The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-08-01
THE MARKETS RANGE.
The East and the West.

British Columbia papers complain
that the East has little sympathy with
the West in a business way. The same
complaint has frequently been made in
this country and doubtless with some
reason. The charge, however should
not be made too broadly, for what ap-
pears to be a want of sympathy is gen.
orally mere failure to understand.
There is no inherent difference between
the men of the East and those of the
West; but there is a very considerable
difference in their education, and vast
difference in their situation. The aver
age Western man has come here from
the East bringing with him a fair
knowledge Of business and social con-
ditions in that sectional knowledge
which is kept abreast of the times by
travel and correspondence. The Eastern
man generally knows nothing of the
West save at long range, and he not
infrequently observes Western men
and measures through distorted media.
Then, again, the East referred to is
not the great body of the people in
class. Capital is always conservative,
and will not offer itself for investment
in distant enterprises unless upon sat
isfactory assurance of their merits.
Such assurance is often lacking, and
hence the capital shrinks, hesitates or
bered that when men have accumulated
large wealth they become very careful
of it and are not disposed to take many
chances of loss. They grow to attach
more Importance to what they have al
ready acquired than to the chance of
getting more. This is especially true
with the distinctively capitalistic class
that is, those who are in a position to
control large sums of ready money, or
q bank credit which is its full equiva-
lent, and who are on the lookout for
safe and profitable investments.
The land owner counts his holdings
generally in acres and houses. The
capitalist reckons his in dollars. He
is shocked at the idea of having his
dollars reduced either in their num-
Der or value. AS a rule he takes pleas
ure in contemplating a fall of prices
because with given number Of dollars
he can buy more of whatever he may
happen to need or desire. At the same
time, his conscience receives a severe
jolt at the thought of a change in
monetary policy which will have the
effect of raising prices, thus lessening
the value or effective power of his
money.
Obviously the one is merely the con-
verse of the other. When prices fall,
money, which is the instrument that
marks the prices, must necessarily rise.
On the other hand, when the prices rise
the money must fall, because 1t will
take more of it to buy the same guam
tity of property. The capitalist merely
looks at the matter from his point OF
view. Frequently he loses more than
he gains by his narrowness, but he
does not know it and therefore he is
happy. This has been notably true i'll
his dealing with the money question.
There is probably not one so-called
capitalist In a hundred who has been
actually benefited by the warfare uron
silver as money metal, and the at
tempt to extend the sphere of the gold
standard. A single dollar will buy
more than formerly, but business has
been curtailed by that very fact, and
even the capitalists themselves, with
only rare exceptions, have fewer dol
lars than they would have If both
metals could be freely used as money.
But all this aside, if the Eastern
owner of capital sees an opportunity
for profitable investment he is going
TO take advantage of it. The duty Of
the Western press is to safeguard him
against fakes, and. at the same time,
make a fair exposition of the real ad-
vantages which this region presents
Then the capital will come