Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1897-08-19
REAL AND SEEMING.
Prosperity N viewed An Ats Rvopez
N.farhf.

Prosperity ~ Viewed an Hts Proper
Light.
The clearing house returns at Last
indicate an increased volume of busi-
ness and prosperity for some of the peo-
pie, if not for all. The total for last
week shows an increase of 25.2 per cent.
over the total for the corresponding
week last year. But this must not be
accepted as the true measure of the in
crease in the volume of substantial
business.
In the first place. the very large in
crease in New York-s7.S per cent
suggests that most of the increase il
due to greatly increased activity in
speculative transactions, and a COM
parison of the stock exchange dealings
will show that such is actually the case.
Outside of New York the increase was
only 90 per cent,
In the next place, the increase In sub
stantial trade is due in no small meas
ure to advances in prices. The actual
volume of commodities exchanged is
not so much greater as the returns on
the surface would indicate. Dun g. Co.
report decided advance in wool and
say that manufacturers "are able to OBJ
tain an advance of about ten per cent.
in prices of goods" 1t is notorious
that wheat is much higher than twas
year ago, owing to the deficiency in the
supply from other countries which usu-
ally produce a surplus for export, and
farm products generally are higher than
they were a year ago.
Possibly one-half of the nominal in
crease in the amount of exchanges out
side of New York may be due to greater
quantity of commodities exchanged.
The remainder is due to higher prices
and more active speculation.
The farmers, or such of them as pro-
duce foodstuffs, are in reality more
prosperous because their crops are unu-
sually good and at the same time the
foreign demand for their produce is
unusually strong. They are getting
higher prices than usual for larger
crops. But the new tariff. except as
| to the single item of wool, is not benefit
ing them at all. On the contrary. it is
largely neutralizing the prosperity
coming to them from natural causes,
because it enables the manufacturers
to exact from them higher prices for
their goods and wares.
/ let tue republican tarlu maSlclans
audaciously take to themselves all the
credit for the timely sunshine and rain
and for all the conditions which for the
time being improve the foreign demand
for the farmers crops. But the farmer
will find out the true state of the case
when his foreign customers. repealed by
our hostile tariff, shut out our farm
products and seek other sources of
supply.
European purchasers of our food
stuffs and even of our cotton are even
now doing all in their power to stimu-
late production elsewhere, so that they
can supply their wants without being
| dependent upon country so illiberal
and hostile commercially as ours is un-
der republican rule. 1t will not be long
before they will teach our farmers that
the republican policy of commercial
isolation and war is the worst possible
| for their interests, and that the pre-
| tense of protection for them is a cheap
invention, intended only to reconcile
them to tariff robbery for the enrich
ment of monopolies.-Chicago Chron.
| icle,