People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1896-07-02

I
II suddenly the amount Of money in each
country were multiplied by ten. To an
swer mo" would DO foolish, and 70 answer
"Yes" Is to kill bis argument.
Cruelty Of Monometsllism.
Thus, sir, attention Is strongly drawn
TO the function Of money as measure OF
value. Nearly all who discuss this gener-
al subject from the standpoint OF the gold
monometallist treat Of money almost
wholly as a medium Of exchange only, but
they miss entirely the philosophy Of the
question. The inequity and cruelty Of
the single gold standard lie principally In
It's operation as measure OF values and
criterion Of deferred payments.
Now, Mr.. Chairman, aftes this some
what inadequate and very hasty exanina-
ton Of the way in which value arises and
Of the way in which price arises, price be-
ing simply the valve Of an article reckon.
ed In money and comparison of the
worth Of the material In the unit of mon
ey with the worth Of the article against
which 1t Is exchanged, l come to the prop
ostton which Is made By those who are
opposed TO the single gold standard.
That proposition is that there has been
and h going on an appreciation-that Is
to say, rise in value-in this standard OF
gold which the major portion Of the COM
merical nations Of the world has adopted.
In other words, sir, It is affirmed that the
quantity Of all commodities on the aver
age required to buy given number Of
grains Of gold has been and Is increasing,
and that from that fact there follows a
train Of woes from which the world has
been suffering in an increasing measure
ever since the mistake was made in 1873
and thereabouts Of going 70 that standard.
How shall we ascertain whether there has
been this rise In value? There is only one
way, and that is to examine the general
price level of commodities. When one
thing Is used as common denominatOr
Of all other things, to tell whether it rises
or falls you must look at the average level
Of those other things and find whether
they fall or rise, for the relations of the
two are entirely and necessarily reciprocal.
Now, sir, q general law of this kind
and ask the attention of tn house to
this proposition-a general law Of this
kind as to the course Of prices is determi
nable only by very broad generalization
from observed facts. The commercial
world is a complex one. The causes that
affect the rise and fall, the demand and
supply and the cost Of production Of the
infinite variety Of articles that make up
the modern market are difficult Of investi-
CATION. A rise in the price of one COM
modify may accompany fall in the price
Of another, rs was shown by the gentle
man from North Dakota Mr.. Johnson
the other day, who told us, as remember,
that there Was time when hay went up
as wheat and corn went down, though
what that fact scientifically signlfed Is
hidden In the inner consciousness Of
Brother Johnson mean no disrespect,
for l know the gentleman from North Da-
kota as a scholarly man Of distinguished
ability and entire honesty in his opinions.
But say that when you undertake to de-
duoe a general law from the course, up OF
down, Of two or three articles for two or
three years you are proceeding absolutely
outside Of the approved method Of science,
and generalization OF shat kind has no
value whatever.
Course Of Prices.
But, Mr.. Chairman, the scientific world
has determined way Of investigating the
general course Of prices 1t proceeds upon
The selection Of large number of COM
modities 6 such character as to indicate
the essential condition Of the market and
extends over a number Of years. Thus
special oauses whether Of time or Of prod
sos are largely neutralized, and general
results are obtained having value as In
dioative Of the underlying law controlling
the movement Of prices This method Of
inquiry Is by means Of system Of "index
plumbers" Thus the price Of each CON-
modify chosen is averaged for certain
number Of years, and that AVERAGES called
100. II, as is done by the London Econo-
mist newspaper, go commodities be used,
the um Of these averages is, Of course,
s,20. Then for any other year with
which comparison Is sought the price Of
each commodity is sscertalned and is set
down al so many points above or below
100, according to the percentage OF It's rise
or fall, as the case may be. These are
then added, and II the total exceeds 2,e00
prices are higher than in the years used as
the standard; II the total is less than
$500, prices are lower. By dividing the
total BY the number Of commodities an ex-
preston Is obtained on the scale Of 100,
which is conveniently used In investiga-
ton. Under normal conditions various
causes make temporary fluctuations In the
prices Of different commodities, some ris-
ing and others falling In the same period,
without special significance. But when,
after allowing for sll such variations and
offsets, general prioes-the average Of the
whole maIket-hsve fallen, then the con.
oluslon is unavoidable that some general
cause has operated on all alike and, as we
have seen, such fall would mean an In
OIUoSC Ill bbO LuOdbuAC va fnAhooJ q iOiiod
that had grown larger, and which would
require more OF all commodities 20 buy It.
The authoritative figures for Germany ;
are those Of DR.. Adolf Soetbeer, famous
economic writer, as continued by Heinz, !
statisticisn for Hamburg. They take as
100, or the par for comparison. the aver
age prices from 1s47 to 1850 Of 100 articles
In the Hamburg market and IA Of British
export. In England two sets Of data enjoy
great repute-those Of the London Econo-
mist and especially those Of Augustus
Sauerbeok Of the London Statistical socie-
ty. The former are based on the prices Of
% leading commodities In the London
market ssng the average prices Of l845
to 1850 as 100. Mr. Sauerbeck's tables
use as the par Of comparison the average |
prices Of As representative commodities on
the London market for the years 1857 to |
1877. In the United States no such scien-
tiff and exhanative studv ~ thia suhiect |