The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1894-05-18
srANDARDs or VALUE.

STANDARDS or VALUE.
We are informed by so-coIled afinan-
ciers" and statisticians, and by an army
of ready made political economists
among the gold standard press-gentle-
men who have not taken the trouble to
carefully study the subject-that the
value of gold is unchanging, and that
to attempt to depart from what is called
the "gold Standard would be to set at
naught ali the principles of justice, and
even to defy the very laws of nature.
This is an argument used only since
the demonetization of silver. Up to
that time it was well recognized by all
who gave any attention to the subject
of money, and is still well recognized
by all the authorities on political econ
omy, that both silver and gold are
variable in value. So serious indeed
have, from time to time, been the vari-
ations in the value of money, that
thoughtful men-some of them distin-
guished conomists-have long OBJ
served and commented on the gross
injustice which such variations involve
and various suggestions have been
made of methods for securing stability
of value in the monetary unit.
Up to the period when the creditors
discovered the ingenious plan of sur
reptitiously increasing by an appeal to
the legislative arm of all governments
the value of all debts due, and to be-
come due, to them, by depriving debt
ors of the immemerial right to pay in
either of the two metals. it was
acknowled by the most eminent econo- !
mists that the adoption of a single
metal as a so-calIed STANDARD" of
money did not secure so great degree
of uniformity in value as the adoption
OF both metals. This may seem a para
dox to those who have not reflected on
the essential nature of money and upon
the method by which it obtains what is
termed it's ''vaIue," which it does
through the medium of the the prices
of commodities. They ask: How can
there be standard composed of two
things? Must not standard be one?
Can it be two or more?
There can be no doubt that the dis
cussion of the value of money is much
clouded by the entirely unwarranted
application of the word standard" to
the material of which money is made.
The indea of standard is of some
thing that is absolutely uniform and
unchanging. Now, the only uniformity
there is about gold is that, like all
other elementary substances, it is
chemically considered, always the same,
but people do not care for gold because
of its chemical properties. 1t is as
money that all the people desire it.
Undoubtedly, those who keep their
eyes always on the metal itself, and
not on The manner in which it is full
filling its monetary duty, think it is
unchanging in value, and so long as
they contine their gaze to the metal
alone, they must always continGe to
think so. Suppose that in the case of
machine, as a steam engine, a certain
pressure of steam say 100 pounds
we're the normal pressure for the ac-
complishment of a prescribed purpose,
and that if that degree of pressure were
maintained the most efficient service
could be rendered consistent with
safety. Imagine what would happen if.
instead of nothing the oscillations of
pressure by observing the movements
of the indicator upon the gauge, the
engineer should simply fasten the fig
ures "100''-in bold type to the end of
the Indicator!
In such case, no matter how violently
y the pressure of steam rose, how CORE
spondingly the needle detected, or
how far it persisted in its course around
the dial, a superficial glance would al
ways show that the indicator pointed
to ''100'-a degree of pressure under
stood to be entirely safe for that en-
CINE, and best adapted to steady and
uniform action OF the machinery to
which the engine supplied motive force.
This absurdity is precisely analogous to
the course pursued by the creditor and
annuitant classes and the champions
of the gold standard They pin to gold
the word standard" and no matter
how wild its vagaries or violent its
oscillations, It's movements are always
apparently the movements of the
STANDARD" SO that whatever point it
reaches IS assumed to be the correct
point. They wholly divert the atten-
ton of the on1ooker from the objects
which it is the function of money to
measure thousands of objects whose
relative positions taken altogether
would Enthusiastically demonstrate that
gold was changing in value Senator
Jones.
New JERSEY lightning has popu-
larly been supposed to produce the