The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1904-07-15

boom values and credit operations was
releated from the system. II went on
until agriculture, the basic industry. re-
viyed In the midst OF the panic all
the wise men, and chief among them the
republican leaders. told US that II was
lack OF confidence In the money OF the
country" that had brought on the panic.
The democratic administration, with a
sufficient number OF votes OF both par
ties ia the two houses behind II took
that view Of the situation and demand
ed and secured the passage oil the act
repeating the purchasing clause OF the
Sherman act. thereby, for the first time,
practically establishing the gold stand
ard in the United States. Without either
free or limited coinage OF standard Sill
yer money. the country was. immediate
" after the passage OF that act, neces-
sarily and actually as IL has been since,
and as IL Is now and as IL is destined
TO remain for a length OF time beyond
my power OF computation, on gold
basis. | was not one OF those VINO
thought the legislation adopted WISE
but, wise or unwise the result is an ac-
complIshed fact. plain, palpable and
obvious" TO all men who have common
sense. and like many another step in
history it Is beyond recall, or hope OF
recall This accomplished fact was the
fact OF a gold basis then. not by the re-
publican party, but by the logged per-
sistency and indomitable will of Grover
| Cleveland aided II is true by republican
| legislators, who thought they saw In
II the final disruption Of the democratic
party. That was in the main their mo-
tive. Now they would steal his thun-
der" and this republican platform
boasts that II was the republican party
which established the gold basis. More
over. they would now eat their words
and their votes of 1893 and tell us that
the panic was not brought about, as
they then said, by lack Of confidence In
our money and too much silver, but
forsooth. by a tariff act which was not
passed until more than year after, to-
wit: in 1894. when the panic, that Is the
acute and fright stage Of depression, was
virtually over Do not misunderstand
me- A panic, OF course, is not succeed
ed all at once by the golden hues OF
prosperity. Industrial depression must
follow il for awhile. as depression must
precede IT, So depression continued un-
til when?
AS | have said. when the boil bursts
and the poison is eliminated from the
body commercial the flesh begins 10
heal. 1t cannot begin to heal one min
ute earlier. The process OF recovery
was aided by many, for US. fortuitous
circumstances The first OF these was
famine in indiana Indian wheat TO
compete in the European market with
: simultaneously with an immense
American crop of wheat and small crops
elsewhere Wheat rose from about 40 TO
; about 20 cents in a few weeks during
, the Bryan Mckinley campaign while
, Cleveland was yet president. There is
| not a man within the sound OF my voice
a that does not remember that. With
. 70 cent wheat farmers could pay the
: retailers the debts due them and the
!. retailers could buy more goods; the
retailers, with empty shelves or shelves
e becoming empty by sales. could order
r from the jobbers the jobbers, who had
: been over-stocked, we're enabled then
: to order from the factories. When the
: factories got orders then they had q
d reason 70. making goods and they pro-
e ceeded 70 make them, and then the
r wheels OF industry went round. The
= farmer in the wheat country, with 40
S cent wheat could pay the baker, the
:. butcher and candle-stick maker" and
s then they could pay others and they in
: turn could buy more goods. This end
+ less chain OF human relationship in the
: world OF commerce is no mysterious
:. thing TO anybody except platform
y making politician.
e But wheat going up had another effect
r When wheat went up during the cam
s paien. while silver bullion went down,
5 there was therby furnished a seem
i ing object lesson OF the inaccuracy oil
S the contention of Mr.. Bryan and his
; followers. of whom was one, that there
i was necessarily a connection in price
}. between the two. Western and border
Il state farmers in the wheat belt, who hao
e originally been republicans anyho"
il and who had gone of from the repub-
i lican party because Of their belief In
i this very theory, began 10 leave the
/ Bryan column and join the Mckinley
4 column. first by the dozen, then by the
e score. then by hundreds and then IN
e shoals. Thus it came about that Mr
II Mckinley was elected because wheat
went up and because the going Up Of
j. wheat and the consequent increased de
a mand for other things leading to higher
d prices aud better volume of trade
q promised to their minds prosperity
1. without free silver. Agreater faisehooC
I was never uttered than that wheat. oil
+ anything else. went up because Mr.
10 Mckinley was elected" Things hac
Z. struck rock bottom and had begun Z
~ revive before Mr. Mckinley was elected
10 and the first index Of that fact was the
rise in the price of wheat, followed b,
n the rise in the price OF other agriculture
p products alphabetically with II. Their
p came the immense increase OF gold out
IS put that kept prices up here and else
sr where. Not only is the boast that Mr.
10 McKinley's election was responsible TO