The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-07-01
After Wheaf's Tumble.

past VI ~ SAduudIu tdSlly
recalls the time-it was only a
few weeks ago-when goldbug
newspapers were getting great glory
out of the fact that the splendid adj
vance in the price of wheat was the
unfailing sign of restored prosperity
and the convincing proof that the sill
yer argument drawn from the parity
of price between silver and wheat was
completely knocked to pieces.
The newspapers hat rejoiced over
wheat's rapidly rising price knew per-
fectly well that the advance was due
to gambling in the produce exchange.
but that fact did not interfere with
their shouting: they permitted them
selves to live under the Illusion that
by hook or crook wheat once more well
about the dollar line would be good
enough dollar wheat until the next
congressional elections. The sequel was
that the price of wheat came tumbling
down at a breakneck pace tina wrecked
totally some of the heavy men among
the gamblers. heat is away down:
they were selling wheat at less than
seventy cents a bushel in Chicago yes
terday; n the figure would be lower
yet but for the way In which many of
the traders are using up their lungs in
shouting crop failure.
The Standard remembers tina n
goldbug Philadelphia Press was one Of
the newspapers whose editorial pages
lately glowed with the eloquence of
dollar wheat and dollar-and-a-half
wheat and t~wo-dollar wheat and happy
farmers and joyous harvests and twin
screw-propeller prosperity. Now that
wheat has gone where 1t belongs-be-
cause 1t is normally low when silver
and all other commodities are fow-the
solemn observation of the Press is: 1T
is doubtful If the advance did not, on
the other hand, decrease the purchas-
ing power of great masses of people.
Nothing has been more remarkable in
the past six months. which have been
months of great prosperity. wide en-
ployment and good wages, han the
slack character of the demand for
most lines of dry goods and general
supplies. First cottons. like print
cloths, "Yche the lowest record price.
and last week some leading wooden sta
Piles did the same. Government pur-
chases. large as they rave been. have
been at relatively low prices. and there
has been no special advance in conse-
quence of clothing and shoeing 200. 900
men in a month"
That Is a very different tune. but IL
keeps time with the actual conditions.
1t shows that the speculative advance
in wheat, as the result of produce-mar-
ket gambling. did more harm than
good. Wages dldn't advance. nor did
the run Of the commodities which labor
produces; 1t look just so much more of
labor and of every other product of la
Dor to buy bread. Letter and his clique
had the resultant millions of benefit for
a few days. but the Armour crowd
gobbled II finally: this country's toiling
masses might just as well have raised
the millions of money by popular sub
scription and presented IL to the win
ners of the wheat corner.
Describing this result in other words.
the Philadelphia Press finds itself COM
PEELED to say: THE most natural ex-
PLANTATION of all this seems to be that
the high price of food during the last
half year has reduced purchases for
general merchandise by reducing the
size of the margin left for this purpose
in small incomes" That is Bible truth;
but is isn't prosperity. and the free
coinage argument comes out of the
wheat Zeal indicated.