The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-06-13
THE MORE GOLD TIE WORSE OFF

Mankind in their search for gold
have always been of the opinion tina,
1t was a good thing to have plenty OF
that metal; that country was rich
II II had an abundance of il. and poor
II II lacked Our friends, the goIdites
are now, however, trying to pursnade
us TO the contrary; that the more gold
we have the worse we are off. We have
from the Alexander Hamilton Institute
oil New York, n circular showing that
by reason Of the great gold production
IN the last twenty years, everybody is
poorer than before; there is more dis
tress; 1T is harder TO get the necessary
food and clothes, and that in every way
the masses Of the people are suffering
hardship because the world has so much
gold This is a sad commentary upon
modern economies. modern civilization,
and modern failure to adjust its wealth
to the practical needs of the people
IT is because there is so much gold
we are assured, that prices are so high.
1t is because the world is so rich in
gold that it is so poor in means of pro.
viding adequately and at reasonable
prices. food, clothes, and shelter for its
inhabitants
There is something wrong in a
| scheme of economics like that. There
Is surely default in joining hypothesis
TO actual conditions when the theory
that gold in abundance means riches.
is found in practice to acccntuate
poverty and make it next to i'm
possible to earn living. Accord
ing to that theory, it is better
FOR people TO be poor in gold and
rich IN means of subsistence without the
gold 1t is plain that there is some
thing wrong about that theory, right
on the face of it. 1t will be remem-
bered that in the fall Of 1907, in spite
OF the tremendous gold production of
the last twenty years which is made
the basis of this economic argument
there was no money to be had in the
country. Cashier IS checks did the
business. money was retired; and vet
the country had more gold then than il
has now, We have since then paid
back all The gold that we bought in
Europe to tide us over at that time,
and we have paid out nearly as much
more since. in the settlement of our
accounts and to make up for our ad.
verse balance on foreign trade. And
yet at the very time when we had so
much gold, and when we added to all
the money of the country, cashiers
checks by the tens of millions to tide
us over, prices were lower than they
are now, and everyone having a stated
wage or salary was better off than he
has been since.
The great difficulty about all these
theoretical propositions is that they
fail to take notice Of the practical af.
fairs of life. To say that the abundance
of gold makes high prices now and the
abundance of all kinds of money with
cashier S checks added made low prices
a few years ago, is an absurdity
The truth is that the high prices of
food products and of the necessary
generally, are brought
about by combinations added to combi-
nations; the producers combine, the
handlers combine, the retail dealers
combine, and by the time the consumer
buys what he wants, he has paid tribute
10 various combines which extort from
him heavy tribute without any regard |
whatever to the abundance or scarcity |
nf Gold Mn1arn f,ri1ftfac h,. tn1
graph, by exchange, by the ease with |
which the various interests can get to-
gether and put agreed-on prices through |
almost on the instant-all these things |
Ire what make combinations easy and |
.he affiction of the general public prac-
icable.
There is no need to advance theories
more or less recondite to explain why
he price Of butter, for instance, is a
good deal higher on the average than
When we look around and see that the
outter combine absolutely controls the
orice, what is the use OF searching
lround or an occult cropping for some
,ther cause9 When we see the produc.
RS agree that they will not sell their
products except al stated price and
III hold fast to that price, what is the
lse of going behind that and undcrtak-
ng TO show that the abundance of
money is what has made the raise in
,rice7
The difficulty with all these theories
s that they undertake to work ont by
methods, problems that il
hey would go out IN the mornings and
observe the markets. would solve them
elves without any profound study
whatever; observation would solve If
me wants TO find out why the price Of
God products is high, he can SIMPLY go
md see the men who combine and are
bic to control the market and force
!igh prices on the people; can catch
hem in the very act. That is all that II
s necessary to solve the question with
nut any book study or theoretical Stats
les Get down to facts and actual Oh
ervation aud the whole matter is malo
,lain,
Tests SHOW that nearly all dairies
'urnl sh mo milk 10 Spif Lake supriy n /