The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1895-07-17

needed, will OF course cease, leaving the
work of financial instruction incomplete.
One OF the prominent fallacies insisted
on by the advocates OF silver, which has
never been refuted so thoroughly as it
ought to be, is, that the value Of gold as
money metal is derived chiefly, if not
wholly, from the legislation which reg
ulates its coinage and makes it legal
tender for the payment OF debts. Hence,
the silverites argue that to silver also
could be given any value which Congress
might fix, and that it could thus be
raised from being worth the thirtieth
part of gold to a sixteenth or any other
fraction. 1t has been very pertinently
asked OF them, why, il the law can make
sixteen ounces Of silver equal in value
to one of gold, it cannot make the two
metals Of equal value, ounce for ounce /;
but to this inquiry they do not deign to
reply. Nor have they undertaken to
demonstrate how the law, which can,
indeed, prescribe in what coin debts
shall be paid, can compel debts to be
contracted in it. It is easy enough to
force q creditor who has already lent
money or sold goods to accept for his
debt silver at the ratio OF l6 to l, but it
is difficult, if not impossible, to compel
by law man who has goods yet to, sell
or gold yet TO lend to part with them on
the same terms. The legal-tender power
OF currency is quite different from its
purchasing power. This we saw during
the suspension of specie payments from
1862 to 1870. The greenback served very
well to pay old debts and obligations, but
when goods were bought with it, or
drafts procured on gold-payiDg countries,
it had purchasing power sometimes Of
only 40 per cent. of its face value. 1t
would be the same under free coinage,
with the silver dollar compared TO the
gold dollar.
That gold has a commercial value as a
metal equal to its present coming value,
and that II would retain that value with
in small fraction II every law relating
to its use as money were repealed, has
been most vehemently denied by many
silyerites and bimetallists. They say
that as all values are regulated by supply
and demand, and that as the demand for
gold TO be used by money is unlimited,
il only needs to destroy this demand to
reduce its value one-hair or even more.
Conversely, they insist that II free coin
age at any agreed ratio were granted to
silver, the demand for II thus created
would give IT a new and increased value.
restoring it TO the position which it oc-
cupied twenty-five years ego. All this is
unmitigated nonsense, and proceeds from
an ignorance Of facts.
For example, the consumption OF gold
in the arts and for manufacturing pnr-
poses, so far from being Insignificant is
very large. It has been asserted that il
gold ceased to be used for money, there
is enough OF ii in existence to supply the
demands OF commerce for thousand
years, and that the fresh yearly supplies
OF il would glut the market and bring
the value OF the metal down to almost
nothing. The truth, on the contrary, is
and the more intelligent advocates Of
silver concede II, that the consumption
Of gold for other than coinage purposes
takes large part Of it's annual produc'
ion, leaving only comparatively small
traction Of the output to be added :, the
worlds stock OF the metal. Hence, IN
I.doubtedly, proceeds the increase In the
value Of gold as compared with that Of
many other commodities, aud hence Ia
oppresiyeness. as the slysrites justly