The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-08-26
BRYANS THEORIES

nutnr Price Of silver.
New y5rl, World Dem) For a num-
nor al years past Nj Bryan seems SIN
crreIy 10 have believed three PROPOSE
TONS
l. That the price Of wheat is depen-
dent on the price OF silver.
. That unless silver is remonetIzed
and the dollar cheapened the farmer's
products must continue to sink in price
uptIl ruin shall overtake him.
g. That the maintenance of what he
calls the gold standard" by which he
means the maintenance OF dollar
worth one hundred cents, necessarily
means a continual decline in the price
Of al farm products,
In view Of the facts even Mr.. Bryan
must now see that in these beliefs he
Bas been utterly mistaken
on the 9th OF February, 1893, speaking
IN Congress against the repeal OF the
sherman purchase law, Mr., BTy-
an said; ......,, -, 49,.
PRICE VI WV w AAA4.Nt NN-'AS N'N
COTTON,
Nevertheless, both wheat and cotton
are much higher in price now than they
were In 1898, although the repeal was ac-
cOmpl.shFd,
In the same speech Mr., Bryan said
that unless silver was remonetized Cot
ton al ten cents to-day and wheat at
sIXtv cents would mean cotton at two
U1 ttkn n snanfg
hundred years"
mat was four years ago To-day cot
Ton is worth more than 1t was then, and
wheat then worth sixty cents, is now
worth 81 II, with prospect OF going
much higher. Was not Mr. Bryan mis-
taken? Was not his assumption OF
necessary connection between the price
Of wheat and silver reconciliation a
daluSlve one?
For since that time has not silver fall
en- to the very lowest price ever known,
and have not wheat, corn, oats, barley,
rye and all the other farm products adj
yanced to an extent that Is positively
sensational? The price OF wheat is
now nearly double what 1t was then, and
all the ether grains are advanced In
sympathy,
In his campaign speech No. 1ol Mr.
Bryan said:
We say that while the dollar goes up
PROPERTY MUST GO DOWN, and
that falling property and FALLING
PRICES MEAN HARD TIMES. II
YOU ask us how the gold standard az
fects the farmer we tell you that the
gold standard LOVERS THE PRICE
or THE PRODUCTS HE SELLS with
out lowering his tnXes or his debts.
Now. what Mr.. Bryan calls the gold
standard" was definitely imposed on the
country for four years by the election Of
ls8iyst to-day wheat is at 81 ii Il bush
land all other fIrm products nave ad-
vaHcJd IN proportion, while property"
OF every X NJ 10 worth greatly more
tlan II wGs whea his utterance was de-
liGOTtd,
A. " hpncst and sincere man should
rot r. Bryan now admit tina; he was
nir'tDea?
In hl4 rgaech No. 232 at Memphis,
October 4, 1896, ne said:
Down goes the price Of cotton when
YOU drive up the price OF gold,
lie held that to defeat the free silver
campaign was to drive up the price Of
gold" Yet free silver was defeated, and
cotton Is to-day worth full cent a
pound more than 1t was when he spoke.
This means $40, 900 900 more to the plan
ters on their crops.
Again Mr. Bryan. being an honest and
Sincere man, must admit that he was
egreDiously In error.
In his speech No. sol, at Elk Point, S.
Dakota, on october 9, 1896, Mr.. Bryan
said:
The people who raise corn have the
right 10 protect themselves and TO pre-
vent aE gdaiteH fall in the price OF
corn. The more nations there are
which demand gold the greater Will be
the difficulty TO get It and THE MORE
OF YOUR CORN 1T WILL BUY.
Yet to-day the gold dollar Will not
buy nearly as much corn as 1t would on
October Q, 1896. Again Mr., Bryan must
Gee that his theoretical logic is contra.
sIe.ed by the facts.
In his speech No. 269, at New Albany,
Ind, on October 5, 1886, Mr.. Bryan said:
The only way to stop falling prices is
to Increase the amount of money 20 be
exchanged for property,
That Is to say. by decreeinG free sill
Yer coinage. A month later the people
voted decIsvely to refuse that relief.
Yet failing prices were instantly
checked and FROM THAT DAY TO
THIS THE PRICE OF EVERY AGRI-
CULTURAL PRODUCT OF TILE
COUNTRY HAS STEADILY AND AS
TO THE GREAT STAPLES. ENOR-
MOCSLY ADVANCED.
Again Mr. Bryan was wrong, as he
must himself see.
In his speech No. 1872. at Bridgeport,
Conn, September "a, 1896. Mr.. Bryan
said:
a Mexican dollar is worth about fif-
B-three cents In our money. An Ameri-
can dollar viii buy about two Mexican
collars and also about two bushels of
wheat at the same time. There was a
time when an American dollar would
buy one Mexican dollar, and then 1t
would only buy one bushel OF wheat.
Very well. An American dollar will
Today buy about two Mexican dollars,
hli Il viii not buy even one bushel OF
WHEAT Yet nothing has been done for
i'i'ar' In the meantime. Does not Mr..
HfyRM now see that he was In error In
tgpGoiirp that silver and wheat were
AHes, and In assuming that the main
,-AaHce OK good one hundred cent dol
Jar meant stlll further decline In the
i,Isn o.. farm products? why should not
NT Bryan be honest and manly enough
"a acknowledge these demonstrated err
i'f' Of youthful mIsthlnklng. He has
seemed upon occasion to be brave
enough to confess error and rccede from
sun again, In hls speech No. 1888. at
5asheylir, ~ g., on September 10, 1896,
Ag Bryan said.
i.e only way to stop the outflow Of
.l 10 To adopt bimctnllIsm and RAISE
Its PRICE OF WHEAT AND COT
i ,"" and pay our debts In produce In
stead Of In rold.