The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1891-10-03
The False and the True.

The False and the True.
The cry against the silver dol
lar is continued by all the news
papers and stump orators of the
g. o. p, and every one who does
not agree to their doctrine is de-
nounced as one who favors diShOn-
est money.
In this campaign we have heard
little else, since the clear dodge of
the "robber tariff question:" than
the cry of "honest money" "the
dishonest dollar, "the eighty-cent
dollar" and kindred expressions,
all Of which are, and are intended
to be, misleading.
The question Of the depreciation
of silver is as easily solved as any
other question of value, and in the
solution, the same rules apply.
We must bear in mind that all
values are relative, and the result
of comparison, there being no such
thing as a bsolute value. CONNER
cial value is simply the selling
price of any commodity.
If wheat is selling for one dollar
per bushel, and corn is selling at
the same time at forty cents, then
corn and wheat bear to each other
the ratio of two and one-half of
corn to one of wheat, but if by rea-
son of a failure of crop, the price
of wheat advances to 81 so, there
being no change in the price Of corn
the ratio would be of corn to one
of wheat. Instead of saying that
wheat had increased in value and
the price was kept at 81, and the
ratio price is to be stated at four
to one, then, the price of corn must
be stated at % cents, instead of
10 cents.
If the two grains named were
all the commodities in eXis stence,
there would he no possibility of de-
termining whether wheat had in
creased in value, or corn had de-
creased.
Now let us add rye, oats and po-
tatoes to the list; fixing corn and
wheat as before, at 40 cents and 81,
and for convenience, place rye at
so cents, oats at % cents and pota-
toes at so cents. Now let wheat
change to 81 so as before, and the
prices of the others remain as be-
fore, then no one need be at a loss
to ascertain at what point the adj
vance has occurred.
Now let the reader apply this
rule of determining values to the
case of the two metals, silver and
gold, and apply the facts.
Since the foundation of our Gov
ernment, to 1873, silver has been
on par, or at premium with
gold, at the ratio of 16 of silver to
one of gold, and was at premium
of go in 1873, when silver was par
TALLY demonitized.
Now if after the act of 1878 all
commodities bore the same ratio tC
gold that they did before the pas
sage of the act, and silver alone de.
preciated, we may safely conclude
that the shrinkage was in the sill.
yer metal.
But the facts of history are 9th.
erwise, for after the demOnitizing
act of 1873, land, labor, cereals
merchandise and silver each show
ed, in comparison with gold, an av'
erage shrinkage of 30&.
Two facts show that the shrink,
age was only comparative and not
real. If silver had shrunk and
gold remained stable, it would not
have disturbed the ratio between
gold and the other commodities
named, and second, if all the arti
cles of traffic had shrpnk, it is moi
at all probable that the shrinkagc
would have been uniform for the
reason that the depreciation woult
have depended on different and in
dependent causes.
Therefore, the logic Of the whole