Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1919-08-20

uloS VI Ills paper, We uuu OH OCIOUcl
LIST, 1898, the following market quo.
tations:
Hogs -------------- $500 to $3.50
i Corn, per bushel-
Oats, per bushel ----------- tic
We have not exact figures at hand
but we know that the circulating
medium at that time was conserva-
lively estimated at $21 per capita.
And many contended that it was not
more than SIS per capita when all of
the bank and other reserves were de-
Quoted. In any event, the Republican
politicians became alarmed, and the
scarce money men had not fully re-
covered from their scare Of 1896, when
they had to give up years dividends
to debauch the electorate. Conditions
called for a radical change and q rad
ical change was made in the financial
policy Of the country. Various meth
DDS were adopted to increase the cir
culating medium, even return to the
coinage Of silver dollars. A new silver
coinage law was enacted in 1898 and
during the six years, 1898 to 1904 In
elusive. our coinage Of silver dollars
hmounted in the aggregate to- $751;
S77.55O. The Spanish American war
in 1898 helped to increase the circu-
lating medium, but the enormous in
crease in the production Of gold was.
the chief factor, which brought about
the overthrow Of the advocates Of
scarce money, and enabled the coun-s
try TO return to better times. In the
issue Of this paper Of September -,
1897, we said: Il EqfIjT5 Il ~. +
III Should hundreds Of tons Of gold Be
found in new mines Of the far north
all OF their efforts (referring to the
scarce money men) will be over
thrown.
Well, new gold mines were found,
not alone in the far north, but also.
in the far south, and IN many other
parts Of the world. and our predicti6A
y. ! come w. tsss ! \ - I 4 a
ptoanced since that prediction was
made than in the 500 previous years
Of the worlds history. This is Inn
portant information and we will give
exact figures. According to Mulhall,
the great statistician, the worlds pro-
duction Of gold and silver at the ratio
Of 16 to l, during the 500 years pre-
ceding the attack upon silver in
1873, was gold 7,24O,OOO,0O0, silver
7,435 100000. And, according to the
World Almanac and Encyclopedia for
1919, the worlds production Of gold
for the 20 years, 1896 to 1917 inclu-
sive, amounted to the enormous grand
total of $S,222, 535,574. This same
authority places the circulating me-
dunn in this country in 1913, the year
before the commencement Of the great
war, at $3.50 per capita; and the
price of labor, and all of the products
of labor, had increased propnrtionate-
ly.
The much ridicnled silver dollar, at
the ratio of 16 to l, has better value
today than the British pound sterling.
The normal value Of the pound is
$4.86 in the money Of this country,
but quite recently it has been quoted
as low as $4.12. At the ratio Of 1S to
1, $486 worth Of silver bullion is
worth more than S4.12. Last Friday
bar silver in Londnn was quoted at
$l20k cents per az, or about per
cent below par at the ratio Of Is to
l. The British pound sterling is about
Is per cent below par.
The experience Of mankind for more
than 1000 years has demonstrated
that the world requires all the gold
and silver it can get to make honest
money for its people.
Sixteen hundred years before the
days of the Apostles the ratio between
gold and silver was Is 1-3 to l, and the
same ratio was in use in Xenopheon's
time 400 B. C. A century after
Caesars time the ratio was l21s to /,
and in the United States it has been
16 to / since 1884.
The assertion of our good natured
neighbor to the effect that prior to
1896 the money supply of this coun-
try had increased faster than the
population had grown, and that in
1896 it was ample, is joke, whether
so intended or not At that time it
was little more than half what it was |
five years ago, and probably not more
than third of what it is at the pres