The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-09-19
JrDGE HrGHk,s REPLY.
He Comes Back at The Times ana The
journal of Commerce.


your own. Please allow me space IN your
columns for brief notice OF both.
You say that "the best thought OF the
world - rapidly settling down 10 the con-
clusiOn that a man VINO can believe in
two standards OF value is In a measure
man OF unbalanced mind TINS Is not
a iact, the best thought OF the world
being the other way; but II 1t were a
fact, the conclusion would be grotesque,
indeed. Previously To 1873 the United
States OF America, and all, or nearly
ali, OF the nations Of western Europe, OK
cept Great Britain made both silver and
gold their money OF account, and your
test of lunacy would place IN the category
OF the unfortunates the most Intelligent
and highly civilized nations, peoples
statesmen, and nrAnciers Of the world
More particularly, the convention which
framed the Constitution OF the United
States, by UNANIMOUS vote, ordained that
10 State of the Union shou.4 make
aught but gold and silver tender
In the payment of debts, and thereby, and
otherwise, made gold and silver the
money Of account in this country. Your
rule would make tine convention OF lH'
cOnclaye OF IuBatcs, and cousign the
Father Of His Country TO lunatc asy-
lum.
You evidently ascribe to me by necos-
sary implication the advocacy OF TWO
7 standards of value. / am not an advo-
cate OF two such standards. for there is
and can be no standard OF value at all.
The trainers OF the Constitution recog-
nized this TACT in Clause 5, Section B,
Article J.. OF that instrument IN provia-
Ing that the Congress should have power
10 "coin money. regulate the value there
Of, and OF foreign coins, ana fix the
standard of weights and measures
Wiser than you. and l mean no reflection.
they entertained no idea that there could
be a standard OF value. They RETAINED
from giving to Congress the vain power
Of fixing standard OF values.
Length. weight, and cubical capacity
are absolute. and may be measured by
standards: but value is relative and va
RANT A thing that is n foot long is so,
whatever may be the length OF other
things like or unlike it, in the world or
the universe. Weight Is absolute, and II
thing weighs ten pounds Ii weighs that
much whatever other things Ike or un-
Ike IL I'm the world or universe may
weigh. A bushel OF gold aust ana
bushel Of wheat are q bushcl however
little Of gold dust or much Of wheat
there may be IN existence.
But value is relative, and the value
Of everything marketable varies with the
need or demand FOR It. and the quantity
or supply OF it. IL is automatic that value
depends upon demand and supply and
there can be no standard Of value. be-
cause the very things, gold and silver
that must needs be used as standards,
themselves vary i'm value under the i'm
peratlve law OF demand and supply. 80
one contends more strcnuously than Tho
Times that the value Of silver has de-
preciated some forty or fifty per cont.
because Of what &c enormously suppOscs
TO have been an over-prOduction OF IL in
recent years. But Il IS a fact undeniable
that silver varies IN value, and for that
reason Il cannot be used a. a standard Of
value.
The careful Investigations Of the most
intelligent and trusted statisticians Of our
dtv have demonstrated the fact that gold
has doubled I'm value since 1873, compared
with the values Of land, personal property,
and the great products OF human indus
try, and that this increase in the value
OF gold has been progressive during this
period Of twenty-five years. being one
thing in one year and a different thing
in each succeeding year. 50 that the
advocates OF gold as standard OF value
are really the advocates OF as many as
twenty-five different standards. II the
signs a man 10 the category of lunatics,
the English language does not supply
words competent 10 describe the lunacy
of the advocate of twenty-five standards
as exhibited in the progressive rise of
gold.
Neither of the two precious metals Is, or
can be. therefore, a standard OF value,
because their own value varies under the
law Of supply and demand. But yard
stick is a true standard Of length, be-
cause. although there may be many mill
lions more yarl-stcks IN the world than
are needed. still each yard-stick would
be a yard long all the same. Your faVorlte
analogy therefore. Is palpably false ana
must be incontnently discarded from the
polemics Of finance
l turn now 10 the remarks Of the jour
nal of Commerce which The Times re-
prints was an EDITOR IN Richmond for
fifteen years or more, and among my
exchanges was the New York Journal oil
Commerce Of that day, which was uni
yersally regarded as the most instructive
valuable. ord reliable commercial publ
cation I'm the United States. / am painei
20 realize that II has so fur fallen from
it's high place ia journalism as 10 be ca
pable OF inditing such partisan ribaldry
as you have copied from its columns.
1 win notice only that one of It's allu-
slOns I'm which IL refers 10 my dcclard-
ton that the ratio OF value between gold
and silver would take care Of itself II
the two metals were allowed equal priVl-
leges Ia the mints. | shall address the
readers OF The Times. and drop out OF
mind the author OF this ribaldry.
one of my contentious IN series ar
articles written % the Dispatch has been
that an international conference for set
thing the ratio between gold and silver WAS
unnecessary, inasmuch as that matter
was not a subject for agreement, but
was already determined by the laws OF
nature. Ny line OF argument and thought
on this subject has been as follows:
The statistics of gold and silver show
that the respective quantities dn weighD
Of these metals I'm the world are nearly
In the proportion Of one 10 fifteen or
sixteen; are such as 10 indicate that when
I. both are used INTERCHANGEABLE as money.
the ratio Of value between them should
be one of gold TO fifteen or sixteen OF
silver. / further showed that this ratio
was confirmed by the actual sales Of the
two metals In London through a period OF
four hundred years These sales, which
are always by weight, show that through
that long period, the ratio OF value or
OF prices between gold and silver was
one Of g0ld 10 fifteen and a fraction
Of silyer-tho fraction varying according
to the coalitions of the market and the
influence OF the law of demand and sup
ply.
My contention has been that this ratio
Is a question Of mathematics and stalls
ties. and that the respective quantities
Of the two metals In existence and the
actual sales OF them I'm the controlling
Of he deter