Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1896-08-21
MONEY TALKS"
The Fallacy OF Gold Bug Ideas of Value
Tcrsely Exposed.

The Faliacy OF Gold Bug Ideas of Value
Tcrsely Exposed.
EVERY standard measure must have
the dimension or quality 1t is designed
to measure Other qualities are unim-
portant or OF secondary consequence.
The yard must have length, the bushel
measure must have capacity, and the
measure of value must have value. By
this is not meant value in use, as the
value Of air and water but value in ex-
change, which is the only known value
to political economy. All talk about
any other kind of value in this connec-
ton is only shallow attempt to evade
an inevitable conclusion. 1t is just as
easy and as rational to imagine yard
stick without length, or gallon meas
ure without capacity, or pound weight
that weighs nothing, as dollar with
out value. This property of value in
heres in money as stubbornly as the
other properties inhere in other stand
ards. ID. w. McClung in money
Talks"
| Niis -hCOiuh6 oCCo lnC idtiaSy VI
position, else why does he say, "By this is
not meant value In use?" Is this not
an indirect way of saying that money
must have two values, one in it's capa-
city to accomplish the purpose for
which it was designed and the other
in the value of the material of which it
is made? Certainly the yard must
have length, the bushel capacity and
the measure of value must have value"
but the value of the yard stick and
bushel and measure of value, Is in their
capacity to do the things for which
they are created and not in the value
Of the material of which they may be
| constructed.
All that about It being "just as easy
and as rational to imagine a yard
stick without length, or gallon meas
ure without capacity, or pound weight
that weighs nothing as dollar without
value" is strictly true, because dol
lar without value would be exactly the
same kind Of thing as pound
weight that weighs nothing. What Nc
Chung really wants is a dollar with two
values, one as an exchange medium,
the other as commodity, and to hold
this position on the measure of value"
is as silly as 1t would be to hold that
gallon measure or pound weight
could not be properly constructed ex-
cept out Of material as valuable as
hat y a oh, INT fn
ure or weigh.
II dollar, whether Of gold, silver or
paper be employed to effect twenty ex-
changes of dollars worth of value
each, it is only dollar at the end, and
yet it has actually measured the value
of twenty dollars worth of goods.
This is the kind of value, and the only
kind of value which Populists believe
money should possess. The intrinsic
value theorists argue, however, that it
must have an additional value in the
material of which it is made, and to
maintain their position they are
obliged to make some very queer argu-
ment.
Take this one sentence from the
above very plausible Talk" and an
alyze it and see how little real logic 1t
contains "By this is not meant value
in use, as the value Of air and water,
but value in exchange, which is the
only known value to political econ
omy." Now, read it again and leave
out "as the value of air and water"
and you have, "By this is not meant
value in use, but value in exchange"
etc., then try to think Of some other
use than that Of exchange" which
wsuld likely give value" to
the measure of value" and see
what a job you will have to con-
tend with. A "bushel" may have vari-
Gus uses besides that Of measuring
things, 1t may be inverted and used
for seat, or it may be used as a re-
oeptacle for eggs or to throw at the COW
IL she doesn't behave herself, but IL
the measure Of value" commonly
called money" has any other "use"
besides that of exchange" it ought to
be hunted up, properly labeled, and put
III Tic udllOlldl luuScuiH. Auu yCI IL
is of this very kind Of value" which
money does not possess, never did and
never was designed to possess that Nc
Chung says "all talk about any other
kind of value in this connection is
only a shallow attempt to evade an
inevitable conclusion"
Intrinsic money" is a measure of
value so long as 1t is edowed with the
legal tender quality conferred by the
government stamp. Deprived of that 1t
is not money, but commodity, and is
no more "a measure of value" than so
much iron orNtopper. McClung should
recollect that:
God makes bees and bees make honey,
God makes man and man makes money,
~ T