The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1891-06-06
The Imitation Falacy.

The Imitation Falacy.
The current argument of the adj
vocates of what they choose to
term the "Honest Dollar" is that
the Unlimited coinage of silver will
produce initiation by filling the
country with base coin. There was
never a more senseless claim put
forward by any one on any ques.
tion.
The definition of dollar as given
by Webster is ga siLUer coin of the
United States weighing about 4124
grains of standard silver"
This weight of standard silver
was declared to be the dollar of the
United States in the coinage act of
1898, and has been the measure of
values in this country for ninety
eight years; hence when we speak
of q dollar we mean 4121 grains of
standard silver and means nothing
else.
The coinage act of 1898 gives this
name to no other piece of money,
the name and weight both being
identical with the Spanish milled
dollar, and of the still more anti
quated thGJer of Germany. This
act measures the value Of all other
coins by this supreme standard.
This dollar was made the meas
ure of value for all other coins and
their weight made to correspond to
the proportionate values of gold or
copper compared with 4124 grains
of standard silver. A dollar was
not made in any other metal in
this country until after the discov-
cry of gold in California when the
equivalent of the old silver dollar
was made in gold, first appearing
in 1919, but the coin was small and
unpopular, and its mintage was
never large and was discontinued
in 1890, and the smallest gold coin
now issued from the mint is the
"one-fourth eagle" or % dollar
piece.
During the one hun dred years of
the supremacy of the silver dollar
as the supreme standard by which
all values were measured no one
has suffered by reason of the infa-
tion of the silver dollar, for the
simple reason that 4l23 grains of
silver is always meant when the
value of any commodity is express
ed.
Who ever heard of railroad
costing 1000 eagles per mile or
being mortgaged to the extent of
100000 double eagles, or pork being
worth J eagle per cwt? The an
swer is manifest, for the DOLLAR,
4123 grains of standard silver, is
the supreme measure and to which
all values conform there can be
no variation in the standard, for
the very good reason that the act
of our government, (that is the peo-
ple) has declared 4124 grains of
standard silver, Called a dollar)
shall be the measure of value, not
only for silver and gold but for all
commodities and labor as well.
TO talk of depreciating its value
by increasing the number is akin
to foolishness. AS well say one
yard stick is 36 inches long, but if
you have ten they will each be but
"A inches long andif you have 40
of them they will each measure
about a foot less than nothing.
Intrinsic value cannot be infla-
ted, in the sense in which the word
is used in reference to ordinary
paper money. Paper notes are
promises to pay and represent a
debt, while silver dollars are their
own redeemer. Every time the
citizen becomes possessed of 412t
grains of silver he has a dollar, not
promise that some one will give
him dollar, and the more silver
he gets the more dollars he will
have and their value is as fixed
and stable as any thing of human
creation can be.
What the masses of the people
want is more real dollars and less
CAB by the men who having be-
come creditors now want to change
the standard.
Obituary.