheat averaged
higher than in the same number of years
Immediately preceding 1878.
A large surplus of wheat is always
grown in this country, and that surplus
must be marketed abroad. The price at
which this surplus can be sold fixes the
price of the whole crop when, as in this
case, the surplus is an important part
of the whole production. The changes
in export prices.are, therefore, an accu-
rate index of the changes in domestic
prices. In order to avoid minor fuctu-
ations caused by matters of no peIma-
nent Importance give below the average
export price of wheat in tive-year periods,
beginning with 1865 SO that the first
period covers the period up to and i'm
mediately preceding the crime of 1873"
while the second period covers the five
years Immediately following. During
the years 1858 to 1879 inclusive, the period
OF deprecated paper money, the prices
given are in this debased currency.
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