The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1895-08-16
THE PEOPLE ARE LEARNING

THE PEOPLE ARE LEARNING.
Slowly But Surely They Are Realizing That
Metallism Is n DeiusiOn ana = Fraud.
Says c. w. Stewart, in the Chicago
Express:
The funny part of the Harvey Horn
debate, aside from the general fiaying
that Horr is getting, is their quibbling
about the unit. The only benefit that
can possibly come from it will be lit
tie education on the question of money.
THE whole trouble is that both dis
putants are trying to avoid the logical
conclusion that all units are ideal.
The reason they do this is because if
they did admit it they would both have
to give way to the absolute fat money
idea. There is but one abstract unit,
and it is an invisible idea. When Coin
made his chalk mark l on the black.
board he made chalk representative
of the one eternal unit Harvey is
quibbliug in favor of silver. and Horr
is quibbling in favor of gold. That is
all there is to it.
The supreme court in 1871 settled
that question. 1t said: ut is hardly
correct to speak of standard of value.
The constitution does not speak of it
1t contemplates a standard for gravity
and extension, but value is an ideal
thing. The coinage acts fix it's unit as
a dollar; but the gold or silver thing
we call a dollar is in no sense stand
ard; it is only a representative of it"
''Why in the name of reason cannot
people see that point2 Why cannot
they see that the name of a horse, and
the horse, are not the same?'
In the same issue of the Express,
Rev. D. Oglesby comments as follows:
This Ho1r-H arvey debate is exceed
ingly interesting reading to us reform
ers. These old Bulls of Bashane, gold
and silver, these idols of Shylock, are
goring each other to death; and the
amusing thing about it is, they don't
know it. When Mr.. Horr said, ito
measure length you must have length,
to find weight you must have weight,
and to measure value you must have
value" why didn't Mr.. Harvey reply,
that is barter. that is the money Of
barbarism. Mr.. Harvey could not
make that reply for the reason that
silver is the money of barbarism too.
The argument that it takes value
to measure value is very captivating
to the ignorant, but it is pure sophis-
try. Money, the money of civilization,
is not designed to measure values, but
to express price. Values can't he
measured by money. Values are al.
wayS changing. A loaf of bread is as
valuable to a starving man as his life,
but when a man has plenty of bread, it
is valued at and 10 cents only.
The values are generally fixed in
the rqind. An heirloom, or keepsake
decends through generations from
values it u thousand times higher than
its cost, and would demand a thousand
times more for it if he parted with it,
than it is intrinsically worth. The first
dollar coined by the United States gov.
ernment would bring thousands of dol
lars now, its value or price depending
on the whims of curiosity seekers
Commerce is exchanging the prod
ucts of labor. Money is intended tc
express the relative value in labor OF
articles to be exchanged. Money is
the scales of commerce. When men
weigh anything they don't presume te
have weights as heavy as the article tc
be weighed. A pound weight will
weigh a ton of hay. The merchant
don't use yardstieks as long as the
bolts of cloth to be measured. But the
coin money advocates contend that the
money used must be worth, in every
ease, as much as the property ex
changed This is barter. Shopping
one thing ofintrinsie value for another
thing of equal intrinsic value.
Let the fight GO on The people
are learning slowly what money is.
The reformers contend that as long az
gold is used, silver shonld be used on
an equality with it The only advan-
tage that would accrue to the world
by free coinage would be to enlarge
the volume of money little. But it
is. or would be, no remedy for the
troubles which vex and agitate society.
It would be only palliative What the
world needs is to demonetize both gold
aud silver, and substitute the money Of
civilization.
1.-THE great mistake that the founders
of the republic in 1876 made was tc
adopt the money of monarchy. After
throwing off the yoke of Great Britain
they adopted her system of money, and
it has enslaved us. Had they cut loose
from monarchy entirely. and issued alb
solute money similar to the green back
without the exceptions, and no promise
to pay but to receive for all dues, this
country would be to-day richer by un.
told millions There would be nc
bonded debt, no strikes, no tramps, nc
war between capital and labor, and
our country would be the ruling coun.
try on earth. Metal money, the hot
bed of usury, is the curse of the world.
There can never be any settled state
of society anywhere until it is wiped
out.
Gold and silver are only commodi-
ties. There is no sense at all in allow
ing them such pre-eminence over all
other commodities, and labor too.
Down with them forever. Let them
be equal to other commodities"
In the Horr- Harvey debate at Chi
cago, both disputants agree that money
is q measure of value-and both are
radically wrong. 1t is = representa-
tive of value, but in NO sense q meas
ure. Value is measured by supply and
demand and by tho usefulness of the
article. Ono man may have q horse
that he considers much more ''valu-
able" than it really Is. How can money
measure the value that man places on