Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-08-13
VOICES OF THE PRESS.
A Light in a Dark Corner.
Boston Transcript

4
| Always a Democratic paper, and pub
| lshei In Montana, the Butte Daily Miner
certainly is n fair representative al the
extreme silver sentiment, the "ffee coin
age or bust idea However, the Miner
| has not parted from Its appreciation OF
logic, and In the issue of last Thursday
considers the depreciation in silver coin
cident with the advance in wheat IN a
quiet and able manner. 1t admits that
the claim of the free-cpindge advocates
that silver and wheat must rise and tail
together was unfortunate and that the
present parting OF the ways between
the grain and the metal is used with
effect In refuting the PopOcratic claim.
at would have been just as well mad the
claim not been pressed so hard, says the
Miner. But take away the Idea that
there Is some mystical economical law by
which an ounce OF silver and a buSnel Of
wheat are interchangeable terms in ex-
pressing monetary unit, and what be-
comes OF The whole fabric of 10 % ipglcP
This was the whole charm Of the cheap
money panacea for agricultural and eco
nomic ills in the srain-growing states. A
year ago wheat was some ten cents
bushei lower in price than sliyer's quota
ton per ounce. both measured in terms
of gold, today a bushel of wheat sells for
twenty cents more than an ounce Of sill
yer OF course IL IS plain that the condI-
tions OF supply and demand In the world
at Large are responsible. nobody wants
silver. Japan has got through with II.
lNi4A is EtkiaHS ds0Ik Win rs Ak+fF ~
possible and even Mexico. the country
which formed the basis OF much Of the
logic Of the silyerite orators In the can
Nass Oh a year ago. seems 70 De placed be-
tween the Syila of reputation and the
Eharybdls of a change 10 the gold stand
ard. The short crops Of wheat outside OF
the United States undeniably have had
much TO do with the advance In the ce-
real. In fact this condition IS the a!l-im-
portant one in the causing of an advance
OF twenty cents per bushe! on a largely
Increased yield. but making due allow
ance for this az an abnormal year. the
shriukage In silver Is unexplained. save
by the wild nouthngs of conspiracy"
and other infantile argument to which
We were subjected ad nauseam in last
years canvass.
Measured In terms of gold the law of
supply and demand has lifted the COM
modify wheat in sight of A parity with
gold, that is. dollar wheat Is not an i'm
possibility. while the operation OF the
same Law has depressed the commodity
silver within sight of half that. Con-
sidering the changes of fitful Nature
from year 10 year. wheat must fuctuate
according as it Is in demand or no: over
production of the metal has had the
same effect on It's price that an over-pro-
duction OF wheat or any other commodity
would have. If new uses for the metal
appear, or if the phantom Of an internal
tonal agreement defining its place in the
monetary system of civilization be found
to have some reality. siivers value may
increase by and by but ii will do SO in
response to that same old fundamental
law, supply and demand. and ii is ele-
mentary and childish to try and keep up
the fancied Siamese-twin-like connection
between the value of a bushel of grain
and an ounce of metal The admission
of the Butte Miner is an encouraging sign
of clearer reasoning and thinking noN
that the passions of a bitter political
contest have given opportunity for sober
thought. The farmer of Kansas and Ne
braska hardly can look on siiver's decline
with feelings of pain when he is getting
twenty cents per bushel more than tn,
miner gets per ounce. And on the wheat
crop of these two states alone twenty
cents hushel advance over the price OF
last year means nearly s20oO0.00o more
money for The farmers of those hatbeds
of Popocracy year ago.