The representative., 1897-08-18

variance with the facts, hoping thereby
to bolster up their credit. AS a result
we have much paper prosperity, though
but few men have felt any true revival
Most men have felt an accentuation
rather than an alleviation of industrial
stagnation. That this Is so is shown
by the increasing number Of unem-
ployed, sure evidence OF curtailment OF
production. And that the unemploye,]
are increasing in numbers not dimin-
ishing. that the condition of the wage
earning classes Is becoming more un-
bearable not ameliorated, are facts
vouched for by the leaders of organized
labor in response to inquiries put to
them by the New York World. All the
labor leaders have the same story to
tell
That the new tariff will bring any re-
vival there is no reason to believe. The
market for manufactured goods has
been narrowed just as the prices for our
agricultural products have fallen, IND
the money value of the crops of our
farmers been reduced. And as the re-
ceipts of our farmers have fallen away.
so has their purchasing power of manu-
factured goods. And this lost purchas-
ing power will not return until our farpl-
ers get better prices and, hence, more
money for their products. If this time
has come We may look forward to an
increased demand for manufactured
goods and Industrial revival We are
told that it has come, and that an era
of prosperity is assured But though
wheat has risen much in price, and is
now held at a price materially above
that asked at this time last year, the
same cannot be said of our other agri-
cultural products. Moreover, the corn
crop is short of last years, so that the
money value of the corn crop may fall
as much below that of last years as the
value OF this years wheat crop rises
above. Therefore, there is no assur-
ance that our farmers will have more
to spend this year than they had last,
no assurance of an increased demand
for manufactured goods, no assura nee
Of prosperity. 1t is yet too early to
tell with certainty whether Our farm
ers will realize more for their crops
In 1897 than they did from their crops
in 1896. A great part of the crops of
this year are yet to be harvested, the
corn crop is not yet grown. So there
is uncertainty. But whatever promise
our farmers have of getting better
prices has grown out of the crop fail
ures abroad, not out of the enactment
of the new tariff
The change from the Mckinley law
to the Wilson law did not lead to the
fall in prices for agricultural products
that has resulted in great impoverish-
ment to our agricultural classes, the
diminished demand for manufactured
goods and Industrial stagnation. And
this being done, a change from the
Wilson law to the Dingley law cannot
lead to a building up of the prices for
our agricultural products upon which
increased demand for manufactured
goods and industrial revival are de-
pendent. It is legislation affecting oar
monetary system, legislation that has
affected the relative values of gold and
silver that caused the ruinous fall in
agricultural prices, and it is an undo
ing Of this legislation, cutting down
Of the value of gold and a building up
OF the value of silver, so as to diminish
the premium on gold as measured by
silver, that can alone result in per-
manently raising the price level of our
agricultural products and restore pros
perity on permanent basis.
By comparison with the years since,
1892 was a prosperous year. In 1898
changes were made in monetary legis-
lation that had serious effect on the
prices for our farm products. In June
of that year the Indian mints were
closed to free silver coinage. With
October, the United States ceased its
purchases of silver bullion, the silver
purchasing clause of the Sherman act
requiring the purchase of 45OO0OO
ounces of silver monthly and the issue
of treasury notes in payment therefor
being repealed. The result was that
the demand for silver, and with it the
price, fell off most markedly Silver
which sold at 83 cents an ounce before
the closing of the Indian mints fell
soon after the repeal of the purchasing
clause Of the Sherman act to less than
60 cents. With this fall the premium
on gold as measured by silver rose from
SO to over 100 per cent, and as the
raising of this premium On gold was
equivalent to the raising of bounty on
all exports from silver-using and paper
using to gold-using countries, the re-
suit was an enormous stimulus to the
expectation of food products from the
former countries to gold-using Europe,
the competition our farmers had to
meet in the disposal of their surplus
products became more severe than ever,
and prices fell greatly. This fell with
great severity on our producers, but vas
little felt by our competitors, for the
raising of the premium on gold enabled
them to cut gold prices one-third with
out reducing the price received in their
silver or paper currencies.
AS such was the cause leading to the
fall in prices for our agricultural pro-