The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1895-06-02
IMPROVEMENTS IN PRODUCTION.

j. Laurence Laughlln In Tlmes-Herald.
Sufficient attention, It would seem, has
been given TO the idea of money as a
common denominator or measure OF
value. Since value Is a ratio, 1t is al
always changing by anything that
changes either term of the ratio. II
cow exchanged for ten sheep last year
and for eight this year, the change may
have been due to causes affecting
either cows or sheep. II COWS go down
in value relatively TO sheep, a COW ex-
changes for fewer sheep; or, II sheep
rise in value relatively to a cow, fewer
sheep will buy a COW than before. Those
are monetary commonplaces. Gold, for
example, stands related TO goods, as Il
whole, just as the COW to the sheep. II
gold is cheapened, goods buy more or
gold Cor prices rise); or, IL goods are
cheapened, without any change whatever
affecting gold, goods buy less of gold
Tor prices falD. There Is nothing sacer-
dota about gold; II is not an unvarying
measure. Why? Clearly because
there never can be anything absolutely
unchanged in value. And the reason is
very simple. Gold is compared with
goods In general; the value of gold is
what 1t will exchange for of these goods.
Hence. If there be a change, cheapen-
ing, for instance, of any one Of the
thousands Of goods exchanged against
gold, gold will exchange for a different
amount Of these goods-that Is, dts value
has changed. 1t is perfectly clear, then,
that gold can change in value because
Of changes in any Of the goods fol
which gold Is exchanged This 1t Is
equally clear, can take place without
implying any change whatever in the
money or gold term of the ratio. This
cannot be too clearly stated, for 1t Is
often assumed that change in the value
Of gold relatively TO goods-or prices
necessarily implies an abundance or
scarcity OF gold. These causes may act,
burt they are far from being the only
ones. This explanation shows how just
was Secretary Carllsle's statement In
his speech at Memphis: II presume,
however, that even the most ardent ad.
vocate of free coinage would be will
Ing to admit that the invention and use
of labor saving machinery the extension
Of our railroad systems, the improve
ment of oul waterways and the grea,
reductions in the rates for carrying
freight, the employment of steamships,
the use OF the telephone on the land ana
under the sea, the application of el.c.
trlcity In the production Of light, heat
and power the utilization of by-products
which were formerly wasted, the in.
troduchon of more economical methods
In the processes of production, the won.
derful advance made by our laborers IL
skill and efficiency, the greatly reduced
rates OF interest paid for the use Of capi-
tai and many other things which II
would require much time to enumerate
and explain have affected prices in some
measure, at least, and yet they Ignore
all these great influences in their argu'
ment upon the subject and attribute the
lower prices of commodities to a singl
alleged and inadequate cause.-the ap
probation Of gold"
Even II gold had retained its usual
conditions Of production, yet such SET
Of forces working to reduce the cost OF
goods would have disclosed a general, al
though varying, fall Of prices, In so far
rs improvements affected goods I'm gem
eral, Yet 'contemporaneously with the
phenomenal cheapenlng in the cost OF
goods there has appeared the most ex-
braordinary increase In the production OF
gold ever known since the world began.
Never before in history has the gold
product equaled that ,of 1884, or $172,-
0OO00O and remember that the excep-
tlonal production Of gold has been going
on since 1850; and remember, too, that
gold Is durable and THAT the total supply
is all that Is brought over from all past
years. SO that there have been two
great changes going on, each capable OF
affecting prices, ana what is the re-
sultant? Goods ought to have fallen In
a special way because of cheapened cost,
and that would have lowered their prices
expressed in gold, Why have prices no
fallen more than per cent since 1867
Because the great production of gold has
come just at the same time to lower Ito
value, and this would tend to raise prices
and offset the opposite fall Of goods. So
the one force counteracted the other; the
fall in gold marked the cheapened cost
Of goods, Both gold and goods have
been cheapened together, and that Is the
reason why labor can today command
more both OF gold and goods than ever
before, That is why workingmen Sc
no help In free coinage of silver, They
have no desire to put up prices of the
articles they buy by the substitution OF
q deprecated standard, Racking the
standard of prices up and down by tain
perng with It's value Is a wild and reck-
less policy. And to assume that the
present standard needs tampering with
on the ground that prices have fallen pc
cause gold Is scarce, Is to propose reck-
less policy on reason absolutely con
trary to the facts and based merely OF
the theoretical distractions OF groundless
spectllatlOna