The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-10-17


WHAT KEEPS 1T AT PAR.
A frequent question is, why. IL the
present standard siyer dollar contafns
but iifty-odd cents worth of metal
does 1T circulate at par with gold?
Various explanations have been made
The government treats it as valuable
as gold by. receiving it for taxes. It's
quantity is limited, and thus it's credit
lis maintained, just as mans credit
Is sustained when 4his paper is kept
within his ability to meet it readily.
Congress has solemnly declared that
the faith of the government is pledged
to maintain itaat par with gold
There is one other reason which we
nave not seen stated, that is conducive
to the floating of our silver dollars at
par. This is in the nature Of money and
OF the desire Of men for it. When a
man has produced something in excess
OF MS wants his desire is to exchange.
the surplus for something he needs. In
making this exchange his impulse is
to'obtain a value equivalent to that,
with which he parts. If, as inMthe DAYS.
or barter. the thing offered in exchange
Is regarded by him Of equal value, he
accepts it; If not, he either refuses to
trade or demands that enough other
articles be put with it to make the
value equal In the development of
commerce the metals, in their order.
iron. copper, brass, silver and gold,
came to be accepted as media for MAX
ing exchanges because they each had
In its day, by reason of their qualities.
scarcity, cost of production and the de-.
sire to obtain them, value in the mar.
kets
But they We're capable of such use
only because they had the market val
ue of their respective weights. When
iron and copper came to be produced
more plentifully their values fell, and
more and more of them were asked by
the producer, always anxious to obtain
full value for his product. Gradually
the base metals Were relegated to me-.
chanical uses, and silver, and then gold
was substituted for the same reasons
that led to the use Of iron. copper and
bfass,, But with the new media of ex
change the desire of producers re-
manned, the motive to get of them a
value equal to. that Of the product
parted with. Human nature is the
same now as it ever was, and no sane.
uncoerced man today parts with his
product for less than what ne considers
its marketable value.
Why, then, do men take silver dollars
whose bullion value is but so cents in
exchange for products they value at
100 cents? One reason is that each ~
changer knows that the man who pro.
duced the bullion that is in the dollar
ala not get for 1t any more than the
value Of the market for it. If the coin
does not contain all the value expressed
py It's stamp, he knows that the gov
eminent is pledged to its solyency. So
Tar In our departure from sane coin
age methods, the Producer OF silver has
MADE no abnormal, no legislative nrofit
What of gain or loss there has been
is the government'ss =lne anre
But when the producer Of silver is
permitted to take to the minis what
he can get but so cents for in the mar.
kets, and get it stamped 100 cents and
De enabled to- force its acceptance by
all men to whom anything is. owed as
lUV cents, the producer of other nrod-
ucts becomes Immediately aware that
ne viii receive but so cents worth Of
value for each 100 cents of his product
He knows that the man who produced
the silver obtained for it more than ito
market value. He knows that tbis oo;v,
oelng row primary money! must re-
deem itself, the government ga wing II
really is a dollar being absolyed from,
any obligation to give it any otber
value than its face calls for. The sa1JA,.
then, obedient to the natural and
healthy impulse Of men to get value for
value, will demand enough of these dol.
lars to make their metal value equal
that of the thing he, sells. He does
not intend that thessilver producer shall
get any more for HIS product than he
does for his. 1t is this ineradicable
disposition of men that keeps the sill
yer dollar now at par with gold and,
under free coinage, will give it an ex-
change value equal only to the market
value of the bullion in it.