The Madisonian. (Virginia City, Mont.) 1873-1915, 1895-08-31

value.
1t is not the credit, but the power of
the government that is behind it in the
law Of legal tender and in the right to
increase or diminish the issues. Taxes
are payable in money, and debts are
payable in money, and the only way
that people can get money with which
to pay debts Or taxes is by competing
with one another for it in all the occu-
patiors Of life. 1t is this universal COM
petition to get it that fixes the value OF
all kinds Of money, as it is competition
that fixes the value Of all other things.
In this work Of competition the number
OF dollars to be competed for, other
things being unchanged, must determine
the value of each dollar.
Standards of Value.
We are informed by so called ''inan-
ciers'' and statisticians, and by al 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 all the principles Of justice and
eve to defy the very laws of nature.
This is an argument used only since the
demonstration Of silver. Up to that
time it was well recognized by all who
gave any attention to the subject of
money, and is still we'll recognized by
all the authorities on political economy,
that both silver and gold are variable in
value. So serious indeed have from time
to time been the variations in the value
of money that thoughtful men-some of
them distinguished economists - have
long observed and commented on the
gross injustice which such variations IL
volye, 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 surrep-
~titiously increasing by az appeal to the
Legislative arm Of all governments the
value of all debts due, and to become
due, to them, by depriving debtors of
che immemorial right to pay in either
Of the two metals, it was acknowledged
by the most eminent economists that the
adoption of a single metal as a so called
standard" Of money did not secure SO
great a degree Of uniformity in value as
the adoption of both metals. This may
seem a paradox to those who have not
reflected Oh the essential nature of mon
ey and upon the method by which it OBJ
tains what is termed its ~"value, which
~ 10nc fhro,,Cpl, tho rpo1i,~, nc 41o ~r;ooo
Of commodities. They ask: How can
there be a standard composed Of two
things? Must not q standard be one?
Can it be two or more?
Material, Quantity and Credit.
The seeming paradox involved in the
idea that what is called a "standard of
value" may be composed of more than
one material is made plain when it is
borne i'll mind that it is not the ma
terial, but the quantity, Of money which
constitutes the standard. The quality to
which in the case Of value the word
"standard" is applied is not a quality
inhering in the material Of the money.
Value, as l have shown, does not reside
in any article Or in the substance Of any
article. When the consideration to be
kept in view is not All object, but a serv-
ice-nOt a material, but a f~unctiOn-the
instrument by which that service O,
function is performed need not neces.
sarily be limited to IL material. Inas.
much as the purp @ to be served is the
attainment Of a correct re. alt, whatever
the material by wh oh it may be accom-
Tlishcd, such I Of materials al
may be inc ,-e to that end should
without he, 49,, = be employed. If we
wish to ,A+-- / &C TX which shall in
dictate the c3-loct t I've, we do not insist
that it SHAH be nj. . of one material
The mate ! of , ch money is made
is no more as ltf value than thu
material CT Il clu> is tue s,..ndard O.
time.
The yarda>ick wh.ch by statute is de
clared to he tie mol. for all othe:
yarU- tics = m&''n'f' pa7e, but bronz
is not, therotg-e, u tu:l.5 Of length
A bushei measure J be composed o
any material or G number of ma
~terials combined, b this makes no diff
ference sO long as The precise purpos
sought is attainc namely, the secur
t ing Of perfect accu : Of measurement
J II we ssunle the model or standard
} bushel measure to be composed of brass
t it is not ( @ brass That is the ''standar
: of measure. A ing Cat all bushe
measures were maze OF brass, then thi
7 particular psece of brass comprising tn
S model constitutes Il standard by whic
, to test the metal Of which all futur
+ bushel measures may be made, but thi
: does ctconst.tute brass per SO a "stanG