, 1875-10-16

t.IrB nnu LES HITLER down to tho most tts-
tresscd aud bankrupt newspaper organ, seek
to make their theory plausible By 1,uld
aeninl TINT gold is in any ssnsa standard or
measure Of values; aal they Insist that its
v1lue, instead Of being stcady aud stable.
varies from day to lay. and finctuateB rs does
TINT of al other commodities. 1ieuce they
argue that greenbacks, being ieg'L.tcnder,
have of necessity permanent legnl value,
while go'd nactnates, rising mud falling be-
causo Of its abundance or scarcity, nnd the
demand for it, aIr. KE11Er and lis u.s.
sociates nrgue that, if tho Law nboiish the use
Of goll for payment Of duties, the demand
being reduced, the value OF gold in green
bucks will fall.
The office Of ,noney is we'll understood.
hM commercial transactions aeo, substantially,
cases Of barter,-thc exchange Of n given
quantity Of one commodity fos apother.
Every mau slo has surplus OF Que thing
seeks to exchange it for some other article
which ho needs moro than the ono he pos
scsses and whether ho receive tho article
he needs, or money with which to purchase
that article elsewhere, tho transaction ia SUBJ
stantiaily M exchange Of coln1notlities, the
value Of each in tho other being measured by
the value Of each in money. Money being
tho go-botween agent by which exchanges of
articles are thus made, tho world has by
common consent dating back to the earliest
record Of bartcr) adopted gold rs that
agent. There is no past Of The world where
gold is not received in exchange for CON-
,nodiues, It Is tho universal barter aeeat Of
commerce. A reason for this is, that it Inns
greatc:valuc in less bulk than other metals;
that it does not decny; TINT 1t is capable of
being employed i'll tue construction Of costly
objects for usa and or,anlont It can be
transported Mt insignificant cost whan CON-
pared with its value. 1t is tho only CON-
modify for which a11 men Of ali nations are
ready to exchange their property. Its annunl
production is not so great as to increase its
volume to the extent Of exceeding tle uni
versal demand for it. The demand for gold
il the volume Of commodities offered IN e1-
change for it. There lave boen cnangea in
tho comparative value Of gold, but these have
been at long intervals, When America WIS
discovered, the amount OF gold carried to
Europe 1ossoned its comparative value to MI
Other property. Tho reduction was slight,
gradual, and general. :. There was IN.
other reduction when the gold dis
coveries were made In California, sup-
plomentod rs they subsequently, wore by
thoso Of Australia. These changes, however,
wcro general, and applicable to tho relative
value Of gold with all other commodities. It
is remarkable faot that wlcn, owing to any
unforeseen, accidental, Or other cause, gold
shall 10 worth moro in any part Of tho civil
ICED world than 1t is elsewhere, gold will at
onco aow 70 that point, even II tho Increased
valuo 90 hut sha1o above tho cost OF tra1ls-
rortation, Tho valuo Of gold, therefore, rel
atively to all other commodities, il tue same
all over the world It will purchase natiyo
products at Of neas the cost Of production,
and will purchase theso Gauao products in all
other parts Of the world at the samc price,
with tho addition Of cost Of transportation
and tho incidence Of trade. It will buy cot
fec at any place Of its growth, and will buy
the snuas eoseo nt tho ssme prico, adding
| thereto tho cost Of moving It from whera It
wea produced to tho plsce Of sale. The val
lie Of whoat in gold ut Liverpool fixes tho
snlua Of wheat in gold Mt tho fa1,n in Illinois
where it is produced. The price Of cotton in
geld at Manchester fixcs from day to day tho
r1ica Of cotton at Charleston, New Orleans,
Now York, Cairo, and Calcutta.
| But II it argued TINT because a ba,o Of cot
ton on oAu day Is worth moro In gold than it
Is On another t'ny, that therefore tho valve OF
Gosa, compared with TINT Of cotton, rises aud
'alls; and that because wheat aclls per bushel
OIL one DAY for moro in gold tlian it sells fox
On ntaasher 1oy, Tint !,ola hns no Axoa ya,us,
nut tnatlta pnrehuaing powerin cottouo Or wheat
rises apd f"}ls mud auctuatea aa doaa that OF
other commodities. It wheat aud cotton
weFo the only commodities having a yaluo to
ha measured In goid thia argument u,1oht
hare soma plau1ibil!sy. Tho nr,ca o1
cotton, il measured by tho WEIGHT oi
wheat to be he'd in eschnngo for if. would
exhibit wide scale Of tlacsvst.on. hoth ,rl
produced In surplus, md the price ob,aiuahl.
is just what the e1lgencies o, The Purchaser,
may happen to be. Cotton may be exclaboo
abls in witeat at certain proportional.
weight in QUO place, aud ut greater OF les
1ute at other places In whuas.growin,
countries, It would require more grain pt
pound in exchange for cotton, aud wher
thera Was a demand for grain the latte
would purchase rroportiouately moro CO
toa. The relative valued Of these tw
Articles would depend on the quantity {
each in market, or 10 b. hAdj or
. gold would ssprtssut the value Of sae