The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1877-05-17

equally valuable with gold, was it not
for the fact that gold has a value at
tached to it by the laws of the world
which the other metals have not. For
example:-yOu take two watch chains,
of nearly equal weight, made after
the same pattern, equally beautiful
and ornamental. and each, when tested
externally with acid proves to be gold;
yet one is worth ten dollars and the
other is worth one hundred dollars.
Whya Because the inside of one is
| filled with German silver, ssoreide' or
some other base metal, while the
other is gold throughout. If you
wereto exhibit those chains in coun-
try where gold had no intrinsic value
as money ,one Of them would be worth
just as much as the other. If not why
nots
The Pioneer-Press continues:
Diamonds are not money. You
cannot eat them or drink them or
weave them into garments. They
have hardly any value whatever, ex-
cept as they crafty the rooted human
passion for costly ornament, the pre-
vailing vanity of all peoples and tribes,
savage and civilized. And yet dia-
mond is worth many times it's weight
in gold in exchange value"
Simply BECAUSE it is not in the power
of human art to create an artificial
. gem that will equal the diamond in
brilliancy, or that will not be recog-
nized at once as sspaste.' But the
diamond is simply carbon, coal; now
if the secret of nature could be dis
covered, whereby they were made ,and
they could be turned out of the labor
atory of the chemist by the bushel,
, does the Pioneer-Press pretend that
!, the natural diamond would continue
; to he ,s.worth many times it's weight
in gold No. But if the law then
stepped in and declared that every
! natural diamond should be accepted
} as legal tender, in the payments OF
/ debts. at given rate, the natural
} diamond would be worth the sum SC
! fixed, while the artificial diamond
. would be ranked AS a base counter
felt.
: The Pioneer Press continues:
+ MIR. Donnelly, with singular per
versity of reasoning, insists that gold
and silver are desired for ornamental
I, purposes only. because of their money
value. Why he should assume thai
: the value of the precious metals /:
governed by a law different from that
which governs the value Of the prec
ious stones he does not tell us. AS {
matter of fact and history we know
8 that gold and silver were highly
!. valued for ornamental purposes lon,
/ fbefore they were used for money
). So were brass and copper and iron
4 The savage woman Of to-day takes a
) much satisfaction out of her coppe
. rings, the size of keg-hoop, as he
civilized sister does from her golt
! and silver adornments. In fact silve
fs little used for purposes of ornamen
now-a-days,its pale, white, dead hue j
far inferior in attractiveness to man,
compounds of other metals. Henc
when three or four nations dernone
!, tized silver it fell rapidly in value
G if all mankind had demonetized it tn,
g Comstock Lode would not have beer
t worth as much as a Galena lead mine
This is the proof Of the pudding am
d the summing up Of the argument.
The Pionser- Press continues:
!. Nov though the universal demon
! etization Of gold and silver woul.
! throw vast amount Of coin into th'
bullion markets and greatly depre
!, ciate these metals for the time being
J they would still be very much NOR,
desirable for their intrinsic beaut,
! and utility than any other kind Of or
namental metals, and the presumption
: that their greater cheapness would
!, destroy the demand for them for or
II namental purposes. Ii infinitely alb
G surd. This might be SO If, like dia
). monds, they were purely ornamental
! but metals like gold and silver, Whose
= ornamental qualities are blended will
= so many intrinsicaIly useful ones
: would be sought for and desired il
i exact proportion to their cheapness
! for there is no possible substitute fo
them. If silver tea pots and gOIs
y spoons were within reach of the mil
n lion, instead of the thousand, the mil
l. lion would have them, the only differ
: ence being that the wealthy woult
have more and the poor less. As MI
= Jones says ssThese metals are endowe'
!. with such singularly useful properties
d that If we could get them in suf1icien
II abundance they would supplant al
the other metals in the manufacture
= Of household utensils, ornaments
e fittings Of all kinds and an infinit
q multitude Of small articles which ar