Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1896-04-24
a NATURAL RAT,o.
Is There One De;ueen the vaioc oe ssiver
and Goidg- n so. A. IL &c 20 ~

Is There One Detveen the Value os silver
and Goid2- NJ SO. 4, IL 10 10 ~
Mr.. j. j. Mott, chairman OF the ma
tiOnal committee Of the free silver party.
recently organized at Washington, IN
fiicts on a much-abused public a tong
appeal for votes for free coinage. This
latest official uttsrance Of the silverites
is not much worse than the.- former
walls over the terrible suffering caused
by an imaginary scarcity of cart wheel
dollars, and is only notable in that il
boldly asserts that gold and silver exist
in the earth in almost certain fixed pro-
portions, and that the natural ratio be-
tween the two metals is therefore six
teen to one. This ratio.v says Mr.
Mott, "Eas contiued as arranged by man
under the natural order rs he found
IT." 1t was accepted by mankind as
part of the grand plan Upon which
the world was 10 move. and approved by
the philosophy and common sense of
all ages.
If it were true that when the earth
was created the amount of silver found
in it was 1G times greater than the gold.
this would be no reason why one metal
should be worth 16 times as much as
the other. The labor cost Of producing
anything and the demand for it is what
regulates it's value. There is no natural
measure of values, end no fixed ratio
between two metals OF any other prod
ucts, SO that there is no ground for the
claim TINT the value of an ounce OF
gold was designed by nature to be the
same as that of Is ounces of silver.
Mr.. Mott must have been using the
newly discovered ray to peer into the
innermost depths OF the earth, if he
really knows that gold and silver eN-
ist in almost certain proportions" It
is a pity that he does not inform the
public just where all those hidden met
ais are and how many tons there are Of
each. Perhaps he is waiting until con-
gress passes n free coinage law, when
he will uncover the mass of silver which
he knows so much about. And per-
haps, great and wise us chairman
of silver party must be, he doesn't
know anything more about the metals
in the earth than he does of the cur
rency question.
The grand plan upon which the
world was 10 move" seems to have got
badly out of joint in these days. If y,
natural law can be set aside by worldly
minded business men. who say that rs
the commercial value of silver is 30
times less than that OF gold they will
give no more for it, nature must feel
sighted. But there is u bare possibil-
ity that even Mr. Mott hasu't been
told all of the worlds plans for NOV
ing.
As for-fhe PHILOSOPHY and common
sense of all ages" il Is q little curious
That in some Of the ages silver hvas
valued at eight 70 one OF gold. II the
yield of the South African, Australian
and American gold mines should prove
TO Ice % large as is confidently predicted
10y eminent biologists and mining en-
gincers, the ratio might again drop TO
those figures. Would the 'phiIoso-
piers" OF whom Mr.. Mott is evidently
oac,,sticls to the magic sixteen to one.
or would they adopt the commercial
ratio. whatever il might be-?
The silver party may get a few votes
in. November. but It's following will
certainly not be increased because of
the practical wisdom and arguments
GIFTS national chairman.