Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-01-04

l
latter It was $267. 962, 221. In the pro-
duction of silver, of course, the siiVei
| states take the lead, producing
97.7 of all that is produced in the
| country AS to the thrift of the peo-
pie the savings banks depositors In the
gold states numbered 4,S10,346 and IN
the silver states but 63,60O. in the for-
mer II per cent. of the population being
depositors and in the latter IL per
cent.
Among thescopclusions deduced from
these statistics are the following:
Notwithstanding the fact that tney
! are less agricultural, the gold stand
ard states exceed the others far less IN
value of personal than in that OF real
property showing that real estate val
ues are relatively lower and not hlgh-
err as "A rule, among agricultural peo-
pies" Here is hint, though prop
ably not intended, at the way in when
protection and stimulation of DIVERSE
fed industries in this country also pro-
tects and stimulates agriculture Inc
gold standard states also show iar
higher mortgage indebtedness per III
habitant New York alone, owes on
real estate 40 per cent. more than all
tie free silver states combined.
That feature of the circular which re-
lates to the purchasing power OF agrl-
cultural prod,teAon is Yexhaustiveiy
treated. A I'll is presented showing
the total product and total value of the
countrys leading staples for the aver
age of eight yeaa table of gold val
ues of farm products and silver ana
diagram showing the fluctuations. Re
specting the fluctuations in agricur
tural prices the report concludes:
1T will be observed that the years IN
which violent oscillations of the aSri-
cultural price line show themselves are
usually years when the price OF some
one of the three crops is especially al
fected and in most cases there Is Httle
difficulty in discovering the reason
For example, the effect of especially
short corn crops in 1867, 1874 1881, 1884,
1890, and 1894 in increasing the price
and that of especially abundant crops
of the same cereal in 1884, 1885. lSSs'and
1895 in cheapeuf4Git, are plainly shown
in the table, ngay in jhe corrHsrice,
but in that ol1te pm. short hay CROPS
and high priS Kect the whole com :.
bination in ears 1871 1850, and 1887,
while goodseS(kAnd low.Sprices pro-
duce the rever2S }fect.in afs and 1854
Low prices for Wheat cofntaasdrwith
abundant wheat crops in 1881 and
1885: high prices with deficient dy1ps in
1866 and ISL These exceptional crops
in large measure account TOR the vio-
lent disturbances of the price line.
In some of these an abundant yield
of one crop is offset by a deficient yield
of another and in other years, such as
1867 and 1891, prices in this country
were upheld by exceptionally strong
demand in Europe. The prices in the
years last noted are relatively higher
for wheat than for other crops, as the
table proves.
Besides the fluctuations depending on
vicissitudes of season. affecting the
price for a single year. there Will be
noted a few others extending over
several years of varying seasons. These
are explained by commercial condl-
tons The period of low prices from
1878 to 1878. followed by a sudden re-
vival in 1879: the fall from 1854 to 1886,
and the similar one beginning in 1875,
are all reflections of business depres-
sions and recoveries. If these factors
had not existed in addition to those al
ready noted, the movement OF agrlcui-
tural prices for the thirty years COW
cred might have nearly approached the
uniform diminution shown IN the
straight line of the diagram.
The price of wheat has often been
used as test of the value standard
and great stress has been laid upon the
general correspondence between the
price variations Of this grain and those
of silver. The farm value of 100 BUSH
els of wheat is given. on gold OASIS
in the last column Of Table ii, and
comparison of it's course with that OF
the commercial value of LIS grams OF
silver shows some points of agreement
and some points of contrast. There
are divergenceS explained by excep-
tional crops and others by exceptional
foreign demand as shown above.
Moreover, in the wheat price is OBJ
servable greater sensitiveness tofnan-
cial conditions, which is doubtless 1t
self an effect of foreign demand. At
tending only to the points of agree
ment, and assuming that agreement as
exact, the inference is easily drawn That
in order to denote a constant purchas-
ing power over wheat, gold ought to
have been abandoned and silver fol-
lowed as soon as the relative CONNER
cial value of the two began to show
wide difference from the accepted coin
age value.
But without denying that some such
correspondence exists, it should never
theless be firmly borne in mind that
wheat is not the only crop grown in the
United States. 1t is not the most i'm
portant crop grown. 1t does not even
stand second in Importance. Ii we
consider the products which outrank it,
we find in neither the first nor the sec
ond of them any such correspondence
with the price of silver as is shown for