Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1897-08-12
wheat and silver.

the divergence between the price Of
wheat and the price Of silver, and de-
claring with some show of triumph
that the recent full in silver without
a corresponding fall in wheat explodes
the argument of the bimetallists that
silver and the staple crops rise or fall
together
But some very able editors are call
ing attention to the matter and pound
ing their tomtoms. And this is all the
more singular since some of the news
papers engaged in "gloating" over the
situation print in parallel columns
complete anwer to their own argu-
ments. In one column they say free
coinage fallacy is exploded by the up
ward tendency of wheat, and in another
column they print full explanation
of the divergence. They print the ex-
PLANTATION and then ignore it.
The truth is that the providential
causes which have cut short the wheat
crops in Argentina, in Russia, in In
dia and in Germany, have temporarily
given the advantage to the American
wheat growers The situation is such
that theAmerican wheat growers should
be getting Sl.jO a bnshel for their
wheat. They are receiving about 20
cents. But this is 20 cents more than
they would receive if the worlds crop
of wheat were an average one.
IL is plain to be seen, therefore, that
the divergence between the price of
wheat and that of silver is due to the
fact that the American wheat growers
art called on to supply the worlds de-
mand for that cereal. The particular
circumstances that have brought this
about are purely providential in their
character, and are therefore, outside of
al augmentation. They cannot be re-
lied on to esta blish theory or to up
set fact. They may occur again next
year, or fail to occur during the next
century.
Meanwhile, it should be clearly borne
in mind that bimetallists have never
contended that wheat and silver, or
cotton and silver, would rise and fall
together under all conditions and cir
cumstances. Their contention, which
has been established by irrefutable data
is that other things being equal, the
price of silver and the prices of the
staple crops will rise or fall together;
or, to put it in simpler form, that the
average of prices over any series of
years will show that silver and the
staple crops rise or fall in the markets
together.
Extraordinary conditions such as the
failure of wheat crops in other coun-
tries-cannot be taken into considera
tioG. They are unforeseen and stand
apart When silver fell as the result
of the closing of the Indian nints, wheat
and cotton did not respond until the
following year
Just at present, wheat shows an up
ward tendency because our wheat grow
ers are unexpectedly called on to sup
ply the worlds demand Is there any
guarantee that they will be so fortu-
nate next year or the year after? Do
the gold economists propose to make
crop failures in other countries the
basis of permanent prosperity? Do
they propose to maintain the gold
standard by claiming that, among
other things, it is warranted to pro-
duce crop failures in all countries ex-
cept the United States
Along with the increased demand for
American wheat, there is decrease in
the demand for silver. Japan is no
longer a purchaser; the demand from
China has fallen off, and the condition
of India is such as to warrant no inn
portations of bullion to that country.
Thus we have conditions that explain
the temporary divergence in price. On
the other hand we have with us an OBJ
ject lesson in cotton, With the crop out
of the hands of the farmers and at the
heels of the season it is bringing not
more than cents on the farm.
So far as the prices of wheat and sill
yer are concerned, we can confidently
promise our gold economists that they
will even up. When competing nations
make average crops, it will be found
that the price of wheat will fall to the
silver level Wewould remind the gold
editors that true economists do not at
tempt to establish theories on the basis
of temporary and extraordinary condi-
tions. They know that data based on
these are misleading and wholly I'M
trustworthy.
Charity With String to II.
We commend a careful reading and
serious consideration OF the following