Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 October 1900 — DEMOCRATS KICK AT FARMERS’ PROSPERITY. [ARTICLE]

DEMOCRATS KICK AT FARMERS’ PROSPERITY.

Farm Products Advance More than the Goods that Farmers Have to Buy at the Stores. EVIDENT CAUSE OF MOBTGAGE CANCELING Since McKinley Has Been at the Helm Farm Products Have Advanced 45 Per Cent, While Articles Bought by Farmers Increased Only 19 Per Cent.

The Democratic fault-finders base their efforts to create discontent among the fanners in 1900 upon a different plane from that of 1896. Then their complaint was that the prices of farm products /were too low Now they complain that the farmers are too prosperous .and the prices of their products are too high. Mr. Bryan was nominated in Chicago on July 10, 1896, and again at Kansas City on July 5, 1900. Let us take the quotations of the first week in July, 1896, and July, 1900, the respective dates are brought as nearly as practicable to the dates of his respective nominations. Nobody will question the fairness of selecting wheat, corn, oats, lard, pork, beef, cotton, wool, hay and butter as ten representative articles of farm production, nor will anybody question the fairness of selecting sugar, tea, coffee, rice, petroleum, leather, cotton cloth, tin plate, sisal (from which binder twine is made) and Bessemer pig iron .(the basis of all agricultural requirements in iron and steel) as ten representative articles of farm consumption. The tables which follow show the prices of the ten articles of farm production and of an equal number of articles of farm consumption at tl(e dates named and tlje percentage of increase in each article, also the average increase, at the date of Mr. Bryan’s second nomination as compared with the prices at the date of his first nomination:

It will be seen by an examination of the tables that in every article of farm producton named there has been an increase in price ranging (with a single exception) from 35 per cent to 68 per cent, or an average increase in the entire series of articles of 45.8 per cent. In the list of the articles of farm consumption there is a reduction in price in two of the articles named, while the increase in the other articles ranges much lower than that of the farm products, the average increase for the entire series of articles of farm consumption being 19 per cent. Thus we see that in ten representative articles of farm consumption, the average increase haß been 19 per cent, while in the ten equally representative articles of farm production, the increase has been 45.8 per cent. Now to take the single item of farm production upon which the fault-finders base their arguments and by which they measure all articles of farm consumption, namely, wheat. How do you suppose it happened that they have selected this particular article “wheat,” by which to measure everything else? There is corn; its acreage in the United States in 1899 was practically double that of wheat, its production four times as many

bushels and its actual value, aa estimated by the Department of Agriculture, nearly double that of wheat. Why did they not adopt corn aa a standard of measurement? Again, there ia the item of provisions, of which we are the world’s greatest producer. Why not measure by t)»at? Then there is wool, in the production of which the farmer is greatly interested

and which has been widely discus Bed in the study of national econoihic questions of late years. Why not measure by this? A glance at the table which shows the relative prices of articles in 1896 and 1900 will answer this question.- It happens that the percentage of increase in the price of wheat is less than that of any other article of farm production, since wheat is more directly affected by the production in other parts of the world where crops have been generally good during the last two eeasons. Wheat has only advanced 36 per cent from 1896 to 1900. while corn advanced 48 per cent, mess pork 60 per cent, lard 68 per cent and wool 68 per cent. Now it is easy to see why the Democrats “happened” to select this particular item “wheat” by which to measure everything else, simply because it shows a smaller increase in price than almost any other article in the list. Yet they are gravely marching through the agricultural regions of this country stating to the farmer that “a bushel of wheat in 1900 will buy less of the articles which you consume than a bushel of wheat would buy of those same articles in 1896.” Let'His accept the challenge. Mr. Bryan’s first nomination occurred on July 10, 1896, and his second nomination on July 5, 1900. The records of the bureau of statistics show that the highest price of “No. 2 red winter wheat,” a standard grade by which all others may

