Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1897-02-13
Eject OF cheap silver on Prices.

0uS Oh the 1ulCaSu ttrGuTh , SoAio
spondents. in criticising Gov. Altgeld's
statements, wanted to know why It
was that cheap silver had dragged |
down the prize of wheat and cotton and
not the price of corn. hops, beef, hay
and coffee. Now, this question covers
n very large order. However, 1t can DO
briefly answered in relation to most
OF the articles he enumerates. The price
of coffee Is controlled by very small
combination OF men. who hold the bust
ness very firmly in their grip, and VINO
have for great many years controlled
the produce of the coffee plantations by
advancing money under contract, anu
it should also be understood that the
old coffee plantations are not yielding
as large crops as formerly, from
popularity Of the plant eXhausting the
soil
As hay ID not shipped abroad. It's
price Is not influenced in competition
with hay crops OF the silver-standard
countries. American beef does come
in competition with beef OF silver
standard countries, but the quality OF
beet from these countries Is SO inferior
that il Is powerless to influence ina
price OF good American beef. Corn and
| hogs are practically one and the same,
as hogs are raised on corn, and any
/ huctuation in the price OF corn causes
similar fluctuations in that OK pork.
| There are no hogs or corn shipped by
| any OF the silyer-standard countries 70
| tine British or European markets, ana
/ therefore the rates of exchange with
I silver countries does not directly affect
/ the price OF the commodities referred
/ to- AS regards cotton and wheat the
/ case Is quite different These products
are largely grown in silyer-standard
countries and shipped to our foreign
| gold-standard countries. thereby COM
1 peting directly with American cotton
and wheat. resulting in the great low
ering Of the price OF the cotton. While
4 | emphatically deny what Is assumed
4 by some Of your correspondents. tina.
| the fall in prices Is due to oyerproduc-
tion, | viii, admit, for the sake Of argu-
tnent, that such Is the case. Admitting
this, yet TO the low prices caused BY
oyerpreductlon there Is bound to be
added another depreciation in price
from the rate Of exchange Of the silver
countries. which | will here illustrate:
Let rs suppose that supply and de-
mand have had their due effect and that
wheat has been reduced to shillings a
bushel in Liverpool. Now le; us take
silver at 4 shi!lings an ounce. 50 that
an ounce Of silver will purchase a
bushel Of wheat. Suppose a fall OF /
shilling an ounce in silver represent
Ing decrease OF 25 per cent, leaving
the price at 3 shillings an ounce. Now.
as we do not have to pay any more sill
yer for wheat In silver countries. and
are able TO get p per cent more in ex-
change for gold, We are able TO get
wheat from the silver countries at
shillings bushel-a state OF things
which compeis Uncle Sam to send
over his wheat al the same figure Thus
1t will be seen that the rate Of exchange
has an effect quite independent Of over
production.
The same rule applies 10 cotton.
When the characterization Of silver
made cheap cotton and wheat, the Man
chester people were In high glee be-
cause they were getting their raw ma
terial and breadstuff cheaper with a
fallen market. and they BATTERED them
: selves that they were going to close
Up tt2 cotton mills " America and
control the markets Of the world for
cotton goods. But something soon oc.
Cured that Manchester had not
| dreamed Of They were getting, IT Il
J true, more silver for their gold, and
J therefore more cotton for their gold
from India. But the people OF India
| soon found out that, when they were
Z paid In silver for their cotton and
: wheat, and went to buy the manufac-
T tured article from Manchester, they hat
r to pay nearly twice a. much Of theil
: silver as formerly. to such an exten
r had silver been cheapened. They ac
e cordingly took the remedy into theil
r own hands and built their own mills
: much to the injury OF Manchester
b which has not only lost the Indiar
/ trade to great extent, but also tina
8 with China and Japan. II is on thi
r account that Manchester manufacturer
4 are III ldfOl vi HTElilR d
D they do that If silver is not remone
h tized. the gold-standard countries will
3 lose much OF their Asiatic trade: tina
d cheap silver Is premium that make
r 1t d great inducement for India, Chin
$ and Japan to build up their own manu-
e features, and when done the gold
J. standard nations will not succeed Il
IS holding or gaining the trade OF thos
d countries. In other words, as long a
II we cheaper silver by decentralization
1t silver countries will not buy any NOR
,e Of our goods than they can possibl
,e help, having to pay twice as much Z
Ie their silver for our goods as they di
,r before the white metal was demont
ls tized. r. G. BECKWITH.
is No. 81 Nicholas Lane. Lombard st
r e. c., London, Nov. II.
y Light Wood.
The lightest wood known Is that