Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1915-06-18
John Sharpe Williams Addresses
Letter to Columbus Dispatch.

man, that just in proportion as the
product costs The consumer more, just
that proportion is he able to purchase
less. and just in proportion as he is
able to purchase less, the demand falls
off. the supply remaining the same.
OF course. if the demand falls off. the
supply remaining already produced and
therefore the same, the price to the
producer goes off.
Ordinarily. the difference between
the New Orleans price and the Liver
pool price and the New Orleans price
and the price at Havre and the New
Orleans price and the price at Hamburg
is verv small-a reasonable commission,
small insurance and small freight. To-
dav and for verv manv months the diff
ference has been exorbitant
OF course, it requires neither a stu
dent of economics nor sage to know
that if the freight on wheat from here
to L'verpool were $500 a bushel, it
would reduce the European demand for
wheat to such an extent that very little
of it, comparatively speaking. would
be sold. and Just as the selling fell off.
owing to the decrease of can efficient
demand" the American wheat produ
Ger would suffer, together with the
European wheat consumer. 1t is q
comparison of the supply of a product
and ofthe efficient demand for it which
fixes it's price in the market. An eff
cient demand is the demand made by
those having money to pay. OF course,
the more money that must be paid pei
bushel for wheat or per bale for cotton,
the less number of bushels or bales
can be bought by those who have-as
all traders haye-the command of only
a certain amount of money. II this
be true of foodstuffs, like wheat, it IS
fortioYi. true of things that people
can temporarily get along without, lik'
cotton and lumber.
The farmers and merchants of Mis-
sissippi would tell any distinguishes
statesman that much, without eve
havifs reacs book ur.a pcStica
economy. They would tell him, from
the standpoint of ordinary common
sense. that the more there was takel
out of a-product on it's way from tn
producer to the consumer. whether |
were taken out by the instrumentalit.
of tariff, by the instrumentality o
freight rates or marine insurance rate
or by direct robbery. the less com
merce there would be in the article
the more hampered that commerce
would be, the more difficult to carr,
on, the fewer people able to buy
given quantity. and, therefore, tn
fewer people able to sell. unless tn
sellers reduced the price at the place O.
production to such an extent as to par
TALLY or wholly to make up for th'
increase of charges in transitu.
The President of the United States
under whom your editor holds place
of profit and honor. doubtless will
great desert and by unchallenged meri
is no fool. Long before coming to th'
Presidency of the United States, hi
was one of the most valued teachers O.
economic science and political econo
mics that has ever graced the halls O
any of the great universities Of thi
country. His eye went unerringly tt
the seat of trouble of the American
producers, which was exorbitsn
charges on products in transitu, ant
when he once made up his mind tha
the war was thing of some degree o
endurance as to the time it would tax,
to fight it out, he patriotically upon tn
Congress of the United Ssates to Civ
the government of the United States
power to provide. at least temporarily
transportation for the products o
American producers, 80 that the mar
gin between the price at which tn
product was sold here and the price a
which it could be sold abroad could b.
reduced, and the saving might b
| applied. as it naturally and necessaril.
would be applied-partly to the in
crease of the selling and partly to tn
decrease OF the buying price abroad
and therefore to the increase of tn
volume of trade, this increase in tn
volume of trade in its turn maintain
ing the higher price and ultimatel,
carrying it yet higher.
Among the incidents which illustrat
the awful mistake which was made il
not passing the ship purchase bill i
the fact that it was found, in condec
tion with the Mississippi State cotto
crop, after the prison board had ar
ranged to sell it abroad, not advisabl
to ship it in foreign ships. If the bil
had passed, and we had the America
ships, that, at least, would not hav
been question.
AZ to the slur that | ATTEMPTED +
turn the dreadful Lusitania catagtro
phe into political advantage for my
J self. that fling was unworthy of ii