Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1895-08-06

ciples of justice and even TO defy the
very laws of nature. This is an argu-
ment used only aimee the demonetixa-
ton of silver Up to that time 1t was
well recognized By all who gave atten-
ton to the subject of money, and is
still well recognized by all the author
tiles on political economy, that both
silver and gold are variable in value.
So serious indeed have from time to
time been the variations in the value
of money that thoughtful men-some
of them distinguished economists
have long observed and commented on
the gross injustice which such varia-
tions involve, and various suggestions
have been made of methods for secur-
ing stability of value in the monetary
unit
Up to the period when the creditors
discovered the ingenious plan of sur
reptitiously increasing by an appeal to
the legislative arm of all governments
the value Of all debts due, and to be-
come due to them, by depriving debt
ors of the immemorial right to pay
in either of the two metals, it was ac-
knowledged by the most eminent econ
omists that the adoption of single
metal as a so-called standard of money
did not secure so great degree of uni
forynity in value as the adoption OF
both metals. This may seem a para
dox to those who have not reflected on
the essential nature of money and upon
the method by which it obtains what
is termed its value" which it does
through the medium of the prices OF
commodities. They ask: How can
there be a standard composed of two
things? Must not a standard be one?
Can it be two or more?
The seeming paradox involved in the
idea that what is called a standard of
value" may be composed of more than
one material is made plain when it is
borne in mind that it is not the ma
terial but the quantity of money which
constitutes the standard. The quality
to which in the case of value the word
standard" is applied is not quality
inhering in the material of the money.
Value, as l have shown, does not re-
side in any article or in the substance
of any article When the considera-
ton to be kept in view is not an object
but a service-not a material, but
function-the instrument by which
that service or function is performed
need not necessarily be limited to one
material. Inasmuch as the purpose to
be served is the attainment of cor
rect result, whatever the material by
which it may be accomplished, such
number of materials as may be indis-
pensable to that end should without
hesitation be employed. If we wish to
obtain clock which shall indicate the
correct time, we do not insist that it
shall be made of one material. The
material of which money is made is no
more standard of value than the mate
rial of clock is the standard of time.
The yardstick, which by statute, is
declared to be the model for all other
yardsticks is made of bronze, but
bronze is not therefore standard of
length. A bushel measure may be
composed of any material or of any
number of materials combined, but
this makes no difference so long as the
precise purpose sought is attained
namely, the securing of perfect ac-
curacy of measurement. If we assume
the model or standard" bushel meas
ure to be composed of brass, ii is not
the brass that is the standard of meas.
ure. Assuming that all bushel mea:.
ures were made of brass, then this par
ticular piece of brass comprising the
model constitutes a standard by which
to test the metal of which all future
bushel measures may be made, but
this does not constitute brass per Sc
STANDARD" of cubical content.
Credits aid in the Establishment and
of prices, but credits are
based on the quantity of
money availa BILE for liquidation. They
can be safely extended only to the de-
gree to which money payments can in
the ordinary course of business be |
made. No one will pretend to say that
credits cap be wisely extended beyond |
that point.
Hence a gold standard tneahsa main
tenance of level Of prices consistent
with the quantity in use as money,
which means level of prices on the
average the same as those prevailing
in gold.using countries. This must be
clear from the consideration that If
from country which possessed no
gold mines all the gold had been sent
out it could be attracted back only to
buy commodities, which clearly means
that unless the prices of the commod-
tiles forming the subj ect of interna-
tional trade were for the moment lower
here than in the country from which
the gold should come we could not
have exported the commodities except
at loss JOHN P. JONES.
Botes on silver.