The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-04-25
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THE INTELLIGENCER.
WHEELING, APRIL s5, 1890. (.
American Farmers and Prosncritv,

Our esteemed friend. the Register,
which studiously avoids saying any
thing to-day that Is consistent with its
record of yesterday, remarks that, DE
spite the extensive famine In Russia,
which takes Grea. wheat raising
country out Of the worlds markets this
year as an export nation, prices of
wheat and corn In this country little
more than pay the farmer for his
labor" The farmers Of this country
have not yet harvested their. crops for
this year, and 1t Is little early to fore
cast the prices. but the predictions OF
the agricultural department reports are
that great crop will be produced this
year. What the surplus for export will
be cannot now be estimated, but it Is
very likely that the demand from Eu-
rope will be exceptionally large. and the
American wheat producers will profit
by whatever shortage there is over
there just as they have done in the
past. Our exports of agricultural pro-
ducts last year were sS5S.5O 900. an in
crease of rs per cent over 1897. Wheat
almost doubled in price, and the farm
ers got their share in 1897 and 1898.
But a short time before, in 1896, the
leader Of the Chicago Democracy. and
every free silver organ in the country
had been bewailing the low price of
wheat and attributed every bit of the
cause to the gold standard" and the
low price of silver. The year following
the defeat OF this sort of theorizing. was
one of great prosperity for the farmer
Despite the undoing of Mr.. Bryan and
free silver. despite the gold standard,
wheat went up in price. The demand
for export was very great. by reason of
the failure OF European crops and
shortage in India. and dollar wheat.
which Mr.. Bryan had promised II free
silver carried, became Il reality with
out 1t.
The great law OF supply and demand,
which the Republicans had commended
governed the market prices of our aSri-
cultural products, was practically DEM
onstrated. When the Republicans made
use of this fact to disprove the absurd
theory, used on every Popocratic stump
and in every Bryan newspaper. that the
price of wheat was regulated by the
price Of silver-that the two kept to-
gether-and when it was shown that
silver was daily going down in price
while wheat was going up. Bryan and
the organs pointed out that the short
which caused the wheat and corn to
advance that the circumstances were
extraordinary"
Now we find one OF these same organs
trying to show that despite famine
In Russia, which takes that great
wheat raising country out of the worlds
markets this year as an export nation,
prices Of wheat and corn In this coun-
try little more than pay the farmer for
his labor" This point, in view of the
fact that the American farmers crops
OF this year have not been harvested,
that the farmers are not selling them
because they are not due. and the great
movement OF crops has not and will not
occur until nature does its work, Is
rldlculous-madc more so by our neigh
boris wall that the prosperity We hear
SO much about has not yet reached the
farmer this year.
The demand for American wheat and
other cereals for export this year will
be great enough to absorb the supply,
and the farmer will get his share Of the
benefit as he did at the time We refer
to, when more western mortgages were
paid on than ever before. II the Regis
ter will kindly walt until the season Is
fairly on.