The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1895-01-23
With a Sufficient Volume of Money
In Circulation, The Purchasing
Power of the Dollar
Will Be Kept Uniform and Steady
This Can Never Be Done Under the
Single Gold Standard.
More lightOn the MOneyQuestiOn

EDITOR News I'm this enlightened
age in the closing years Of the nineteenth
century it is refreshing to find, especial
ly among professors, such staunch advo-
Gates of that old and exploded theory of
intrinsic value in money as Professor
Shacklett, of Hardnsburg. 1t is surpris-
ing what strong hold old superstitions
have on the minds Of their victims All
writers OF note on political economy
have long since discarded the theory Of
intrinsic value in money-all except
Prof. Shacklett. He still holds to that
delusion. Look here, at takes % %
grains of pure gold to make dollar"
II this statement OF the Professor be true
that which does not contain % 22 grains
of pure gold is not dollar. But the
standard silver dollar containing 4l24
grains OF standard silver is a dollar poss-
essing the full legal tender debt-paying
function. His statement that 1922
grains of pure gold is worth 100 cents
with or without the government stamp,
though immaterial, is incorrect. The
Professor says, "the value of gold dollar
cannot decline below the value of 1922
grains of pure gold, for, il it does, then
men holding dollars will trade them as
bullion rather than as currency" That
is to say, as he tells us in former art
Gle, if the gold dollar should decline to
90 cents or 80 cents, men would trade
them as bullion rather than as currency.
Decline to 9S cents or 80 cents measured
in what! Eevry one Of these dollar
pieces is legal tender at its face value
for 100 cents and how could it possibly
fall below its face value measured in itself?
The Professor is stickler for the single.
gold standard. He believes gold 10 be
the only sound, the only honest money,
the best money, the money Of highest pur-
chasing power. What then will the
Professor measure his gold dollars in that
have fallen TO 9S cents or 80 cents to the
dollar? The absurdity OF the statement
is plainly apparent.
that the greater part OF the value OF gold
bullion is given ii by the great demand
for it'for money purposes under the laws
\ many nations for the free coinage OF
.pld into iull'legal tender money? Does
he not know that, were the nations OF
the world that now coin gold freely into
full legal tender money TO demonetize it
the value OF gold bullion would sink to
an in6nitestimal quantity? Does he not
know that with gold demonetized by the
nations OF the world-the coined metal
as well as the bullion-that gold would
not be as valuable as brass, zinc or nick
ell? Does he not know that, the demand
for gold III the arts rema ming the same
the supply by such universal demoneti-
zltion being increased nearly thousand
fold, that gold would become compare
lively worthless metal-"dt only to plug
decayed teath and ornament fools"
Professor Shacklett believes in the law
Z OF supply and demand regulating prices
the memorable law Of supply and de-
mand"--as he termsit. II is conceded
that were gold coined and uncoined de-
monetized in the Uunited States, the de-
mand for its use 10 the arts remaining
the same, there would be sufficient
supply for sixty years to come. With
this vast supply practically unlimited
supply Of gold and this very limited de-
mand for It's use in the arts, will the
Professor still stubbornly maintain that
the purchasing power Of 1922 grains Of