People's Pilot, Volume 6, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 October 1896 — The Quantitive Theory. [ARTICLE]

The Quantitive Theory.

We populists are likely to be prosaic in our mental process. For instance, how can our friend Economist A. Atkinson, tell us that the quantitive theory in finance "is exploded and in the next breath assure us that the flood of silver dollars under free coinage will be worth 50 cents, or, to be more precise, a bushel will exchange for a silver dollar where it now exchanges for a half dollar. He is again contradicting himself, since if the supply of money does not govern prices, what possible effect could a million or a billion silver dollars under free coinage have on prices? None, if the quantitive theory is exploded, but a very pronounced one if the theory is doing business at the old stand. But we all know Mr. Atkinson knows more about heat radiating from a kitchen stove than about finance. Again he tells us in his letter published Sept. 24, that labor has not fallen in price. Let him suppose that we were owing England sl, 000,000,000 m 1873. which we might have paid at that time with 1,000,000,000 bushels of wheat. Let him suppose we owe England the same amount now, We find it takes 2,000,000,000 bushels of wheat to pay the debt to-day. If the cost of producing wheat is less than in 1873, surely the farmer should have the benefit of it. But has he? His present condition answers the question. We need no statistics to show that he wears a crown of thorns. He is paying the national debt with his wheat on land irrigated by the sweat of the hand and brow. Mr.McKinley’s remedy is more taxes; Mr. Atkinson calls it over production, and his logical rem-, edy is, stop producing. We, the plain people, call it compe tition with the serf labor of India. Our remedy is, restore silver and thereby make the Indian farmer, who is usually an Eng-

lishman, .pay his serfs a silver dollar such as we pay.x We wish to deny him the privilage of purchasing his silver in this country at 50 cents on the dollar and working it off on him as a hundred cent dollar. The silver he uses must be made to cost him more and wnen free coinage accomplishes this a considerable portion o.f Indian competition will be cut off. Mr. Atkinsbn makes us believe that wages have not fallen. We see too many farmers who get absolutely nothing for their labor; we know too many men who have had their wages reduced 100 per cent and are begging in consequence. W. A. L. Chicago, Sept., 24. J