Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1896-06-04

OF silver they never put IL in connection with
this other fact. Thus IL IL never revealed by
them that during this long period, when silver
had free access 60 the mints, II held itself
aloof from other commodities, impotent alike
70 prevent their fall or 70 promote their rise.
3. We note, N the third place, that the re-
cent fall III prices did not begin in 1873, but In
lsdo. When those VINO are trying 20 foist upon
this country the unlimited coinage of silver
as a panacea for all our ills. real and imaGin-
ary, seek 70 establish their position by statis-
ties OF average prices and by giving the
prices Of certain great commodities like wheat
and cotton, why, N the name Of candOr, do
they not 70 back at least a few years further
and show that, ia relation 70 some of the most
tween 1856 and lsT3 double discounted any.
thing in the way OF a fall that has taken place
since 1913, that II was greater in those eight
years than In all the years sincvf Why, for ex-
ample, cont they remind the cotton planter
that the price OF middling cotton fell from
Sl.Ol6 a pouud IN 1854 to less than IL cents IL
1915 Do they not possess adequate Information
on vital pointsf Or are they willfully suppress
ing a portion OF the truth, having a lively APP
probation of the fact that this simple state
ment would be sufficient TO overturn their en-
tire contentionI
And now, Mr.. Chairman. having shown by
my colleagues own figures that the fall In
prices about which he and other free silverites
say 50 much Is not the only one or even the
great one OF this century that IL did not be-
gin in 1873, and hence Is not due TO the cause
to which they ascribe It: and that s'free sill
yer" having demonstrated In the past its In
COUlDtltuc1 u anttI DIlGtS A0NkD II InAI ndU
been shown to be desirableD. cannot reasonably
be expected to affect them In the future-thsse
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 inves-
~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 Dricea.
We note first of all that there have been in
this century two periods Of very high prices
any principle or law be discovered In accord
ance with which these changes in price levels
took placer II so. 1t Is very pertinent: 70 this
Let us see IL the two periods Of high prices
have anything in common. The first OF these
periods extended from 1850 TO 1914. with It's
highest point at lS9. 1t IL very important to
remember that these were the years Of the
Napoleonic wars, which cost Europe 50 much
In blood and treasure: It is noteworthy, also.
ers the years Of great wars. sAe Csimean in the
early ffties, our own mighty conflict In the
early sixties. followed in the later sixties By
tho war between Prussia and Austria and In
1870 by the Franco PrussiRn war.
Now war Is q great destroyer of property.
while at the same time 10 takes from the pro-
ductive industries vast numbers of their best
workmen. II II o time Of abnormal demand
coincident with abnormally restricted supply.
hence 2 period msrssd by great wars Is always
What. ON the other hand. Is tAs natural and
Legitimate effect ON prices produced BY . long
period Of peaocf
Every person within the sound Of my voice
has - one OF his proper ambi.ion. the acquire
ment OF . competency. for his old age. Now.
Mr.. Chairman, what u the rational basis Of
such q hopei In its ultimate analysis 10 Is this:
That each month and each year the person on.
PERTAINING such u hope shall produce more
than he consumes. This Is the basis Of increass
In wealth, personal and national.
Now price depends chiefly on two things: ].
the relation between demand and supply, and,
& cost OF production. IL therefore follows that
in . long period Of peace. when production
wit Of man 10 free 10 exercise its Ingenuity In
devising new and better methods Of produc-
tion, prices naturally fall. Thus Il has been
through all the ages. and thus will Is ever be.
Following the Napoleonic wars al the begin
Prussian war Of ls7O, came long periods Of
peace. accompanied by tho usual fall In aver
II peace conditions are normal, three Incl.
dental results should appear. and all OF them
1. There should be Improvement In she
standard of living. This implies
2. That q given amount OF labor should bring
larger returns In the comforts Of hfo. and
Q. The demand for more and better things Co
eat should show itself In sustained prices for
those better foods whose production cannot be
increased indefinitely. t
What Soetbeers Summary Shows.
Pushing this investigation . little further.
let Us ffnd out what articles have been most
affected by the fall In prioes-
The price tables OF Or. Adolph Soetheer, the
as high authority. Let Us SEQ what they show
when considered. az he himself sums them up.
by groups. The numbers In the following table
are his index numbers with is47-D prices -