The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1909-12-03
Are excessive tariff duties to blame
for these HIGH nrices renerallrS

i
tive tariffs because they lead to grave
abuse and injustice; but the explana-
ton OF high prices is not found there.
| Ii the prices which have so steadily
advanced during the past ten years
were confined to articles exclusively
produced by a combination of Ameri-
can manufacturers anu the protection
of tariff so high as to exclude all
foreign competition, while the prices
of other articles not.so protected re-,
manned stationary or dropped into a
lower scale, we would be justified in
yattributing the higher prices of such
protected articles to the prohibitive
tariff and to domestic monopoly; but
that is not the case.
The United States steel corporation,
in many lines, enjoys monopoly, and
yet its products have not advanced
more than thousands of articles which
1t does not produce or control and the
production of which,is not protected
by the tariff nor by any trust or com
bination whatsoever.
Grant that prohibitiye tariffs are re-
sponsible for such advances above the
general level as may be traced to
them, yet this does not explain the
generally high and advancing prices
of innumerable articles, to which they
bear no relation.
There is a heavy tariff on sugar and
the. American Sugar Refining COM
pany is one of the worst outlaws in the
country. But sugar is one of the few
articles that has, not advanced in
price. On the contrary it has gone
down. In 1907 we imported four bill
lion pounds of sugar, which paid a
duty of over sixty million dollars, and
yet, while the price of food products
are not affected by the tariff increased
over 26 per cent during the past ten
years, the price of sugar fell 1.6 per
cent. This fall in price was undoubt-
eddy due to oyerproduction, but it in
dicates that some other cause than
monopoly and high protective tariffs
is responsible for the general advance
in prices.
Statistics collected by the bureau of
Labor show that the advance in prices
has been worldwide, and that the pro-
ducts of the farm have kept pace
with the products of the mill and fac
tory. What, then, is the case?
Manifestly, it is complex. Many ele-
ments enter into it. Variations in
the harvest, changes in the fashions
and habits of the people, the use of
other articles as substitutes, overpro-
duction, shortage inssupply-all these,
to greater or less degree, affect
prices.
But there is another very material
factor, not having been taken into full
account, and that is the subantial in
crease in the volume of gold, which
measures the value of all commodi-
ties, and the increase in the circulate
ing medium of the United States in
the past II years. On July l, 1896, the
circulation per capita in the United
States was S2l.10, while on July l.,
1909, Notwithstanding the great in
crease in population since 1896, it was
S35.01 per capita, an increase of $13.91
per capita. The worlds coinage in
1896 was little less than 5000, 900, OOO;
in 1907 it was little more than $780,
100000 In 1896 the production of
gold in the United States was $685.
OSS, 900; in 1907 it was $4,000, 3S9
This enormous increase in circulation
per capita in the United States have
obviously lessened the purchasing
power Of the dollar.
The value of commodities expressed
in cheaper dollar means, of course,
higher prices. While this increase in
money volume is not, Of course, the
sole cause Of advancing prices, it is
the prime cause, and for some reason
it has been given slight attention in
the public discussion so far. 1t has
been the chief contributing cause to
prosperity and good times, and no one
could secure hearing who would pro
pose a contraction of the present vol
ume of circulation.
While the laboring man, whose
wages have not advanced as swiftly
as the cost Of living, and the man de.
pendentupon fixed salary which has
not advanced at the same rate, have
suffered and have reason to complain,
statistics show, nevertheless, that the
average wage per hour in over 1900
establishments in the principal man
ufacturing and mechanical industries
i of the Uunited States in 1907 was 2S.s
per cent higher than the average wage
per hour for the years from 1890 te
1899. The number of employees was
44.4 per cent greater.
On account Of money being plentiful
4 and actively employed during, these
years of increasing money volume, la
} Dor has been quite generally employed
i, also. From this condition of industr,
and production, it seems clear tina
what is needed is a fair advance
in the wages and salaries of EN-
, ployes where they have not KEEP
pace with advancing prices, and no
an attempt to reduce the genera
| maintenance of good prices. Witt