Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1919-09-11

high price it reached during the war,
but it was still nearly twice its pre-war
price.
"Corn started in~lS6l at 70 cents.
Ii ended the war at Sl90. A year la
der, in 1866, it was down TO 95 cents.
Then it began to rise again, although il
never again reached as high as Sl.e0.
Its price in 1867 was Sl.15 and in 1868,
Sl.35.
Leather began the Civil War at 10
cents. By 1865 it was AZ cents. The
year following the war it was down to
80 cents. The next year, 1867, it was
81 cents; and in 1868 it was % cents.
"Wool at the beginning was 80 cents
pound. BY the last year of the war
it reached 95 cents. Then began a
gradual decline; in 1866 it was rs
cents, in 1867 65 cents, and in 1868 60
| cents.
sugar began at cents pound. At
the end of the war it was l9 cents. A
year later, in 1866, it was l3 cents, in
1867 10 cents, and in 1868 II cents.
"Butter in 1861 was IS cents a
pound. BY the end of the war it was
55 cents. The next year, 1866, it ha
gone down TO 4S cents. In 1867 it was
43 cents and in 1868 45 cents.
"Rice began the Civil War at cents
a pound. BY the end Of the war it was
13 cents. Three years after the war
ended, in 1868, it was 6H cents.
"Now, study of the course OF these
typical commodities of universal con-
sumption shows that during the Civil
War and for three years afterward they
followed much the same course. Dur
ing the war they went steadily upward ;
they reached their highest price about
the time the war ended; with the COM
ing of peace began a decline-but the
decline was in all cases much more
gradual than the rise. Three years al
ter the war ended, these commodities
while still much higher than when the
war began; in several cases twice as
high. But they were not as high as
when the war ended; in three years
of peace they had made substantial
drop.
"The state of business activity after
the Civil War is recorded almost as
definitely as the prices of commodities
The issue of Hunts Magazine for July,
1868, year and half after the end Of
the war, says that wages are higher
than ever and comments on the gen.
eral prosperity. But by March, 1867,
two years after the end of the war, the
magazine has an editorial on The Pre-
vailing Commercial Depression BY
November, 1867, two and a-half years
after the end of the war, the magazine
is talking about the abundance Of idle
capital; and the following month the
Secretary Of the Treasury, in his an
nual report, says that trade is mac
tive January, 1868, issue Of the mag
azine speaks Of the severe experiences
of the latter half of 1857 Apparent
ly the experiences after the Civil War
was that business remained very good
for more than two years, and did not
begin to decline until about the 9th
month after the war ended.
at will not do TO push analogy OF the
late war to the Civil War too far. Moth
ing is truer in economics than that hiss
tory repeats itself But also nothing
is truer than that history never re-
peats itself with perfect exactness.
Moreover, this article is limited to the
effect Of war on prices. And while the
effect of war is just now the domina-
ting influence, there are other contrib
uting factors, notably the variations
in the worlds gold supply.
"When you try to guess lust what
month prices will start downward, or
what commodity will start first, you
are in field that is hopeless.
"Prices of food may be expected to
go down before prices OF manufactured
goods. II is in manufactured goods,
and not in food, that the world has the
greatest deficit. II was the making Of
manufactured goods that the war in
terrupted, not the raising Of food. Ex-
cept in the areas actually fought over,
and othsrwise directly affected, the
raising OF food was not curtailed, but,
on the contrary, was stimulated in ey-
cry way the governments could devise
or patriotic appeals bring about. The
farmers OF the world were told that
food would win the war, and, in spite
of handicaps, they raised more food
than they ever raised before. Amer
lea in 1918 raised a quarter more cere-
ais and third more meat than the pre-.
war average. America in 1918 raised
more potatoes, more butter, more
cheese, and made twice as much con.
densed milk as in 1914. America to
day has more cattle, more dairy cows
and more pigs than ever before
There's lot Of food in the world, ant
just as soon as the channels Of dis
tribution are cleared and begins to aov