Omaha daily bee., 1899-10-25
puRA Ar1ON OF PROSPERITY.


persuade the people that 1t is largely
superficial and will soon pass away
The leaders of the party of calamity,
conscious of the overwhelming refuta-
ton of their theories and prophecies,
assert that the prevailing conditions are
not substantial, that they have not come
about naturally but are the result of an
abnormal state of affairs the world over,
and that consequently they cannot have
an extended duration. In a short time,
they declare with characteristic sa-
pience, the tide of prosperity will ebb
leave the country in n worse condition
than before it emerged from the unfor-
tunate situation produced by democratic
assault upon the industries and the
money of the nation.
OF course the proposition that the i'm.
proved conditions are in any degree due
to republican policy is contemptuously
rejected by the popocrats, yet it is an
indisputable fact that Improvement be-
gun Immediately after the election of
1896 and has since gone on steadily, de-
veloping in some directions unparalleled
results. Three years ago more than one
half the manufacturing industries of the
country We're idle and the others
awaited apprehensively the popular YER
dict. AS soon as that was known re-
covery begun and by the time the re-
publican administration was installed
In o1 i,-;f
1t was the most extraordinary mani
festation of business confidence in a
political party ever shown in this or any
other country. Within this time the
United States has taken first place in
the production of iron and steel and is
now absolutely secure in that position.
There has been u large increase in the
production of textile manufactures and
the industry is still growing. The dem
ocrats said that under republican policy
foreign exports Of manufactures would
decline. They have enormously in
creased. The home consumption of agrl-
cultural products is very much larger
| now than it was three years ago. Bryan
| and other leaders of the calamity party
tell the farmers that they owe their
| more prosperous condition wholly to the
| foreign demand for their products
What are the facts? In 1893 the value
of the agricultural products of the
United States, according to the disinter
| ested and impartial statistician, Mr.
! Mulhall, was $3,9O3 100000. In 1895
the value was $4,537 100000. OF this
increase of S634 900, 900 in the five years
about two-thirds went into home con
sumption-that is, our own people con
| sumed in 1898 about $40O,000,000 more
of agricultural products than they did il
| 1893 and that amount represents nearl.
half the value of the exports of those
products. The American market is tn,
| greatest in the world and it has beer
made so by republican policy.
| No one can predict with certainty th'
duration of the existing prosperity. NJ
man familiar with the operation of eco
| nomic laws expects that it will cOntinu
indefinitely. Eras Of good times ant
bad times alternate periodically. Thi
is familiar principle to all students o
political economy and to all intelligen
observers of the laws of trade. Soone
or later the extraordinary demand of tn
past year or two for the products o
iron and steel will be supplied and the
dullness will for time come to tina
industry. Other industries will have
like experience. Better crops abroa
will reduce the foreign demand for on
agricultural products. These are iney
table conditions But the popocrati
theory is that they can be avoided b
an unlimited imitation of silver currency
On the contrary the effect of thus de
basing the whole volume of money an
driving the best of it out of circulatiO
would be to precipitate and aggravat
adverse conditions.
The outlook for protracted perio
of sound prosperity Is highly Favorable
, There is little of Il speculative charactt
in either our foreign or domestic trad
New markets are opening to us. Final
cial confidence is strong and the spir
of enterprise active. 1t Is the dictat
of wisdom and prudence to adhere
!, the policies which have produced thes
conditions.
: In 1896 popocratic orators were tellin
farmers that If the gold standard WI