The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1901-03-29
PRICES OF COMMODITIES.
How Affected by the Amount of
Honey i'm Circulation-The
Teaching of History
and Experience.

Every one can see that falling prices for
commodities means hard times and that
rising prices mean good times. And
every one may see, if he will look, that
four factors enter into the result of high
or low prices. The price of every conf
modify depends upon four things the
supply of such commodity; the demand for
it the supply of money and the demand
for it. Every one sees that the number
of bushels of wheat which horse may
be traded for will depend upon the sup
ply of wheat the demand for it and the
supply of horses, and the demand for
them. Similarly the number of dollars
which horse may be traded for will de-
pend upon the supply of dollars in pro-
portion 10 the demand for dollars, as we'll
as the supply of horses in proportion to
the demand for horses.
The price of everything is determined
by the law of supply and demand but
the law of supply and demand applies to
money, as we'll as the horses or wheat or
potatoes.
Money it is true does not seem to rise
or fall, but an increase in the supply of
money is always Immediately followed by
a rise in the prices of commodities, as the
experience of every man of middle age
will abundantly prove. The enormous
amount of money put in circulation by
the expenses of the Civil War raised
prices very high and they remained high
until by the destruction of the greenbacks
and closing of the minis against silver
the supply of money was greatly reduced.
Then followed the panic of 1873 and
hard times until the further destruction
of the greenbacks was stopped and the
Bland Act of 1873 began TO supply s., ooo,-
900 of silver money per month.
Then followed higher prices and better
times. And so when the government
began to put large sums of money in cir
culation in the Spanish and Philippine
wars prices again rose i'll response to the
unvarying rule that more money means
higher prices. Some will say that the
higher prices came because Mckinley
was elected in 1896, but no one can dis
pute the fact that higher prices did not
come when Mckinley was elected, nor
when he was inaugurated, nor for year
afterwards; did not come, in fact, until
after the money began to be expended
for the war.
1t being shown that an increase in the
volume of money raises prices, the i'm
portant question is how to increase the
volume of money i'll circulation. War is
one way to do it but no one will advo-
cate continual or periodical wars for the
purpose of putting sufficient money in
circulation to stimulate prices. Fanines
and short crops abroad, by compelling
other countries 10 send an unusual guam
tity of their money to us to buy food, will
increase our money supply; but we can
scarcely expect the Lord to send famines
and short crops upon other countries
every year, in order to furnish US proper
supply of money.
Another way to get plenty of money is
to authorize banks to manufacture money
out OF paper, in unlimited quantities but
this gives to the banks the power to put
up or put down the prices of commodities
at will, power which the old United
States bank actually exercised until Jack
son destroyed it.
The other way to furnish a sufficient
supply of money is to have the minis open
to the free and unlimited coinage of both
silver and gold ; and, if this does not
supply enough, make up the deficiency
by the issuance of government paper
money.