Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1893-07-28

tell us that q silver collar Will purchase
as many of thc comforts of life today
as it would twenty years ago, and that
Il gold dollar will purchase morc. sup
pose this proposition as true does it fol
low that gold has appreciated? Far
from it. Gold or silver IL no more be
measures OF value than can any other
commodity, the value nf which is sub
ject to variation. 1t is ~ notorln,,s fact
that gold and silver both deprecated
more than One-thi,d during the century
aud Il half following the discovery of
America. This was caused by the large
amounts of both metals foumd i'll this
country. Since then the grea, mines of
California, Australia, Nevada. Colorado
and other SECTIONS haye still farther de.
preclated the value of the precious
metals. Then what sense is there in
taking as II n easilre of value anything
tire value of which is itself subject to
variation. We take thirty-six inches as
u lileal yard. We take IL stick tl.irty-siX
inches long to measure IL yard every
I day, ii we are honest. We do not take
AS IL measure of Il yard IL stick forty i'll
Giles long one day and one thirty inches
long the next day. The fact is there is
but ont true measure of value and that
is labor. Ten hours, faithful. intelligent
work is the same now when put forth
by IL man of agiven amount OF strength
as it was a hundred years ago When nut
forth by Il maj of the same strength, i'll
telligence and falthfuluess. 1t requires
the same amount of effort. Any al.
ticle is worth the labor required to pro-
duce it. This is Il law lis universal in
application as the law of gravi'atiun.
People have thought that in the ease of
works OF art and scarcity caused by
famine, etc. they have found exceptions
that destroy the rule. But the apparent
exceptions only confirm il. Those
people who think they have DESTROYED
the rule ale about on II par With the
lunatic that saw Il balloon floating off
through space and thought he Lad dis
SoNNiNN 0I CANVlNloH W tlG INV Ol
gravitation and consequently it no
longer had force. so he stepped out ot
IL fifth story window. rs compared
with each other gold and silver contin-
TALLY vary i'll value. Six hundred years
ago II ounce OF gold was worth only
ten ounces of silver. The fact is that
gold and silver have boil, deprecated
III the past forty Years. So las every
other commodity. Labor Is better re-
munerated today than it ever was. The
labcTer is paid more for his work now
In gold and silver than he ever was
paid before. With the gold or silver
that he NOW receives for IL days labor
lie can buy more than he ever could be-
fore. This proves beyond the shadow
of IL doubt that Instead of approaching
gold has actually deprecated. about
twenty per cent. perhaps. i'll .lie past
fifty years.
TO day it requires more than twenty
three ounces of silver to purchase one
ounce of gold. Free silver men want
free coinage ut the ratio of sixteen
ounces of silver to IL of gold. Certain
ly 81 very good measure financially for
silver bullion owners Why they should
favor such IL measure everybody knows.
but why anybody else should. God only
knows. Yet seme farmers are most
vociterous i'll demanding free silver, Ii
the law proposed to pay mt dollar for
fifty cents worth of coils OF wheat ~
hogs or cattle it would be evident how
farmers would be benefited. But
would such i; measure have the support
OF millionaire silver mine owners? The
cause OF the financial depression is to
be largely found in our silver laws, aud
in everything else that produces dis
trust either ut home or abroad. Europe
has been looking on in amazement at
orv efforts to maintain the ratio of lG
to j. Capitalists are fearing that we
will refuse payment in gold and make
silver the sole standard. Consequently,
though we shipped $2l2.DOO.OOn more i'll
merchandise to Europe during the past
two years than we imported in the same
time, we also shipped them S6o, oCo,ooo
in geld. European capitalists are
alarmed ut the free coinage folly and
are withdrawing their money as rapidly
as possible from American securities.
Then the national platform that began
by declaring "Me meet i'll the midst of
Il nation brought to the verge of moral.
political and material ruin" has had its
effect in lessehing money i'll circulation.
Everything that causes dlstrust and UNI
certainty has ii demoralizing effect upon
industry.
The solution of the money question,
we believe. is to adopt the gold standard
or to provide for the free coinage of
gold and silver at their market value,
and let the treasury department deter