The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1885-01-10
GOLD AND SILVER
pears o.

GOLD AND SILVER
A Cotemporary in the interior OF The
state, which insists that silver dollar
worth So cents is as good as a dollar con
tanning 100 cents, inquiries what golc
dollar is worth " A gold dollar Is worth q
dollar, and is the dollar by which the value
of all other coins Is calculated and estab
lished. Ii may not be necessary in the
case of people of ordinary intelligence
but il appears To be necessary in the case
of our contemporary, to explain that when
we say silver dollar Is worth but ~ cents
we are 10 be understood as saying that II i
worth but S6.l0O's as much rs Il gold dol
lar--Chicdgo Jouraoi.
II may be "good form among our big
city contemporaries TO mention any but an
other big city concern only as " a cotempo.
rary in the interior" but it would have
been more manly and courteous OF the
J0uram had mentioned the name OF the
paper it referred to-the Galesburg Repro,
lican- Registey, We suspect As to the silver
dollar being worth but IS cts as compared
with gold dollar, we beg to suggest that
that holds good only in certain cases. II
you propose to sell the metal to Mr., Skin
flint, doubtless he will make that difference
between what is called q dollars worth Of
gold and dollars worth of silver But
suppose, if you are fortunate enough to
come in possession of a few thousand of
the dollars of our daddies big silver
sinners you know-and you propose to buy
farm with them, or horses, or cattle,
wheat, rye, corn or soap, or TO buy yourself
free from the slavery Of a harrassing debt,
how much less can you do with your silver
dollars than If they were gold dollars
Remember the great Continental Congress
has said the one shall be worth just As
much as the other, and the people In their
daily transactions perforce recognize the
fiat and act upon 1t implicitly, and is that
worth nothing? A dollar is dollar,
whether gold, silver. or greenbsck, and
in all the financial transactions between
man and man In this country are without
hesitation or protest recognized and accept
ed as such Is it not as great nonsense,
then, TO contend that, because In the simple
light of metal there is a difference in the
relative value of gold and silver, that there
should be proportionate difference be-
tween gold and the greenback, because the
latter is mere paper, "The value of a
thing is what it will bring and as silver
dollar will always bring in open market
exactly what gold dollar will bring, there
is no difference in their value IN the light
of everyday honestly.
1t is true, that the present annual pro
duct of gold is decreasing, and the product
of silver rather on the increase But 4
happy find of new gold fields may soon
reverse that condition. immense strides
have in the last few years been made tow
ards opening the interior Of Africa 10 civi |
lization and commerce The sands along
some of the coasts OF Africa have long
yielded gold dust in largely paying Quan
titles. This supply could only have come
from streams filtering down through gold
bearing rock or soil. which civilized men
have not yet discovered Many elevations of
the Andes range and Of the Cordlllerss,
which have been upheayed by internal
fires, may contain seams of gold equal in
value to those made noted by the early dis
coveries In California and Australia These
possibilities should be considered by all
theorists in discussing the relative value of
the precious metals The increased sup
ply of silver just now is disturbing the rel
alive value of the two metals But the ac.
,ident.l find of any day may reverse
he condition and the gold cranks" of to-
lay may become the silver cranks of 10.
morrow, as they were from 1850 to 1860.