be measured, was, on July 9, 1896, in the New York market, per bushel, and on July 5, 1900, was 88c peT bushel. Now let us follow the same general plan adopted in the other comparisons and by selecting ten principal articles of farm consumption, obtain their relative prices in the New York market in 1896 and 1900, at the dates nearest Mr. Bryan’s nomination, and thus find out what quantity of each bushel of wheat, at the prices named at these two dates, would have bought. The articles of farm consumption selected for this comparison are equally representative with those of farm production above named, namely, sugar, coffee, petroleum, rice, salt, leather, cotton cloths, starch, mackerel and eut nails. The authority for the prices is the same as that already utilized—the bureau of statistics. In every case the quantity of these representative articles of fttrm consumption which a bushel of wheat would* buy In 1900 is greater than a bushel pf wheat could have bought in 1896. Purchasing power of one bushel of wheat at the date of Mr. Bryan’s first and second nominations, respectively, in ten different articles of ordinary farm consumption, basing the price of each article upon that quoted in the New York market at the respective dates:

These statements are all official and maj be verified from the public records of the bureau of statistics available in any standard library. The figures and prices in every case are given, and every man can determine whether the assertions of the Democratic fault-finders and “prophets of evil” in 1900 are any more reliable than .they were in 1896.

The prices of Ten Principal Articles of Harm Production in New York Market at dates of Mr. Bryan’s first and second nominations! shewing; the per cent, of increase in 1900 over 1896: Articles of Farm July 2, Jnly 5, Percent, of Production. 1896 1900. Increase. Wheat, per bnshel .65 1-2 .88 35 Corn, per bushel .33 1-2 .49 5-8 48 Oats, per bushel .21 1-4 .28 1-2 34 1 ard, per lb. .0425 .0715 06 Mesa Pork, per bbi $ 8.75 814 OO 60 Beef, family, per lb B.s<> 12.00 41 •Cotton, per >b .06 13-16 .10 I*l6 86 Wool, Ohio XX, per lb .17 - 28 1-2 68 tHay, per ten .-. 14.02 iR-ff 11 tßntter, per lb ....; .131 .18 37 Average increase 45.8 per cent. •At New Orleans. tExport prices. The prices of Ten Principal Articles of Farm Consumption in New York Market at dates of Mr. Bryan’s first and second nominations, showing; the per cent of increase or decrease: Articles of Farm Ju’v 3. Jn»y 5, Per cent, of inconsumption. 1896. 1900. crease or decrease Rice, per lb .04 1-2 .05 11 Bisal, per lb .03 1-14 -06 3-4 b 4 Bessemer Pi* Iron, per ton... $12.25 *l® B' l 35 Petrslenm, per gal., in bbls... .0690 , -0785 14 Tin P1ate..."..."..... 0347 1-2 .0483 40 Coffee, per ib -013 1-4 .09 1 8 -®1 Leather, Oal', per ib 28 -8® 25 Sugar, per lb ..;.....;... rr •o*s° 02 tCotton Cloth, unbleached, yd. .054 .057 06 Average increase 1® P* r cent. •Import pricei does not include war tax. tExport price.

(Compiled from official reports of the bureau of statistics.) Quantity which * _ Price on one bushel of ARTICLES. wheat will buy July 10, July 5, July 10, July 5, 1896. 1900. 1896. • 1900. Cents. Cents, Pounds.. Pounds Wheat, per bushel .64)4 88 Coffee, per pound 13 Leather (oak!, per ponnd ~..30 36 21-10 2 4-10 Rice, per pound 4% 5 18Vi 17^ Petroleum, refined, per gallon 7 8-10 9 3-10 d 8 2-10 914 Sugar, granulated, p»? pound 4% 5 7-10 14 4-10 18 4-10 Salt, per 100 pounds 9 8-10 a 118-10 690 77g Cotton cloths, nacolored, per yard 6 4-108 8 7-10 cl 19-10 Cl 6 4-10 Starch, per pound 2b 21-10 321-10 419-10 Ont nails 1 8-10 b 2 4-10 38 7-10 86 6-10 Mackerel 8 6-10 a 4 9-10 12 6-10 17 8-10 a Average import price during June. c Yards, b Average export price daring June. d Gallons.