, 1891-06-25
SOUND LOGIC

article is well worthy of reproduction, but
Is much beyond the limits which we can
place at its disposal. Carnegie and his
theories are, however. handled without
gloves. The proposition that gold is alb
~solutely fixed in its value, which forms
the basis of Ca~rnegie's article, is auuihi-
lated in these words: Your argument is
that. because the value Of gold cannot be
changed, it is the only material fit for use
as money. Suppose, Mr.. Carnegie. that
all the rocks we're gold, would an ounce of
that metal buy the same amount Of iroE
or steel that 1t now does2 II gold were so
plentiful all over the world as 10 render it
necessary to remove it from the land be
fore the soil could be cultivated. would not
Its value he changed By what process
ot reasoning did you reach the conclusion
that the value of gold did not depend
upon the law OF supply and demand You
cannot be ignorant OF the axiom that
value depends upon the law OF supply and
demand. An unlimited supply OF any
thing, however desirable. destroys its
value. Why have not the light OF day,
the heat Of the sun, the air we breathe,
in their natural condition, value2 Is it
not because the supply is unlimited On
the other hand, suppose that no more
gold could be mined. and that nne-half OF
the stock on hand were. lost or destroyed,
would not an ounce of gold buy more
property than it now does2 Has not the
purchasing power OF gold increased from
30 to 40 per cent. since silver wa demon
etized and one-half OF the supply of
money-metal cut Off
Among other points OF the letter the
following will be Of interest. Why sneer
at France for using silver Have you
forgotten that when tie Barings failed
the wise old bird was compelled to Dor
row from the Bank OF France TO save her
self from immediate ruin2 Is 1t ignorance
or insOlence which inspires you to tell the
people Of the United States to buy gold?
You know. or ought TO know, that it Is
just what all the people OF the civilized
world are trying to do without SUCCESS.
Whoever buys gold must pay dear for 1t.
Those who will pay the highest price will
obtain it, Who ever obtains it will sacri
flee his property or his freedom. The
rich who have gold are the sole benef-
Charles Of your policy. Under the gold
trust their hords are increased in value
while the people are sacrificed.
During all the ages silver was a precious
metal equally with gold. Either could be
exchanged for standard money without
Neither was the standard, but the
com, composed OF either, was the stand
ard money Of the people. When you de
prived silver OF its royal right to coinage.
and conferred the honors, which had been
BY the two precious metals for
of years. upon gold alone, you
only made gold more precious, bat
you more than doubled the duties it was
required to perform, 1t was the only
metal i" tho commercial world
recognized by law, aud became an object
Of universal desire. 1t is a growing ne
in dentistry, photography and
other arts. Its enhanced value has
the demand for its use in orna.
mentng the palaces of the rich to mark
the distinction between those who pos
sess and those who produce wealth.
The growing necessities of the arts for
gold must be supplied. The demand for
EUld fer u~on-mnnatary purposes is rapidly
increasing. 1t already consumes nearly.
if not quite, all the annual supply from
the mines, and little, if any, is left for
No material increase in the ac-
cumulated stock of gold coin has been
made since silver was demonetized. Many
well-informed statsticians contend that
is less gold coin IN the commercial
world than there was fifteen years ago.
The meagre reserves of gold in Europe
aud America cOrroborlte their contention.
Population and business have expanded
out Of all proportion TO the supply Of
gold coin.
Your scheme of checks and bills of ex-
change as substitutes for gold has been
tried and found wanting. Paper devices
NNAAAAh NhulhANlNE 40 representative VI D
money and not otherwise. The slightes
doubt Of failure Of payment on presenta
ton under the moneyed systems of the
world destroys their use. II is true that
while confidence can be maintained they
are as good as coin, but the want OF coin
destroys confidence. If checks and hills
of exchange would answer the purpose of
money why use anything else2
No, Mr.. Carnegie, YOU cannot Justify
the Grim Of the nineteenth century, by
which silver was demonetized, by assert
ing that either Overproduction or falling
price OF silver was the cause. Silver was
not demonetized because gold was the bet
ter metal for use as money. On the con
trsry, the effort to destroy one of the
precious metals TO enhance the value Of
money commenced with an effort to de
monetiZe gold. Chevalier aud Maclaren
and their followers, between 1880 and
1860. were clamorous in their demands
for the exclusion of gold from the mintR
Of the civilized world, for the avowed pur-
n%uities. and fixed incomes They con
tended then that silver was the only
metal possessing ixity OF value. and that
gold was unfit for use as money on ac-
count of its uncertain and spasnodic pro
duction.
The Latin Union did not yield for a
long time thereafter TO the decentralization