Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1898-07-08
FARM PRODUCT PRICES.
What Effect Bimetallisln Would
Have on Them.
THE PRESENT PRICE OF WHEAT.
Due to Failure OF Foreign Crops, Not to
observation-disclosures In Supply Of Stand
ard Money Invariably Puts Up Prices.
The Bland Dollar.

Observation-Disclosures In Supply Of Stand
ard Money Invariably Puts Up Prices.
The Bland Dollar.
The question is asked, Would the res
tOratiOn of the bimetallic standard ad-
vantageously raise the price of farm
products, and why? The relation of the
supply Of standard money to general
prices may be proved by the past.
Whenever we have had good times and
high prices, it was accounted for by the
law of supply and demand Notice the
present price of wheat 1t is not due to
high tariff or legislation of any kind,
but simply to the failure of the crop in
some of our great wheat countries, In
dla, Russia, etc, causing a supply Of
wheat smaller than usual in the mar
kets, which i'll turn creates greater de-
mand for what there is, which raises the
prices 1t is the same way with stand
ard money. The less money there is in
the world to exchange for commodities
the less Ne will get in exchange for our
products and the more of our products
we Will have to give i'll return for each
unit Of money (or dollar), which, in
other words, means low prices.
In looking over the statistics of the
past you will find that whenever there
has been an increase in the supply
OF standard money there has been an
increase of prices. Whenever you find
prosperous times and higher prices,
whether it b9 i'll the past, present or fu-
ture, look for the cause and YOU will
invariably find that there has been an
increase i'll the supply of standard mon
ey OF decrease in the supply of COM
modities, all things being equal
When gold was discovered in Califor-
mia and Australia, it increased prosper
ity, also when great silver mines were
found it increased prosperity. And in
later years, i'll 1878. when tho Bland
law was passed which added 81, 600, 600
of silver to our supply of money each
month, there was an immediate rise in
prices. Although the Bland dollar was
not legal standard dollar it was recog-
nized as such by the government and
individuals as full redemption money,
there being no gold bonds, notes or
mortgages issued then. 1t therefore
largely filled the place Of standard, and
the benefits were quickly felt until 1882,
when wealth multiplied faster than the
Bland dollar and prices commenced to
fall until 1890, when our statesmen
tried to restore bimetallism and free
coinage as in 1878.
The plan was defeated and the Sher-
man act adopted. which was better than
not anything. This provided for the
purchase and coinage of 4,500, 600
ounces of silver per month, and an in
crease in general prosperity was the re-
suit, in spite Of the excessive produc-
tion we had at that time. But in 1898
the Sherman act was repealed. and no
act has been passed since to maintain
or increase our supply of standard
money. On the contrary several nations
have discarded silver as standard, which
has decreased the worlds demand for
silver and increased the demand FOR
gold, and in consequence prices have
been on the down grade ever since,
reaching the lowest point the early part
Of this year ever known in the history
of the nation. In spite of these stubborn
facts the goldite denies the law of sup
ply and demand as relating to money.
He claims we had in 1878 only SIS. 23
per capita, while now we have $22.95
but silver and gold were both standard
i'll 1878, and we now have only gold,
which makes us IS. Al per capita, while
our population has increased over &c.
900. 600. The demand for money on ac-
count Of increased business being great
er, we have moro demands on each dol
lar. more people to divide the dollar
among and fewer standard dollars to
answer these demands, SO that is why
prices are low and why bimetallism
will raise them. II. NJ.