THE FARMER AND THE CURRENCY. 370 



As between silver and gold, the diagrams show that while 

 silver itself has appreciated slightly during the last twenty- 

 five years, it is shown to be a measure of value far more 

 just than gold. But in relation to agricultural products these 

 tables of index numbers are very unfair to the farmer, for the 

 reason that the index numbers of agricultural products are 

 based on prices at centers of consumption, and therefore 

 include cost of transportation, which is the only element in 

 which there has been important if any decrease of cost. 

 Tables in which the index numbers should be based on farm 

 costs would evidently show a still greater appreciation of 

 money, and especial!}^ gold, and if applied to ngricnltural 

 products alone would show the conditions to be w^orse than 

 have been claimed. 



To the contention that all existing contracts in the United 

 States are based upon the pledge of the United States to main- 

 tain all forms of currency issued by it, upon a par with each 

 other at established ratios, it may be replied that that has 

 nothing to do wnth equities between man and man upon which 

 the argument for free silver is placed, and that, as a matter of 

 fact, the consideration has never entered into the formation of 

 contracts; the fact that the United States has promised to and 

 will redeem its outstanding silver coinage in gold at sixteen to 

 one may or may not involve a national loss, but is certainly 

 no reason why the people of the nation should forever retain gold 

 as its standard of value. It is conceded that remonetization 

 of silver would in some degree raise its price, so that even 

 were silver remonetized, and upon the assumption that the 

 monetary standard is hereafter to be silver, the farmer, at least, 

 would still be at a disadvantage. The decline in the value of 

 silver as compared with gold can in nowise be attributed to 

 increased production, which has not been anything like the 

 decrease in price, but is mainly due to its general demonetiza- 

 tion by commercial countries, and more than all else to the 

 fear of commercial classes everywhere that it will soon be 

 practically abandoned as money. The remedy is speedy and 

 full remonetization, produced by such a display of voting 

 strength on the pait of the classes which have been injured 



