Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-03-19
HAS TINE SUSTAINED BRYAN'S
THEORIES?

When Bryan announced that the evil
Of low prices, from which the country
was alleged to be suffering, would be
succeeded by an upward scale of val
ues and q general improvement in
business conditions if the quantity OF
the circulation medium of exchange
was increased, he was booted by every
Republican orator in the land? He was
decried as q novice in finance, IN
amateur in political economy, and a
demagogue seeking to lead the people
astray.
But time seems to have sustained
the contentious Of the Nebraskan. The
chief reason now put forth By the
Republican leaders. wEo are averse to
attacks On the tariff for the existing
high prices Of every commodity, IS
that there has been such a vast in
crease in the production OF gold tina,
the purchasing power of money has
been reduced and high prices have
ensued- Here is Senator Lodge declar-
ing that If gold grows scarcer and
dearer all other commodities fail N
value" This is identicaIIy the view
promulgated by Bryan twelve and
eight years ago, and hooted and lam
bastet by his opponents. But no one
seems 10 be hooting the Massachusetts
senator. Time and conditions seem "a
have forced general acceptance OF
the quantitatiye theory. Bryan's chief
adversaries are now c0nceding that b.
was right in his main contention that
more money would mean higher prices
Bryan sought to establish higher val
ues By increasing the use Of silver 70,
coinage purpose, no additional gold
being available He was defeated in
thas, and the Unexpectedly enormous
increase in the production of gold sun
piled enough of that metal to accom-
plish the same end.
Senator Lodge declares that.
If on the other hand. gold increases
more rapidly than tie demand Of bus
mess and the arts require, it will be-
come cheaper and more plentiful and
the prices OF all the other commodities
which 1t measures will rise. Let me
give complete illustration. SupDose
that the crop Of wheat is hundred
million bushels, worth of dollar a
0usEel. If next year the croD fails
ana amounts to only 5000 900 hush
els, the demand being unchanged and
the gold by which il is measured re-
naming the same, it is obvious that
the price Of wheat viii double. If in
stead OF one hundred, the crop rises
10 TWO hundred million bushels. tr.
demand in the gold being unchanged
then wheat VIII fall to 30 cents a
DhsheI- Now reverse this process. The
crop and the demand remain the same
Dut the gold doubles IRE will be
TWO dollars Of gold to BIZ each busbel
OF wheat, instead OF one and wheat
Will rise, as compared with gold.
Roughly stated, this has been the ef-
feet Of the gold increase on world
prices.
Commenting on this the Democratic
national Monthly pertinently adds:
But regardless of the truth or error
OF the argument that high prices have
been caused by great increases in gold
production, that does not account for
the fact that prices have increased by
LEAPS and bounds since the Pavne-Al-
drieh tariff act went into effect. and il
is not anywhere shown that during the
six months in which If hos hoap IN
operation there has been a correspond
ing increase in the amount Of gold ad-
ded to the volume Of circulation.