The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1898-09-16
WHEAT N SILVER
Normal Crops Abroad VIII Again
Bring Z o Our Cereal Its Reduced
Gold standard Price.

OOI0 StooooT0 GTsCes
The wheat crop Of India failed in
1896, and over 100000 Of the inhabi-
rants of that unfortunate land died OF
starvation before another crop was
raised. The drought in that country
was so severe that il caused the crop
OF 1897 to be exceedingly short. fall
ing far below the demand for home
consumption. In addition TO the fall
ure in India. there was a short crop in
Russia, q failure in the Argentine Re-
public. and an exceedingly short crop
Of both wheat and rye in all the Eu-
ropean states. especially Austro-Hun-
gary. The United States was favored
last year with more than an average
tition in the English market and other
places where the worlds surplus is
disposed of. India, Austria and other
countries thai had formerly been our
chef competitors had TO buy wheat
from the United States. These facts,
together with the ~foolhardy attempt
~ young Letter, of Chicago, to corner
tHC "ntal taueto II HAAtt
of wheat to advance during the past
year TO a point which brought back
to our farmers the memory of better
days when wheat raising was a profit
able industry.
The republican press and orators
loudly proclaimed throughout the
land that the advance in the price of
wheat was due to republican leg
islation and republican congressman
sought diligently to impress upon
their constituents that credit was due
10 them for bringing about the adj
vanced price of wheat, and claimed
that it was but the beginning of an era
of better prices generally. that would
place the nation on the high road to
prosperity. The republican press
claimed that, as wheat was advancing
in price at the same time that silver
bullion was falling in price. it fur
uished complete and conclusive evil
dence that the argument advanced by
the democrats in 1896, that there was
some relation between the price of
wheat and silver bullion, was COM
pletely exploded.
They forgot, however. to tell the
people that the only ground upon
which any silver advocate claimed
that a relation between the price of
silver and wheat existed was that
wheat from both gold and silver stand
ard countries was being sold in the
same markets in competition. Under
this condition they claimed that a
bushel of wheat from Russia. India,
the Argentine Republic or the United
States would be sold in the common
market for a like quantity Of gold.
1t must be borne in mind that the
cost Of wheat or any other commodity.
that is the seed, labor, land rents and
interest on capital, together with the
profits to the producer are reckoned
in the money of the country where the
wheat or other commodities are pro-
duced. 1t is an ~undisputed fact that
silver in India and Russia will pur.
chase as much labor and material at
the present time as at any time in the
past. Therefore, when the wheat of
India or Russia is sold in Liverpool for
gold that can be exchanged for double
the mount of silver money that i.
would command before silver was de-
monetized. it can be sold for a lower
price in terms of gold and yet return
the producers sufficient silver to pay
them a good profit. 1t is also rue that
in proportion as silver bullion falls in
price they can sell their wheat cheap
err for gold and still get the same re-
turns and the same profits that they
formerly received, and that every de-
cline in the price of silver brings them
additional profit. The advantage ac-
cruing to silver standard countries
from a favorable exchange Of moneys
stimulated the production of wheat in
such countries and made wheat raising
Improbable under the gold standard
while the profits to the silver-using
countries continued on the increase.
The price in gold that the people of
India and Russia are willing TO accept
for their wheat in the Liverpool mar
ket is all that the American can obtain
for his product. The wheat from all
countries meeting in the market where
tnc SuIplu> - soid stllS III u CoullllOH
prse in the money current in that
market. Therefore, the gold price of
the wheat Of America is fixed in Liver
pool by the surplus of wheat of India
and Russia so long as those countries
have wheat TO sell.
Last year the silver standard coun-
tries were buyers and not sellers Of
wheat, hence the connection between
the price of silver bullion and wheat
was severed for the time being and no
relation between the two existed. But
this year Russia has a large surplus to
sell and India and the Argentine Re-
public have a surplus and the price of
silver bullion will again fix the price of
the American wheat crop, because our
surplus must be sold in the markets
OF the world in competition with the
surplus from silver-using countries.
Last year the silver standard coun-
tries had no wheat to sell and there
fore were unable TO purchase silver
from abroad. but on the other hand
were forced to sell silver in the worlds
markets 10 buy wheat. thus the