The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1892-04-23
A Collision Of Ounces.

4 It was an Iowa editor, we believe
who reasoned in time of q food tina
he knew tho water was no highel
than it had been the previous spring
because it was only just up to .
mark he had made on the side o
his ferryboat at that time. And the,
still reason that way. The editor
of the Birmingham Enterprise, il
his issue of April 14th, gives a sam
pie chunk. He says, THE demo
Gratis of Minnesota at their state
convention could not resist the
temptation to declare in favor o.
free and unrestricted coinage Of sill
yer, but they want an adjustment
of values SO as to make gold and
silver equal, as if such q thing were
possible between q unit of value
like gold, and q fuctuating com.
modify of commerce like siver."
Had the editor of the Enterprise
been less an ass than the Minnesota
democrats he could have made q
point on the action Of that conven.
ton; but being q leading donkey
of the herd he only succeeded in
offending people4of better manners
by making a needless display OF
his ears.
Gold is no more unit Of value
than are potatoes or cordwood, nor
is it any more capable of being
made unit of value than are hogs
and sheep, or Iowa editors. A dol
lar is unit of value, because made
so by law, and because under our
monetary system we reckon all
sums from that base. To be more
explicit, unit of value is definite
something, as a pound is unit of
weight, a foot unit of measure, a
dollar union of value, ETC., and it
makes no difference whether that
dollar is made OF gold, silver, cop
per, nickel or paper, so long rs it
is legal tender, since we employ
all OF them as money. A unit sig
mites one. Sold, therefore, could
not be a unit unless all of the gold
in existence were counted as one,
which would be a trl0s inconven-
lent even for q gold maniac to
handle.
But were gold either a unit Of
value or capsule Of being trans.
formed into such aait Me.s her the
Minnesota convention nor the ssrn,
ingham editor would be any nearer
right than thev are, hacalas the.
only way Ia aajtss values he..een
gold aad silver is 10 oain the two
metals into full legal tender dollars
az . ratio Of ls,of silver lu 4 0f gold Il
and cven that wpald net quite ae-
eoHplish tho e9ie as .ser. Icing
me tFl' ! money vi the poor people.
would, when 80 coined, again adj
vance to a premium over gold Just
as it bad done when it was demon
etized to make the debtor pay a
debt he did not owe.
Silver is a fluctuating commod-
ity of commerce" only because it is
demonetized, made SO by unjust
laws. Demonetize gold and it would
1T once become "fuctuatinp COM
modify of commerce." Gold is
money only when coined into dol
ars in obedience TO law. Silver is
money when so coined, and it has
happened in the history
It the world that one or the other,
n both, have been demonetized-
transformed into "fuctuating COM f,
oddities of commensurate it has
ways happened that the one the {
reditor class thought the more &
bundant was the one to be demon 6
tized. except in Venice. There t
9th were demonetized for a long I
eriod and it was during that period j
nat she enjoyed her greatest pros i
Gritty, simply because, having re- a
Used to restrict herself to a metal t
asis, she was able to supply a cir il
llating medium equal to the de- t
lands of her commerce, t