The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-07-27

gold, or two metals In concurrent coin
| age the measure of values. it is mis-
taken idea that paper or tokens issued
to represent this money increase or de-
crease their exchangeable value, ex-
cept in the sense that they may facili-
tate the exchange. Mr.. Horn says in
the Weekly New York Tribune of June
18th (the paper is here, Mr.. Horn,
Paper money is worth only the value
of the money in which it is redeemed"
And Mr.. Horn is right. I do not mean
to say that paper money cannot be
made primary money, as we may see
later, but it does not become the meas
ure of values when only representing
| primary money. To be a measure of
value it must represent itself only. Any
one who denies the proposition that
primary or real money alone is the
measure of values is asked to consider
this: With relative production of sill
yer to gold since 1873, not accounting
for the decline in silver since that
year, why is it that silver is worth
only SO. cents now, as compared with
ZOE cents in 1873?
Production Since 1873.
Mr.. Horn Any business man will
only need to look at the table of pro-
duction of silver and gold since 1873 to
! be able to ascertain that the law which
I partially illustrated yesterday oper-
ates in reference to silver as well as in
reference to every other commodity.
Silver does not represent to-day the
same amount of labor, of work, that it
represented in 1873. 1t is cheaper be-
cause the demand and the supply are
in such relations to each other that it
makes it cheaper, just as wheat has
been cheaper, and for the same reason.
Mr.. Harvey is mistaken. Prices are
not governed or controlled by the
amount of primary money in any coun-
try or in the whole world, so far as I
know. No political writer of any dis
tinction ever claimed anything of the
kind. Silver is not primary
money; and under his doctrine, because
primary money has been reduced in
that way one-half, all prices should be
reduced one-half. Have they been?
Has corn deprecated that way? Has
pork deprecated that way? Have cat
tie deprecated that way? Over one
half the farm products of the United
States are as high now as they were
in 1873, fact which could not be true
if his doctrine as to the appreciation Of
the measure of value is true; prices
would necessarily be split in two, re-
duced one-half Now, the difficulty is,
articles are cheapened by the processes
of production. What is value? Where
do we get the idea from? AS I stated
yesterd day, it is fixed by the amount of
human toll which enters into the pro-
duction of an article. Now, don't mis-
understand me. I don't say the price
of an article will be just the price. of
the human labor that enters into it.
No, no; that isn't the rule. The price
of an article is always fixed by the abb
sOlute cost of production to the con-
Germ producing it which does it at the
highest price at which it can stay in
the business after the price is fixed.
You will understand me, because will
illustrate it so that you will get at what
I mean. It isn't a question that little
boy like Coin" could under stand, per
haps, but it is a question that thinking
men will see in a moment Whenever
you make an invention, an improve
ment so that by machinery you cheaper
the cost of production, the price of the
article will go down to the lowest point
that it can possibly get towards this
new cost of production, but always
stops with the highest cost to the men
who stay in the business of producing
For instance, we had been paying years
ago 81 a pound, and a good deal more
for aluminium. 1t used to cost that in
actual work in expense to get pound
of it. Now, aluminium is without
limit in the crust of the earth almost
Scientific men tell us that it composes
, perhaps one-tenth of the entire crust oil
the earth. Every clay bed is from q
to 20 per cent aluminium. Every shale
rock is loaded down with it, and the
trouble has been to reduce it into the
form of a metal, SO that it could bt
utilized by the human race. It. useC
to cost so much that it was worth {
good deals more than silver.
DR.. eRobinson-More than gold.
Production of Aluminium
Mr.. Horn = Yes, more than gold
Now, we have been cheapening thu
production of aluminium by diseoverin;
means of separating it and getting i
into metal form-pure metal. Ever!
invention that we have made ha
, cheapened the production until now i
n is down to perhaps 40 or 45 cents
? pound Now, listen; I believe tina
. there are men in this house who will
= yet live to see aluminium SO cheap tina
, it will be used in casing our houses
. and will take the place of lumbe
q when it shall disappear from use il
n house building.
But the cost of production, after al
j., is the great element that fixes tn
n price of any article, gold and silver, o
4 anything else, and any one who en-
r deavors to impose upon the people b
: attempting, by law, to drive them to us