Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1897-10-07
FARM PRICES.
HAVE NOT DECLINED IN IOWA SINCE
1860.

"Crime Of 1873" Had No Eject Upon
Prices--No Evidence That Gold Is In
creasing In yalue--Profcssor Nipbers
Conclusion--No Occasion Tor Political
Mysteries.
The great grievance of the silverites
against gold is that it has appreciated
in value since 1873 and that 1t will buy
too much, or. as they prefer to state 1t,
prices arc too low. II it be true that tho
gold dollar is increasing In value from
year to year, then this grievance is o
real one, especially II the appreciation
does not result In lower rate OF inter
est or is not compensated for IN some
other way.
Because prices Of manufactured arti-
Giles have fallen since 1878 and London
prices Of grain are now lower the silver
ties usually take 1t for granted-and
sound money men too often concede 1t
that gold has appreciated. One great
factor, labor, is nearly always omitted
in these discussions, and yet it Is per.
haps as important as all other factors
COIHDlutu, ~ tbo puIShhfibB po"oh Va
both labor and commodities is consid.
cred, 1t In absolutely impossible to show
that gold Is approaching. Properly con.
sidored, IL IL doubtful IL it can be shown
that gold Is increasing In value even
when measured by farm products. Ono
of tho best pamphlets ever published on
this subject Is that Of Professor Francis
j.. Nipher OF st. Louis 1t IL entitled
1.-THE Appreciation Of Gold" and ~
volume 4, No. Ia, Of Sound Currency. :"
Here il what Professor Nipher says on
prices Of farm products in Iowa (the
figures or diagrams are omitted for lack
OF space):
"Mr. George Il. Roberts Of Fort
Dodge, H., has published paper enti-
tied Iowa and tho Silver Question. In
this paper no gives great mass OF Du.
bhque market quotations taken from
the columns Of the Dubuque Herald, on
flo In the historical department Of tho
state Of Iowa at Des Moinos. Tho quo
tntions aro taken on the first Of each
month between 1876 and 1892. in
elusive, and the value Of tho gold dol
lar In tho currency'of tho day IL also
taken at tho same daie. Tho prices are
then referred to gold. These results
show tho average annual purchasing
power Of gold ~ applied to whent, corn,
oats, hogs, cattle, butter and eggs be-
tween tho yonrs 1861 and 1899, in
elusive.
Corn and Oats Figs. and show
tho Dubuque prices Of corn and onts
from 1851 to 1892 There IL nothing
about either curve to attract attention
to tho year 1873 except tho word
"orimo, which indicates where tho not
Of 1873 was passed. Both curves show
distinct rise from 1901, but after 1867
the prices Of both have been practically
constant, with perhaps slight upward
tendency and distinctly higher than
during tho war. Tho price Of corn has
fiuotuated around IN average Of about
80 cents, and that Of oats around an
average of about 30 cents. This does not
mean that Mt various times tho daily
quotations may not have been much
lower. In 1861. for example. during
August and September, tho prico of oats
was 10 cents per bushel. The similarity
between tho slope of tho curves for corn
and oats il very striking.
Cattle. Fig. Q shows tho Dubuque
price of cattle per hundredweight from
1861 to 1902. From 1851 to 1864 tho
annual average was II littlo less than
"a. From 1869 to 1902 tho price was
very steady ut about %, 40 excepting
during tho period from 1880 to 1885.
when prices were nbnormally high, run.
ming up to 80, 30 in 1889, Here, ms in
tho other cases, the war prices were tho
lowest. Tho highest prices were not be-
FORE but nine years after, tho crime.
Hogs. Fig, 7 shows tho Dubuque
price of hogs Compared with subso.
quent prices, tho war prices for hogs
were better thun IN any Of tho other
commodities. The demand for army
supplies may perhaps account for this
Prices during 1859 and 1870 were nh
normally high. Since that time they
have shown no tendency to either riso
or fall, They have huctuated around
M average Of about "a, 90 per hundred.
weight,
Butter and Eggs, Fig, shows tho
Dubuque price of butter and Fig . the
price Of eggs. Here also the lowest
prices were during tho war, and in both
cases there is n marked rising tendency
from start to finish.
III gold has boon increasing in value
by reason Of tho so called crime of 1873.
these quotations should show decrease
in price DATING from 1873. The farmer
has been told that this state Of affairs
exists, but it is tho price Of wheat in
Liverpool or London that has been ap-
pealod to for proof of this decrease In
order to detect any change dating from
1878, it is necessary to mako the exam
ination cover mt least ton years prior to
1873. The results AFRO shown III tho din.
grams which follow, They show ut u
glance how prices have been changing
and how they have been affected by tho
events Of 1873,
wheat. Fig. represents the price
in Dubuque from 1861 to 1892, Tho
average annual price III gold Of wheat
ly,ting tim INp pnliINu IAhk