The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-11-22
From the London Graphic. J

ldclllIleS OF transport nave IN
creased during the past 20 years, and
that the prices of agricultural produce
have been affected by the processes,
possibly to a considerable extent, they
point out that the population OF the
world has immensely increased during
the same period. and that they have
no evidence to show that, relatively to
population, the food products of the
world are materially greater than they
were before the fall in prices COM
menced. In the case of wheat, thew
add, the commodity which, perhaps,
has fallen more in price than any
other, the information which they
have received appears to point in the
opposite direction
Continuing their argument with adj
mirable force and lucidity, the COM
missioners allude to the evidence show
ing beyond all question that agricul-
turai depression has been felt severely
in all countries taking a material part
in the European food supply which do
not possess currency advantages They
except only Argentina and India, and
they are justified in this limitation,
seeing that they do not extend their
observations to such countries as
China and Japan, and that the cur
rency advantages possessed by Russia
have not been sufficient to prevent
serious depression although they have
sufficed to keep the land in cultivation.
In summing up their remarks upon
the wheat export advantages of India
the commissioners say:
Surprising that a sovereign will
exchange for 20 rupees where formerly
it exchanged for 10, because the rupee
has fallen from IS to Is, it follows that,
although the gold price CT wheat may
have fallen very largely quite possibly
from 40s to Ell, the Indian grower,
selling at that price, viii still be get
ting 20 rupees a quarter for his wheat
If silver prices have remained the same
! in India Gas the commissioners had
previously pointed out that they had
abundant evidence to show his 20
rupees will purchase for him as much
and are worth to him as much as they
were before, and he is thus enabled to
take a gold price for his wheat, which
means disaster to the English farmer,
but which makes no change in his po-
sition.'
After observing that the case is
similar in Argentina Though they
might have REPRESENTED it as a much
stronger one) the commissioners Incl
/ dentally make an effective reply to
! persons who declare that bimetallism
would not affect the Argentine paper
currency. They remark:
1T was also pointed out, With refer
| ence generally to countries such as
Argentine, with a paper currency, that
/ the establishment of silver would
/ tend in any case to reduce the premium
on gold, and that the substitution of
i silver for paper as the basis of their
currency was one of the advantages
! which might be expected from the
1 restoration of q practically stable ratio
! between gold and silver"
/ In reference to the evidence adverse
/ to bimetalIism, the curious denial of the
appreciation of gold by Lord Farrer is
mentioned, while it is noticed that Sir
! Robert Giffen, the other principal mo-
nometallist witness, admitted the APP
probation. AS to Lord Farrer's declar-
alton that the abandonment of the gold
standard would be q cruel and wicked
! robbery of labor, and that it would be
/ little less than wicked to persuade the
I poor farmers that they would be better
! off with more counters" the commits
! sioners remark that if, as Lord Far
! rer had maintained, prices had not
been affected by changes in the stand
ard, it is not clear how the reversal OF
/ those changes would rob labor; while
! if the changes would tend toward a
rise in prices they fail to perceive the
wickedness of persuading farmers that
they would benefit thereby. Moreover
! they point out that some of the allie
cations of Lord Farrer are in conflict
with statements in the report of the
gold and silver commission signed by
him.
| 1t is not necessary to follow the
commissioners in their review of the
report of the gold and silver commits
sion, the important evidence of Pro
fessor Foxwell, or the significant ad-
missions Of Sir Robert Giffen, further
than to mention that as long ago as
1882, the latter, in his evidence before
the Duke of Richmond's commission
on agricultural depression, stated that