The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1896-05-02
THE STANDARD.
Many Kinds Of Money, But Only One
Unit of Value.

Many Kinds of Money. But Only One
Unit of Value. /
A standard is that by which anything
In weighed or measured
Belief in double standard is a de-
fusion. There may be equivalent stand
ards, alternative standards, two or more
variant standards, but not one double
standard. One might fabricate yard
sticks of gold and silver, but so long as
both were 36 inches long they would |
constitute a single standard of length.
The Troy pound and the pound of
npothecaries' weight are differently |
subdivided, but rs each is equal to $500 |
grains Troy, they do not constitute u |
double, but single standard OF weight. !
On the other hand the Troy pound can
not form double standard of weight
with the pound avoirdupois, which is
equal to 1000 grains Troy. Nobody, IL
he knows 1t, win take pound Troy
when he has contracted for a pound
uvoirtlupois. The two do not constitute
adouble standard, but two single stand
or,ls of widely differentvalue.
Men who talk of the "single gold
standard" are suffering from confusion
OF thought themselves or trying to in
duce it in Others. The standard must
rot be COMPOUNDED with different kinds
of money. There are many kinds OF
money, with but one standard. We
have in circulation gold and gold GER
tificates. silver and silver certificates,
United States notes, treasury notes OF
1orly nnfRS-CPVPn
kinds of money, not to mention some
of less importance. But five or ten dol
lars in one kind of money has the same
purchasing power at home as a cor
responding amount of any other What
is that purchasing power? The pur-
chasing power of dollar is the same
as the purchasing power OF 25.S grains
of gold bullion, 0-10 fine, or 1922 grains
of pure gold. This is the actual stand
ard, rs determined by the purchasing
power, the real test of the value OF
money at any particular time and place.
Every dollar of our money will at pres
cnt buy as much as 1922 grains of fine
bold bullion. Thus with all these seven
kinds of money, and some others OF
minor consequence, we have but one
standard, which is the gold standard.
IL is not new. Since January 1, 1879,
every dollar of United States money has
been equal to gold dollar, or the
amount of bullion necessary to make a
gold dollar. The standard is the bull
lion value of the coin of the standard
metal.
Now, the silver dollar contains 371H
grains of pure silver, or 4l2Ha of stand
ard silver, which means nine-tenths
fine. Coins, however, are rated by the
quantity of pure metal and not by the
alloy. Now, 371A grains of pure silver
have within two or three years been
down to As 7-10 cents. The same guam
tity is now worth considerably more,
but no one can foretell future fiuctua-
tons. 1t is very plain that a dollar can
not be at the same time worth As 7-1C
cents, in terms of gold, and 100 cents
We NAV have one standard or the other
but not both at once. Law can no more
make AZ hundred than it can make
black white. 1t may call AZ hundred
but it cannot make it so.
The reason why five silver dollars buy
Us mucn Us u ndii SdSic 10 " NC Ao"iA>
in the policy of the government, which
aims to keep every kind of a dollar at 1
parity, that is, of equal purchasing
power. Silver is not forced on any on
by the government il he does not wan
to take it. The same is true generally
though perhaps not universally, in pri
vate transactions. The policy of tn
government takes away the motive TO
individuals to force silver on reluctan
creditoss.
There has never been any substantial
change in the standard. When tn
change in the ratio was made from I'll
teen to one to sixteen to one, thong
both gold and silver were the lega
standards, silver was the actual stand
are, thd real measure of values, an
therefore the quantity of pure silver
the dollar was not changed. The valu
of the gold dollar was reduced. Thi
has induced some people to say why nc
reduce the value of the gold dolla
again? For the very reason that th
value of the silver dollar was nc
changed in 1894; that is, silver was the
the actual standard. while gold is th
standard now. The sound-money me
stand against change of the standar
as they did in 1884. 1t is the silveritt
who ask change, the degradation {
the dollar to one-half its present valu
or Notwithstanding Courie
Journal.
GOLD GALORE.