People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1897-09-16

when the people were able to buy tie
products Of the mills. When a gov
ernment official points out the adyan-
tage accruing to the country from the
fact that the farmers have several
hundred millions OF additional money
to spend in paying debts and buying
merchandise, he strengthens the posi-.
tiOn taken by bimetallists. II the
rise in wheat will enable the farmers
to pay their interest more promptly
and have money left to buy merchan-
disc, how much greater would be the
general benefit if the rise extended TO
all agricultural products? e.
PAYING MORTGAGEs-sILvER's FALL
In calculating the political effect Of
a rise in wheat, it must be remembered
that many farmers were threatened
with foreclosures during the last cam
paign and that a considerable part Of
the money received for wheat will be
employed in paying off mortgages.
Thus intimidation will be somewhat
restricted, but the demard for mer-
chandise will be less than it would be
under ordinary circumstances.
The reasons give above for believ-
ing that bimetallists will find encOur.
agement rather than Encouragement
in present conditions are the same
which have been given by other advo-
Gates Of bimeUalliSm. Those who advO-
cate free coinage may be wrong, but
they agree upon the principles which
underlie the money question, and
they are not likely to be frightened
away from their position by events
which enfOre their arguments.
the law Of supply and demand ex-
plains the fall in silver as well as the
rise 10 wheat. To what extent the
fall in silver may have been acceler-
ated by speculation in silver bullion /
cannot say. 1t would be possible for
the bears to run the price Of silver
down to some extent just as they
sometimes lower the price Of grain,
and it would be easier to manipulate
the silver market because both the
demand and supply are more limited
than the demand for our supply of
grain; but, without considering the
effect OF speculation, both legislation
and circumstances have tended to
lessen the price CT silver. The action
of Japan has lessened the demand for
silver, and the United States has not
yet made sufficient progress towards
international bimetallism TO strength
en- the market. Added to this, the
short wheat crop in silver-using
countries has lessened the demand for
silver for the purchase Of wheat.
WHEN PRICES KEPT TOGETHER.
For many years the price Of wheat
kept company with the price Of silver.
l do not mean to say that the fuctu-
atiOns we're always simultaneous, bat
they were measurably so. This re.
lation between silver and wheat was
commented upon by Mr.. Rusk, secre-
tary of agriculture. In his report Of
1890, page 5, he said: "Tbe recent
legislation looking to the restoration
of the bimetallic standard OF sOur
currency and the consequent enhance
ment of the value of silver has un-
questiOnably advanced the price of
wheat in Russia and India, and in
the same degree reduced their power
Of competition. English gold was
formerly exchanged for cheap silver
aud.wheat purchased with the cheaper
metal was sold In Great Britain for
gold. Much Of this advantage is lost
by the appreciation Of silver in those
countries. It's reasonable, therefore,
to expect much higher prices for wheat
than have been received in recent
years."
The above quotation explains why
wheas and silver kept together, and
also supports the proposition that
legislation can raise the price Of
silver by increasing the demand for it..
When Mr.. Rusk made this comment
India had free coinage, and the wheat
growers Of the United States had to
meet the competition by reducing the
price Of wheat as the price Of silver
fell.
WHAT BDIETALLISTs CONTEND.
In 1893 coinage was suspended IN
India, so that British purchasers
could no longer have their silver con-
verte1 into rupees. The Indian gov.
ernment, however according to the
report issued by the director Of the
United States mint in 1894, under
took to furnish fifteen rupees in ex-
change for one pound sterling tgold).
This fixed the ratio at about "a to l.,
and gives the Indian farmer an ad-
vantage of about so per cent over the