Rensselaer Union and Jasper Republican, Volume 8, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 June 1876 — Supply and Demand. [ARTICLE]

Supply and Demand.

When the supply of any article is abundant enough to satisfy all demands, the price is moderate, and covers only the expense of production, with a reasonable, profit to merchants, traders and dealers. As soon as the supplywalls short of the demand, the price goes up just in proportion to this shortness of supply combined with the greater or less necessity for the article. If, on the Contrary, the supply overbalances the demand, the reverse takes place—the price goes down, and this again in proportion to the superfluity of the article, combined with its lesser or greater necessity. To this must be added the very common circumstance that manufacturers, induced by a previous large demand, may have overproduced, and this to such an extent as to temporarily overstock the market. Now this ought not to be so bad, but should be a source of national wealth, were it not that often the producers have largely exhausted their financial means in the manufacture, and often have to sell at any price to realize funds; and this must' be considered as a ta amity, as the’ good it occasionally does for consumers by providing them at a cheap rate, is more than counterbalanced by the loss to the manufacturers, and the inducement for idle speculators who take advantage of the opportunity to buy cheap, ana lock up the articles in the expectation of a rise in price. That occasionally they are bitten by such speculations is not to be wondered at, and late years have given striking illustrations of this kind. Thus when some years ago the petroleum production had been increasing largely and over-reached the demand, the prices fell lower than they had been for a long time, and some speculators, imagining that the supply of the article would soon give out, at least to some extent, and a rise in price was sure to follow, bought largely; but instead of giving out, the oil wells were flowing abundantly, new wells were being bored and also producing, so that the superabundant supply, instead of diminishing, kept on increasing, prices fell lower still, and notwithstanding the wealthier speculators held on as long as possible for a rise, they had at last to give up and sell out, resulting in bankruptcy to mahv. Another curious but very natural circumstance is that when the supply and demand are both small, by reason of the uselessness of the article, it being a mere curiosity, the price is high; as soon, however, as a use is found for it and a demand created, improved methods of production soon produce a plentiful supply, while the price is lowered. Chemistry offers many illustrations of this circumstance; thus the metal sodium used to be very high-priced, notwithstanding there was plenty of the material to make it from, (common salt or soda). When it was found that sodium was good for something, (the sodium amalgam to extract gold ore, and the extraction of aluminum from clay), the demand increased, new methods of manufacture were invented, and now it is cheap and abundant.

Metallic tellurium is another rare metal. Thus far it has rto use whatsoever, consequently it is a mere curiosity, and therefore expensive, costing more than S2OO per pound—more than ten times as much as silver, and perhaps as much ns gold, notwithstanding the several minerals from which it can be extracted are cheap enough. If a use is found for it there will be an inducement for its production; however the miherals for this purpose are by no means abundant, so that it never will become very cheap. There is one source, however, where the metal is plentiful, namely, in the star Aldebaran, where the spectroscope demonstrates its presence in the most abundant profusion, and also in some other fixed stars. Unfortunately this will not be of much help for this earth if a great demand springs up here below.— Manufacturer and Builder.