The times., 1897-09-06

ture, when cultivated in that direction.
can produce.
Mr.. Bryan on Wheat Prosperity.
Our Administration friends will NOT
gather any large amount of satisfaction
from tie clear and concise statementofth the
Hon. William j. Bryan on Dollar Wheat
and New Prosperity written BY requestof
and published in the New York World of
Sunday.
rhe analysis which Mr.. Bryan offers re-
garling the causes for our advanced wheat
market, and for the coincident decline in
the bullion value of silver, is quite familiar
| To readers OF The Times w no have followed
the discussion OF those matters in these
| columns. Bat the former Democratlccandi-
date says what he has To say with terse
ness, point and penetration. and his argu-
ment as usual, is simple and convincing,
as it is logical.
Starting out with the general proposition,
! agreed TO on all hands, that the rise in
wheat is solely due to the almost unprece
dcnt-d disaster which has overtaken the
wheat growers of India, Europe and South
America," Mr.. Bryan sAys: 'Ir the Re
| pu5.icans desire TO claim credit for the
high price OF wheat, they must assume re-
sponsibility fof the famine in India. Win
any Republican convention point with
pride TO the famine as an evidence that
the Republican party is redeeming it's
campaign pledges?'' Again he scores with
this palnabl hit: We were told last fall
that an approaching dollar was ma
tional blessing, and Yet within year
the entire Republican press is in ecstacy
because the purchasing power OF dollar
has been to some extent decreased
Thus, at the first opportunity the Repub-
Iicans have changed front, and. confiniug
themselves for the present TO the wheat
! argument, are endea voring to show that
high-priced commodities are blessing
and tasis of prosperity.
While the Republicans seem to have come
over 70 our Position, there is this essential
| difference between them and the bImetal-
lists: The later desire to raise all prices
! TO the bimetallic level, and then keep
| them there 10y financial system which
! wlll furnish standard money sufficient in
volume to keep pace with the demand Tor
money: the former praise dear Collar
| but grow happy over the cheapening of
the collar in It's relation TO q iew articles
The perfect clearness with which Mr..
Bryan describes the so-called parting Of
silver and wheat, win make that matter
comprehensive to many tn ousands in
New York, where the gold press has done
whateveritcouldto to befog the circumstances
and to ignore or misstate the underlying
causes:
For many years the price of wheat kept
| company with tie price or SifFer.
! This relation between silva and wheat
was commented on by Mr. Rusk secretMar M =
| Of Agriculture. In his report OF 1880,
! page s, he said: ''The recent legislation
! looking TO the restoration OF the blHetall;c
| standard of our currency, and the conse-
quent enhancement of the value of silver,
has unquestionably advanced the price of
wheat in Russia and India and in the same
degree reduced their power English gold
was formerly exchanged for cheap silver,
and wheat purchased with the cheaper
metal was sold in Great Britain for gold
1t is reasonable, therefore, TO expect much
received IN recent years.
Since demonetization one of the few
uses tor silver has been that described by
Mr.. Rusk, and now even that source of
demand is cut off by the crop failures
I'm silver countries. When normal condi-
tons return and they have full harvests
again, their power OF competition, and the
measure Of the disaster that will be to
our farIaers, viii be tile extent OF silver
depression. -fhe cheaper England can buy
silver to exchange for wheat, the worse
off American agriculture viii be every
time.
1t is not the intention of Mr.. Bryan q
paper to decry the comparative prosperity
which tue sufferings of other peoples have
brought temporarily to our farmers, and
incidentally, to general trade, perhaps bu
he does not wish to encourage any ii
Iusions as TO the real basis of the phe
nomenon. He closes by saying: Nothing
can better disclose the weakness of til,
Republican position than the JOY manifested
by Republicans over events for which thei
Administration and their policies are ii
no way responsible