New-York tribune., 1885-01-15
STANDARDS OF VALUE
SENATOR MCPHERSON ON THE sHORT-LE
GED SILVER DOLLAR.
RELATIVE vALUEs-LEGIsLATION POwERLEss TO
FIX THEM-ALTERNATIvEs.

| GED SkLt Eh UOLiIAh.
| RELATIVE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. PowERLEsS TO
| FIX THEM-ALTERNATIvEs.
Since economical history has been written
silver and gold have been the standards OF value
throughout the world. The value Of gold and silver
relatively to each other has at times been subject to
such violent fluctuations that brought to the
sideraton OF the actual question whether 1t Is not con-
trary to principle make by law xed equation be-
| tween them.
IT, however, we to accept the theoretical argu-
ments so often advanced by the silver advocates that
the value OF gold and silver is determined by two ee-
ments, "the employment and the quantity the final
solution Of this vexed question would not be less diff
cult To illustrates The worlds annual production of
silver to be steadily increasing and the product OF
silver in 1888 is estimated to have been about hun
dred and fourteen millions OF which total the United
States produced nearly fifty millions. that the
! United States produces nearly one-haf the worlds
| supply Under the law of 1873. which authorized
the coinage of fortyeight millions, and decreed the coin
Of twenty four millions OF silver dollars each year.
the itself guaranteed market for one-haf
the silver product of our mnes,or nearly Onefourth
the silver product of the whole world
IT, however, is demanded by the advocates of tho
silver legnender dollar, the Government should now
coin the quantity provided in the law of 1873,
to wit forty-eigb mons-and the nations constitut-
ing the Latin union, il you please should elevate like
amount to the rank OF money leaving but little for the
value OF silver doubtless would be greatly enhanced
| but it would be "a pn,e creaed By ta,c."
Conversely the United States should stop the coin
ago silver dollars and throw upon the market the
twentyfour millions of silver bullion taken by the
coinage purposes 1t would greatly depress the
price OF silver. SO true this that the simple recon-
mendation of the Secretary Of the Treasury to
| stop the coinage OF the silver dollar unsettled
business in India and caused Calcutta exchange to de-
cline greatly
We brought, hen to the crucial point of the whole
| controversy Can legislation fix definite and durable
ratio between the monetary metals does the cost OF
production fix It; is the in the long run with
| every other commodityi What the law cannot fix is
the purchasing power of the precious metals In relation
to every other commodity. TO say, then, that 1t fix
the purchasing power OF metal To the other In
wolves the denial OF universal principle-universal
principles changeand In the end its effects are
be felt. Gold and silver, being articles produced
by human labor must have their respective values de-
ternned by the laws that apply TO other products
Every product human labor must In the long run,
be determined by the cost OF producing it, As In all
other cases. what is cheaply produced
! than usual will bo moro plentifuly produced
than usual and It's purchasing power, in conse-
quence. will doubt DO less bushel Of wheat
costs more to produce than bushel of turnps, yet
particular time. owing 20 the abundance OF the one.
the great scarcity Of the other wheat may sell lower
than turnps Ia process of time. however and possibly
very short time the relative cost OF production will
govern the ratio Of exchange between the products.
Every one knows that II either OF them fell for some
years below the cost OF growing It, production would
fall of and the price advance accordingly the connec
tion between the two isso obvious that no ono Will fail
to see 1t.
II silver as TO be the fact from this cause has
deprecated sixteen per cent, 1t that silver pos
sesses sixteen per cent less purchasing value or. In
other words commodities have" risen " to that extent.
The law OF supply and demand Is applicable to gold and
silver other things We are asked why, then, did
not gold compared with silver. greatly depreciae in
ls4s5 when the product Increased from thirty millions
TO one hundred and fifty millions annually The answer
easy the product OF the two monetary metals
| taken together during that period varied In
inverse proportion and the and bascr con was
superseded by finer and better " and until this
universal. hungry demand by all great nations for gold
over silver fully satisfied gold never, relatively
| to silver, he said 20 so down.
! Commerce cannot 20 between nations except with
some universally recognized standard TO diferentate
merchandise and prcs and because OF the estimate
consent has placed on II, gold has become the
| international money. a common money, and the only
one which necessary for paying the balances between
two countries The paying power OF gold is very
stable: defective In this silver cannot be interna-
tiona money Therefore gold ia always TO be preferred
to silver Bulk Is less. OF transportation less.
penses of minage less to say nothing Of the labor Of
paying million dollars in double eagles compared
with the payment OF like sum In silver dollars Gold Is
the better large transat lions
and Germany being countries OF great commerce,
which. for the same reason. will include the
United States, and France, require more valuable
medium OF exchange than countries OF petty commerce.
The coinage ard use OF money Is a superior power;
sovereign power In all nations England in the exercise
that power has currency resting solely upoa the
gold standard which exactly suits her wants what
motive then. for changing IL Germany has adopted gold
mouometaism. and France. though continuing the old
In circulation. has In SELF defence been forced
10 close herr mints against the coinage OF silver.
To maintain a bimetsic standard all commercial
adopt ore ratio for their entire coinage, this
the United veil consider the propriey
agreement possible, aud this Is the first step toward
changing existing relations between gold and silver, tie
legislation TO enforce It's DEGREES II there were any;
would hardly possible from the fact that Eng and and
laH"" take any % step, toward assmila vii thout we
| first give up the silver standard and have for
onr co nago only gold standard Therefore. may be
pardoned xprcssng entire want OF faith in the
possibility of international bnealism In our time or in
America being the greatest producer OF silver has
pehaps largest interest that the gold price OF silver
| be kept as near possible at par with gold.
The existence OF this interest, which coupled with
sentiment peculiarly American. Influenced. IL not de-
cidsd the American Congress 70 relnoneuLe the sVer
dollar and its coinage at time when othsr great
commercial nations aud they our chle1 rNas lot rca-
sons good them. and II TO them good also Tor u.s.
were In effort to change, by force or law tne
double standard single gold standard, as IN Ger
many by limiting the volume or silver Dy closing the
Hence we are establishing and trying maintain two
coin currencies-one gold the other silyerone nj To
pay foreign debt Ghe gold. the other
ins I'M. gold monometallics With us, therefore, in
the course of a few years. bimetalisn Will be only
name; and what's In a name II we have BOT tne tnlng
For verify. will be a silver monometac country ana
our pay bounty TO England ~ lndla socs now
With the closing Of the mins OF Europe against silver
except for fractional or subsidiary currency ana an no
States of Europe have their fractional currency Ill fu
there remain the In the arts leqniIng an
nnaly less than the product single mine TO which
IA t,op