White Oaks eagle. (White Oaks, N.M.) 189?-190?, 1895-07-18
THE "RECORD'S" ANSWER.

record we print it's entire answer
to its query, What constitutes the
value of money of ult mate re-
demption the world over?" 1t
says:
The value Of money of ultimate
redemption is controlled by its price in
the markets OF the world, and this price
is based upon the bullion Of, and not the
stamp on, the coin. Money of ultimate
redemption being the only thing in which
governments finally discharge their obi-
cations, it is therefore the only real
money. Ii ali individual has claim for
thousand dollars against this govern
ment, for example, he presents it to the
treasurer aud receives thousand dollars
in treasury notes. That is not dis
charge of tho debt. The government
has simply given him negotiable notes
promising to pay the thousand dollars
on demand. The debt itself still exists
Now let us suppo.e that the govern
ment pays him silver; would this pay
ment be. in equity and in fact, a discharge
Of the debt? Certainly not; because
the thousand dollars in silver is not
worth over fifty cents on the dollar, and
il the government should insist upon the
payment as final settlement, it would
bo partial reputation. Suppose the
government paid the thousand dollars in
gold; then the debt would be discharged,
because the gold is worth just what is
claimed for in any market in the worll. .
The people Of the United States accept
treasury notes and silver in payment of
debts because the government has. so
far, kept them at parity with gold by
promptly redeeming them in gold on
demand Should this government un.
deltahe to coin silver in unlimited guam
titles, it could not maintain this parity,
an silver would drop to its value as bull
lion. Money OF final redemption Is a
commodity. The stamp OF the govern.
meut adds nothing to It's value. The
! demand for this commod ty lis "a medium
/ of exchange and for other purposes,
taken in connection with the supply, con
trolls The price and "constitu cs' its value
II we make silver money OF ultimat G
redemption in fact, the same rules will
apply to it.
The illustrations of the Record
are very lucid and easy to under
stand, but when it says that the
value of money is controlled by
the bullion price, and not by The
government stamp on the coin, ii
only repeats proposition which
nobody yet has been able to main
tain. If this We're true, why is 1t
that through all the changes in the
quantity of gold and silver pro
duced that the price has not mate
rally changed in the countries re-
spectively using these metals i'll
their money? If, like other com
modities, their value was governed
by the law of supply and demand,
we should see gold bullion going
at $50 an ounce today and $40 to-
morrow and $50 next week, just as
we now see wheat and corn, cotton
and wool huctuating in the mar
kets. The difference is that geld
and silver, when used as money,
receive their market value from the
law which fixes that value, and it
can not change without n change
in the law takes place.
Why does the Rccord say that it
this government should pay its
creditors IN silver that would not
be nm equitable discharge of the
debt ? And why does it assert
that the silver dollar is not worth
over fifty cents? Is its measure
Il true, just and correct one q?
Why does it not say that he who
demands gold dollars asks two dol.
lars for each one that is due him :
Why does it insist on measuring
silver with gold alone rather thnn
measure gold by the silver dollar ?
1t can not answer these questions
upon the theory it presents that
gold is the standard of the worlds
measure, for nations that, by their
laws, maintain single gold stand
ard embrace a population OF only
about one hundred and sixty mill.
ion people, while those having II
double standard contain a ropula-
/ 10, e t,,.., hu.IraI nuI forty mill