The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-07-20
A SINGLE OR DOUBLE STANDARD,
which,

Discussing what standard means,
the Chicago Times Herald says: Gold
is a concrete and actual standard, be-
cause of the intrinsic worth of the
metal" 1t is very doubtful if there
is any intrinsic worth or value in gold
or anything else. If there is an intrin-
sic value in gold, it must possess It
| everywhere To the Incas gold had not
/ the value that it had to the Spaniards
simply because the Spaniards were
more greedy of it. To Robinson CTusoe
all the gold in the world would not have
been of the intrinsic value that the
few grains of wheat were. People prize
some things more than others, and the
things receive their value from the ex-
tent to which they are priced. Pro
fessor Jevons, certainly an authority
on monetary matters, says: There is
no such thing as intrinsic value
Further discussing the question of
standard, the Times-Herald says:
But suppose we drop the gold meas
ure. or the gold standard, for the two
words mean exactly the same thing
We must then take the next lower
measure or standard. That is silver.
To change the phrase slightly, we would
drop a yard stick thirty-six inches long
and adopt in its place a stick of half
d yard or eighteen inches long. Instan-
taneously the equivalent of thirty-six
inches kept in the silver and the paper
of our currency by the gold standard
or measure would shrink to eighteen
inches, the dimension of the silver
measure or standard. Thus we would
lose at once one-half the entire volume
and worth of our money.
The question comes down, therefore,
to this: Shall we continue to call our
standard or measure yard or gold, or
shall we deprive ourselves of one-half
Of everything we have and be content
hereafter with half yard or silver?
The illustration of the yard stick is
an unfortunate one. 1t makes no diff
ference whatever of what material yard
sticks are made They are never ex-
changed for the goods which are meas
ured by them; no one boards them, no
one wants them, while many hoard and
all want money. 1t is time that the
illustration of the yard stick was aban-
leads 60 erroneous reasoning, Money
| is in reality universal commodity and
as the supply of it Increases or dimin-
ishes will ITS value increase or dimin-
ish. And this is the reason why, when
one metal that has always been used
for monetary purposes is discarded the
metal that is retained enhances in
| value. Money being a medium of ex-
change, when the quantity is reduced to
an extent that is markedly appreciate,
then commerce and business are Grip
pied to the extent that the medium of
exchange is crippled. The position OF
| those who favor free coinage is that
the characterization of silver has very
| seriously crippled business and it be-
| grows. Ricardo assumes as an incon-
! trovertible fact that commodities will
rise or fall in price in proportion to the
increase or diminution Of money. The
! decentralization of silver did decrease
! the amount of money; the price of COM
modities has fallen. Is it not easy tc
trace back from effect to cause:
1 Shall prices continue TO fail and the
/ people to quibble about yard sticks:
or shall silver be remonetized and thf
facilities for an exchange of products
be increased? With an increased ex-
change of products will come increased
J r,rorr1a.1itv