The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1897-02-12
n Isl AAL eosA.
An uIszpert7 Begins again Thatoid EsIE
Of over supply.

u Over supply.
There Is no more egregioUs biUndsrer
than the so-called qualified expert
Expert testimony has become the laugh
ing stock Of cur courts. BY gazing too
long On one special branch of a subject
the experts judgment becomes warped
till his own speciality assumes undue i'm
portsnce in his eyes. Its details are
magnifled and his views Of other lines Of
thought are pFoportionately narrowed.
Nowhere do We find more striking
example Of this truth than in the
science Of finance. ARGENT editorial in
the Philadelphia Press affords e good
instance. The Press prides Itself on its
keen financial editorials, which are
written by one of the best informed
men in the country on some phases Of
the question, but one who bases his
views mainly if not entirely on the coll
dition OF affairs on the various stock
exchanges,
In discussing the present situation he
says; THE capital so long in hiding has
begun TO move into new enterprises.
In November, state. county and munici-
pal bonds sold to the amount of $S4,6OO,-
600 and the New York banks expanded
their loans S65,OOO,O0O in the same
months, etc. This return Of capital 20
active use will quicken every form Of
industry. etc"
This is the stock brokers' idea of
prosperiiy-a demand for bonds and a
plentiful use of borrowed money. But
az we read on in the same editorial we
find other statements which the writer
has apparently overlooked in his desire
to be a prophet Of prosperity, He says:
"Last week, as for a week before, the
general course. of prices was downward.
Wheat fell three cents a busheI, recoY-
ering a cent on Saturday. Corn lost
half a cent a bushei during the week.
Lard and pork both fell. Cotton lost
az eighth of a cent a pound" etc, etc,
"Hides have fallen seven and One-fourth
per cent, in two weeks. In fact the
general course of prices is downward
Railroad earnings are also low for No
vember and show no signs of advance
as yet"
Trying to account for the anomaly of
low prices and prosperity be goes on tc
say that with the exception of wheat,
which is abnormally high, owing to the
famine in India, as every one knows,
there is an over supply of all the CON-
modities. Grain, cotton, sugar, coffee
etc, have ali been piling up while the
demand has not increased. In some
cases prices have been held up by com
binations of manufacturers, but in
such cases sales have fallen of pro-
portionately. Meanwhile The treasury
deficit for the year is Sal 100000
Thus we have a condition of pros
perity" where our national income is
too small by S41 ,COO,GOO 10 meet the de-
mands upon it and our national re
sources are being lowered by a decrease
in our earning power as measured by
the prices Of our staple commodities anC
the earnings of our great railroads anC
factories, Is not this prosperity TIT
prosperity of the spendthrift who II
spending more than his income and in
fringing each year on his capital2 Ever!
months shows growing black storm
cloud of debt, while lowering about likt
vultures after carrion are The keen faces
Of the pawnbrollers waiting the enC
which is sure to come. This is the only
prosperity that we can End evidence 0
in the Press editorial and it comport
so thoroughly with the expectations o
all bimetallists that our only disap
pointment arises from the inability o
the writer to appreciate the situation
he has himself described. - Western
Rural.