The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1875-10-09

taln lie, ana ike quantities Of Hour, art
therefore Of very near the same intrinsi,
value, (supposing that life always has tn,
same value to the individually, from which
it is plain that the exchaneeable value 81
gold stood in the relation to flour as one tC
ten IN Georgia and California IL we ex
anime the prices current in Canada, Great
Britain, or any other specie paying coun
tries, we hnd that the exchangeable value
Of gold il very uncertain at all times and
in time Of panic, gold will often buy two
or three times as much merchandise oI
land, and sometimes eight or ten times a.
much as at other times The bulionists
assume that the value of gold does not
change at all, and declare that it is the
value of other things which go bobbing
around in the most unaccOuntable manner
Can anybody give a reason, that will bear
the test Of analysis. for any such opinion
They certainly cannot Goods viii wear a.
long. Food will 20 as far towards sustaini no
life, land will produce AS much food, and the
same space in a city is neither diminished
in quantity or disturbed in locality, in
consequence of the change in price In
triusically there is no difference iu the
value Of the property The only difference
is III their eXchsngeahlc value, and TINS
difference Is usually caused hy
SCARCITY oF com
II i Al unvarying law ~ political econ
Y umy that when any article becomes scarce,
ANA the demand remains the same. the
article will increase ia val1e In all times
u panic, IN specIc-paying couItries when
7 the scarcity Of gold, which always exists
: IS little more apparent than at other
/ times. the demand increases 50 fast that
/ the price If gold goes 80 high that no one
can afford to buy it, except those who are
I compelled to have gold to pay their debts
with. The moment We begin to aualvse
I the facts, We see how perfectly absurd IL
/ y "a contend that gold has fixed ex-
! changeable value. II has not. il never
had, it never can have The gold theory
I is cunningly devised scheme for robbery
on large scale. This is the reason why
men who know how to use it are anxious
To become respectable robbers under its
/ operation.
DEPRECIATED GREENBACKs
We turn nov To another phase Of this
money question, 10 show how absurd the
theory which measures the depreciation Of
sreenbacks by comparing them with gold,
really 4. The popular superstition that
gold has a fixed value never would have
existed without some foundation. and that
foundation is soon found If We commence
to dig for IT, On examination We hnd
that an act Of Parliament compulis the
British mint To take all gold offered AZ
fixed price Of s.. Us. lO5d. per standard
ounce There We 6nd what gives stability
to the value of gold it Is not intrinsic
value, nor cost Of production, nor any
other humbug reason given by the bullion
lists, but il Il an act Of Parliament All
governments have fixed the legal price for
gold Just as near tie English standard As
possible. This is the only reason whyIg"ld
appears to have fixed price, and unless
the gold market becomes overstocked,
which is never likely to occur, this is
sufficient reason for its maintaining a fixed
minimum. but there is no limit to its rise
above this figure If gold was not used
by any nation az money, it is doubtful ii
il would bring as much By the pound az
it now brings by the ounce.
These being the general facts in relation
to the value Of gold, which no man can
successfully contradict it follows that the
only stability which gold has is due, LIST.
70 the Law fixing its value at the mint. and
WHICH NNlll IfuS lllt llllilL 10 lhht al EtlI0
offered and. "a, to the law which makes
gold legal tender in payment Of debts
This being true. il follows that law can i'm
part stability to paper money as we'll a. to
gold money. There IS still another ele-
ment Of value, however. to be considered.
The permanent value Of money is deter
mined in precisely the same manner as the
permanent value Of a house. that is by its
rent This question Is so thoroughly un-
derstood in England that financial publi-
cations head their tables of the rate Of
discounts
THE VALUE nF MONEY.
The rate of discounts, or interest on
money, being its rents. 1t therefore fol-
lows if the rate OF interest on money is
fixed by law, its permanent value must re
main the same if the law is enforced. But.
say the hullIonists, "all laws relating To
+ fixing the rate If interest can he evaded -
I So they can if You first limit the amount
Of circulation BY an arbitrary act, III By
! making paper money convertible on de-
mand into coin, because you then limit
\ thu supply of money without limiting the
demand for money, which il a manifest
Y economic absurdity But il sou place 10
i ,
I and l-t the supply meet the demand, how
/ ever great the demand may be, then there
/ Is no difficulty whatever in fixing and
maiutaing one rate of interest at all times
and under all circumstances This could
be easily accomplished By adopting the
\ 3. .65 convertible bond plan.
Now as we have all Of the elements
bearing upon the theory, and facts " the
ID ..f. H.. .I,
ton directly as il exists under the especial
conditions Of our own country Here We
have limited the use of gold money To the
payment of interest on the pubic dett
| the payment of custom duties, and the
payment Of foreign balances Of trade.
Within this circle tho same Law Of political
economy which operates in other countries
will operate here, but the disturbances If
the money markets ~ other countries can
~ uo farther IN this country than the
NEW YORK GoLD EXCHANGE II makes
no difference how great the disturbance IS
there. it has no pereeptble effect upon
our general markets, only N eNcepnonable
cases. This brings ms to the consideration
OF the so called depreciation % greenbacks.
Mr.. Schurz, and AL other bullionIsts, are
continually talking about our ''fuctuat-
ing and Deprecated" currency. Where
is the evidence that the currency is G,
preciated They tell us this IL proven
BY the gold premium, but We have just
shown that there is no connection what.
ever between the supply and demand for
gold, price and the supply and demand
for greenbacks, hence the value Of gold
has no precepJible influence upon the
value Of greenbacss in this country. II
Mr. Schurz was r'ght III his theory, theI
whenever gold went up goods would &,
up, and when gold fell general prices
would fall. We have made this question
Of comparative prices a special study foI
many months, and il the hundreds q